Blog Post on Azure Arc: Extending Azure's management capabilities to on-premises, edge, and multi-cloud environments

In a significant move to streamline hybrid estate management, Microsoft has announced the Public Preview of Auto Agent Upgrade for Azure Arc-enabled servers. This feature, which became available as of August 20, 2025, aims to reduce operational risk and improve consistency across various environments.

The Auto Agent Upgrade is applicable for servers in Azure, on-premises, across other public clouds, or at the edge. It is designed to upgrade agents within one version of the latest release, ensuring that they are always running the most current version of the Azure Connected Machine agent.

The automatic upgrade feature for Azure Arc was enabled through the integration with Azure Update Manager, which provides centralized, policy-driven patch management for Arc-enabled servers. This includes Windows Server 2025 Datacenter and Standard Editions, with support for Hotpatch.

To enable Auto Agent Upgrade, users need to set the property to true. Once enabled, Connected Machine agents will automatically upgrade to the latest supported version, eliminating the need for manual intervention or scripting.

Staying on the latest version of the Azure Connected Machine agent provides access to the newest server management capabilities. It ensures compliance by providing the latest security fixes and enhancements, and it ensures reliability and quality through any bug fixes and agent improvements.

Rollout batches for Auto Agent Upgrade are designed to maintain stability across regions. The upgrade status of Auto Agent Upgrade can be viewed in the Azure Portal.

Auto Agent Upgrade simplifies agent lifecycle management across hybrid environments. For those interested in learning more about Auto Agent Upgrade on Azure Arc-enabled servers, Microsoft Learn offers a comprehensive guide: Manage and maintain the Azure Connected Machine agent - Azure Arc.

Please note that Auto Agent Upgrade is only available on agents running version 1.48 or greater.

In conclusion, the Auto Agent Upgrade is a significant step forward in simplifying the management of hybrid estates. By automating the upgrade process, Microsoft aims to reduce operational risk, improve consistency, and ensure that servers are always running the latest version of the Azure Connected Machine agent.