Introduction
Microsoft has announced that Windows 10 version 1511 has been officially declared as Current Branch for Business.
Michael Niehaus stated:-
“each new Windows 10 feature update is initially considered a Current Branch (CB) release, to be used by organizations for initial pilot deployments. The feature update will later be declared as Current Branch for Business (CBB), once we have received feedback and confirmation from organizations, OEMs, and partners, confirming that the feature update is ready for broad deployment.”
I’m already running version 1511, what’s the impact ?
So what does that mean for those of us who are actively deploying Windows 10 in the Enterprise already ? Not a whole lot as long as you are running Windows 10 version 1511 already.
- For devices already running Windows 10 version 1511, deployed before the CBB declaration, no action is required other than standard monthly servicing. With the installation of the March cumulative update (KB3140768) or any later cumulative update, the device is already running the equivalent of what was declared as CBB.
I’m running 1507, what will happen ?
What about those of us who have Windows 10 1507 devices deployed in the Enterprise ? I’ve highlighted some points in bold below
- For devices being serviced using Windows Update for Business and configured to “Defer upgrades,” Windows 10 1511 will begin to deploy as soon as the updated media has been published. (Note that the deferral policies that specify an additional number of months to defer the feature update are not supported for devices running Windows 10 1507.)
- For devices being serviced using Windows Server Updates Services, the updates to the existing Windows 10 1511 feature updates will need to be re-approved once the new updated media is received (unless you have an automatic update rule configured for the “Upgrades” category).
- For those using the System Center Configuration Manager Windows 10 servicing plans to keep Windows 10 devices up to date, the updated media will be detected as “business ready,” causing servicing plans based on that “business ready” designation to begin to be evaluated.
- For devices that will be upgraded using System Center Configuration Manager or Microsoft Deployment Toolkit task sequences, you may want to switch to the latest media (downloaded from the Volume Licensing Service Center) instead of the current Windows 10 1511 media. Alternatively, you can inject the March cumulative update (KB3140768) into your existing media. (a guide for the upgrade task sequence along with injecting updates is here)
Microsoft has also updated the Release Information page available at http://aka.ms/win10releaseinfo to reflect the updated status of Windows 10 1511.
cheers
niall
