WindowsServicing

Windows periodically releases "feature updates" that are designed to bring a large set of new features to all machines that can run Windows. They are typically released annually by Microsoft.

At UMIACS, we release these feature updates to be installed on all UMIACS-supported Windows desktops as well as Enterprise supported laptops and home machines via our Windows Patch Management. We typically release feature updates to be installed several months after Microsoft releases them to the general public to ensure that the targeted release is compatible with all software that we run, such as our VPN.

Current Feature Release at UMIACS

The current feature releases we deploy at UMIACS are:

Number	Marketing Name
21H2	November 2021 Update

We deployed this update as of April 13th, 2022.

For a comprehensive list of what is new in this feature update, please see Microsoft's documentation: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/whats-new/whats-new-windows-10-version-21h2

Updating

Our Windows Patch Management automatically installs feature updates when we release them to our supported Windows desktops and Enterprise supported laptops. You will receive a notification to install the feature update in the same way that other patches are installed. Please see that page for an example of what the process looks like.

Please note that feature updates often have supplemental updates (i.e. security patches) that must install after the feature update itself. This means that in addition to the reboot issued as part of the feature update install process, additional reboots may be required while installing the supplemental updates thereafter. This is by design. You can defer each reboot that is required as specified on our Windows Patch Management page.