Managing Windows 10 Feature Update Rings

Windows Client; Systems Management

• Rings are the update methodology Microsoft encourages organizations to use to manage Windows and feature updates.
• Rings help stagger the release of updates to groups of users and can be implemented by configuring Windows Update for Business settings, either through Group Policy or Intune.
• Rings may become the only method to manage the faster Widows 10 update cadence.
• Organizations not using Rings must design their own strategy for deploying Windows updates in time, taking the needs of their users and devices into account.

The “ring-based” approach Microsoft recommends for updating Windows 10 devices requires new processes and will require most organizations to use some new services. In Windows deployment, a ring is an administrator-defined group of devices that will all receive Windows OS feature updates at the same point in time.

Rings Address Faster, Phased OS Version Rollout

Managing rings of similarly situated devices are a means to cope with the current rapid release cadence for new versions of Windows 10 delivered by the Semi-Annual Channel (SAC), the primary servicing option for business devices. The approach may be the only way to keep Windows 10 devices up to date and supported as new versions (feature updates) of the OS now arrive twice per year.