Windows 10: Windows Update for Business and the retirement of SAC-T in Windows 10

Brink · Feb 14, 2019

In my post last May on Windows 10 and the “disappearing” SAC-T,I explained how we simplified and aligned our Windows servicing terminology with Office, reflecting that there are two Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) releases each year. I also explained that with Windows, there was never actually a Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted), or SAC-T, release; rather, SAC-T merely reflected a milestone for the semi-annual release. Unless you were using Windows Update for Business, the SAC and SAC-T designations had no impact on when your devices would be updated. At the time, we had not yet completed the work necessary to deliver the changes needed for Windows Update for Business to reflect the alignment with Office so we continued to show dates for both the SAC and SAC-T milestones on the Windows 10 release information page.

We have now completed that work. Beginning with Windows 10, version 1903 (the next feature update for Windows 10), the Windows 10 release information page will no longer list SAC-T information for version 1903 and future feature updates. Instead, you will find a single entry for each new SAC release. In addition, if you are using Windows Update for Business, you will see new UI and behavior to reflect that there is only one release date for each SAC release. If you use System Center Configuration Manager, Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), or other management tools, there will now only be one feature update published to WSUS, and this will occur at the time of release.

With this upcoming change, Windows Update for Business customers may have a few questions and I’ll try to address those now. To restate what I said above, unless you are using Windows Update for Business, the changes discussed below have no impact on when your devices get updated.

With the release of Windows 10, version 1903, how will my Windows Update for Business configuration and execution reflect the removal of SAC-T?

For releases prior to version 1903, Windows Update for Business customers had two settings they could utilize to designate when feature updates should be installed on their devices. The first was the branch readiness level (SAC or SAC-T), and the second was the deferral period, which specified the number of days after the branch readiness level-based date before an update was offered to a device.

Once your organization’s devices have been updated to Windows 10, version 1903, the configuration of Windows Update for Business will be simpler, enabling you to choose a single deferral value based solely on the SAC release date. That means, if you are trying to set up validation flights in your environment using Windows Update for Business, or stage updates in waves, you will do so from a common release start date, which should simplify the deployment process overall.

I want to clarify; with these changes, we will not change your deferral value. Instead, it will remain as it was configured following the update to version 1903. In addition, while all Windows Update for Business device deferrals will now be based on the release date (you will no longer have to configure this), you will continue to have the option to enroll devices in the Windows Insider Program and choose a pre-release ring, such as Slow, Fast, or Release Preview.

*Arrow How to Defer Feature and Quality Updates in Windows 10

The image below shows the Settings panel as it looks today with Windows 10, version 1809.

When version 1903 is released, it will look like this:

As you can see, it shows only pause and deferral settings; Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted) is no longer presented as an option. Again, this change will only be seen once you have deployed Windows 10, version 1903 and will only impact future feature updates after version 1903. Devices enrolled in the Windows Insider Program; however, can already see these changes.

How is Microsoft going to handle the transition to Windows 10, version 1903 for customers who have their branch readiness level configured for SAC?

As I said above, with version 1903, we will cease to publish both SAC and SAC-T dates. Each release will have a single SAC release date so we will handle this one-time transition in the following manner:

Windows Update for Business customers who have configured a deferral based on the SAC-T branch-readiness level (remember, this really is the actual release date), devices will be offered the update once the configured number of deferral days have passed. Thus, no change from previous releases.

For devices that have been configured with a branch readiness of SAC, for the upgrade to version 1903 only, we will add an additional 60 days to the configured deferral. This will simulate the delay previously experienced when Microsoft declared the SAC milestone. For example, if your device is currently configured to defer updates 30 days from the SAC release date, for the upgrade to version 1903 (and this time only), we would append a 60-day delay to that configured 30-day deferral–meaning that the device would be upgraded 90 days (60+30) after version 1903 is released. (Note that the additional 60 days will be handled on our service side, and will not be reflected in your device configuration.)

For subsequent feature updates after version 1903, your Windows Update for Business configuration deferral value will be whatever it was before version 1903; we are not modifying that value.

For future upgrades beyond Windows 10, version 1903, to establish an additional delay and recreate your deployments rings on the schedule you want, you will need to update your deferral value. Using the same example above, you would change the deferral value from 30 to 90 days. Or, if you want to create a three-ring deployment model, you could have three groups of devices, designated simply with deferral values from the single release date, perhaps 30, 60, and 90 days.

If you’re interested in learning more, or would like to see how you can use tools like Configuration Manager, WSUS, or Windows Update for Business to manage updates, see the Quick guide to Windows as a service. To learn more about Windows as a service, check out the Windows as a service gateway on Docs.
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Source: Windows Update for Business and the retirement of SAC-T - Microsoft Tech Community - 339523

:)

Omar A.G. Dweik · Feb 14, 2019

Difference Between Content of Windows 10 SAC-T and SAC ISO Media

Dear All,

Any Idea for the Below...

Difference Between Content of Windows 10 SAC-T and SAC ISO Media

Regards

Ahhzz · Feb 14, 2019

Windows 10 Tweaks

Pressing “Windows+Pause Break” (it’s up there next to scroll lock) opens the “System” Window.

Windows 10: In the new version of Windows, Explorer has a section called Quick Access. This includes your frequent folders and recent files. Explorer defaults to opening this page when you open a new window. If you’d rather open the usual This PC, with links to your drives and library folders, follow these steps:

Open a new Explorer window.

Click View in the ribbon.

Click Options.

Under General, next to “Open File Explorer to:” choose “This PC.”

Click OK

credit to Lifehacker.

Brink · Feb 14, 2019

Windows 10 and the disappearing Semi-Annual Channel Targeted (SAC-T)

When we first released Windows 10 in July 2015, we tried to explain the process by which servicing worked in what became known as the Current Branch/Current Branch for Business, or CB/CBB. As part of a cross-functional team of authors who dedicated many, many hours to the creation of the initial documentation, we were very pleased and proud with the finished product. It precisely explained, from a software engineering perspective, exactly how we were managing our branch structure to effectively enable and support the different Windows 10 SKUs and service cadence options. It was also a complete failure.

We learned a lot from our original approach and documentation, as feedback from customers pointed to some important considerations:

We didn’t fully recognize that some of our customers were deploying Office 365 ProPlus in parallel with Windows 10.

Routinely, our customers and the Windows ecosystem rightfully interpreted CBB as a unique “release” separate from CB, rather than our intent of a statement in time about the existing release. As a result, it understandably created behaviors like, “We’re waiting for CBB release to begin testing,” and, for ISVs, “We’ll support it once CBB is released.”

Since then, Office and Windows 10 have updated their release cadence, service terminology, and servicing guidance, incorporating feedback from customers and partners as well as key learnings from the last two years to address confusion over the CB/CBB nomenclature.

In July 2017, we announced a newly simplified and aligned servicing model for Windows 10 and Office that would begin with Windows 10, version 1709. As part of this announcement, we aligned Office and Windows with common terminology via the Semi-Annual Channel (SAC)—the replacement for CB and CBB—and the Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC), a servicing mode designed for special-purpose PCs, such as those used in point-of-sale systems or controlling factory or medical equipment. As John Cable pointed out in his Windows Experience blog post, we recommended that, just as targeted consumers would begin receiving Windows 10 updates right away, enterprises should also follow the same approach, starting with targeted deployments to validate apps, devices, and infrastructure used within the organization. The goal was for enterprises, once validation was complete, to begin broadly deploying.

Therein lies the challenge…

What does “targeted” mean?

In my March 2018 blog post on the organizational culture shift of moving Windows 10 deployments from project to process, I discussed the phases of the common servicing framework: plan & prepare, targeted validation, and broad deployment.

Targeted, therefore, refers to the initial phase of a release, the phase wherein your IT team (or the IT team here at Microsoft) makes the release available only to specific, “targeted” devices for the purpose of validating and generating data in order to get to a broad deployment decision.

This is precisely what is happening now with the Windows 10, version 1803. We are rolling out Windows 10, version 1803 to specific, targeted devices and, as we get positive telemetry and feedback from devices and users, we will gradually expand the offering until it becomes fully available to all devices. At that moment we will say what Windows 10, version 1803 is “broadly” available.

Our servicing framework guidance for commercial customers recommends this same approach. Start targeted deployments within your organization as soon as a release is available, deploying to an initial servicing ring, or rings, for validation. Target specific devices until you feel confident to make the decision to deploy broadly, at which time you will then update all of the devices in your organization.

Can you please explain the Windows 10 release information page?

Based on the information we’ve presented in this blog post thus far, you would rightfully expect to see just two entries each year on the Windows 10 release information page, right? Instead it still looks very much like the earlier CB/CBB days, with an entry for SAC and SAC-T (for Targeted). Why?

The explanation is Windows Update for Business. The origins of Windows Update for Business gave users the option to defer updates either from the CB or CBB declaration. If you, as an IT pro, have configured your devices to defer taking an update until CBB declaration, we needed to communicate the start date for the deferral, thus the two dates for each release. This model continues in Windows Update for Business today, so both SAC-T and SAC are present on the release information page.

If you are not using Windows Update for Business today, “targeted” has no impact on your devices other than to signify which phase the Windows 10 release deployment is in.

There is work underway to evolve the Windows Update for Business model, and have deferrals based on just one offset date. Once that happens, the SAC-T entry on the release information page will go away and you will just see two entries per year. This change will be communicated well in advance.

In my next blog, I’ll cover more specific uses of Windows Analytics and how it factors into your organization’s deployment rollout.

To learn more about Windows as a service, check out our Windows as a service page on the Windows IT Pro Center. You can also discover the benefits of Windows Analytics by signing up for this free service.
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Source: Windows 10 and the "disappearing" SAC-T - Microsoft Tech Community - 199747

Windows 10: Windows Update for Business and the retirement of SAC-T in Windows 10

Windows Update for Business and the retirement of SAC-T in Windows 10

Windows Update for Business and the retirement of SAC-T in Windows 10

Windows Update for Business and the retirement of SAC-T in Windows 10

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