Azure Arc

by
Jim Gaynor

by
Jim Gaynor

Jim analyzes and writes about Teams and other Microsoft services for collaboration and unified communication, Windows Server and related OSs,... more

Azure Arc is a set of capabilities enabling Azure to work with deployments hosted outside of Azure, and it includes offerings for server management, data and application services, and Kubernetes management. It works by extending Azure management services to resources outside of Azure and enables some Azure services to operate on-premises.

Product: Azure Arc 

Near Term (2026–2027)

Windows Server 2016 Extended Security Updates (ESUs) enabled by Azure Arc became generally available in Aug. 2026.

Automatic Agent Upgrade, in preview, automatically updates the Azure Connected Machine agent (Arc agent) that operates within managed VMs, removing the need to manually manage agent update and ensuring customers have the most recent security updates, features, and bug fixes.

App Service, Functions, and Logic Apps on Azure Arc–enabled Kubernetes was retired in Mar. 2026; the service never left preview.

Arc site manager, first announced in May 2024, remains in preview and entered a refreshed public preview in Nov. 2025.