Updated: July 23, 2020 (March 5, 2018)

System Center Release Cadences Require Extra Planning

Wes Miller analyzes and writes about Microsoft’s security, identity management, and systems management technologies. Before joining Directions on Microsoft, Wes... more

System Center Configuration Manager and the rest of the System Center suite will receive new releases on two separate cadences.
All System Center components must be upgraded at least once per year to receive updates, but likely should be upgraded more often.
Critical updates (fixes unrelated to security) are provided only until the next new version is available, while security updates are available for 18 months.
Organizations need to balance their business needs with the new release cadences of System Center.

System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and the remainder of the System Center suite now have different rapid release and support cadences, which differ both in name and frequency. Customers need to understand these cadences and their minimum viable upgrade cycle to ensure that deployed versions will continue receiving updates.

System Center Fundamentals

System Center is a suite of server applications that deliver management, monitoring, and protection to numerous types of devices, including desktop PCs, servers, and VMs. The latest version of System Center includes the following applications:

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