Preparing for 21H2 (and maybe Windows 11)

Preparing for 21H2 (and maybe Windows 11) 
            Microsoft anunció recientemente que se está preparando para probar y lanzar Windows 10, versión 21H2.  Las funciones incluidas en el lanzamiento están dirigidas principalmente a empresas e incluyen:</p><li>Nuevos estándares WPA3 H2E (Hash to element) para mejorar la seguridad de Wi-Fi.  En 2019, los investigadores utilizaron un ataque de canal secundario para robar una contraseña WPA3.  Este estándar aumenta la seguridad contra ataques de canales secundarios actuales y futuros.</li>
  • A new deployment method for Windows Hello for Business that Microsoft calls "Cloud Trust." Supports simplified password-free deployments and "reaches deployment status" in minutes.
  • Support for Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and Azure IoT Edge for Linux on Windows (EFLOW) GPU rendering implementations for machine learning and other CPU-intensive workflows. This allows the graphics card to "accelerate math workloads and use its parallel processing to perform required computations faster, in many cases, than using just one processor."
    • Microsoft has indicated that users will see a routine deployment and maintenance process, and installation should be relatively quick. Still, I highly recommend that if you have Windows 10 on any computer, make sure you have an SSD as your primary hard drive. If you're using old-school IDE drives, you're going to have a less-than-ideal experience with Windows 10. I'm still a big believer in installing feature updates whenever you want. So, if you only manage a single PC, or if you're an IT professional who doesn't use patching tools like WSUS or SCCM, rely on the Targettreleaseversion parameter to ensure you stay on 21H1. (I hope most users have already installed 21H1). There are two ways to make sure you don't go at 9:22 pm until you're ready. The first is to use a registry key method that sets the value to 21H1. You can download the registry key from the AskWoody website and use it to set the following value:

    Windows Registry Editor version 5.00


    "TargetReleaseVersion" = dword: 00000001
    "TargetReleaseVersionInfo" = "21H1" Alternatively, if you have Windows 10 Pro, you can click the search box and type "edit group policy". Go to Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Windows Update, then Windows Update for Business. In the right pane, double-click the "Select Feature Update Target Version" policy. Select the On option and enter 21H1. Click OK, close Group Policy, and restart the computer. Either method will keep you in 21H1 instead of 21H2 when implemented. If your computer does not meet the requirements to run Windows 11, which Micorosft is currently testing, and you are an internal member, you will be moved to the release channel and offered 21H2 as a test. Windows 10 21H2 will provide 18 months of support for Home and Pro editions and 30 months of support for Enterprise and Education editions. If you are unable to install Preview 21H2 on your system, Bleepingcomputer has ways to manually trigger the installation.

    After 9 pm, then what?

    There has been a lot of speculation that 21H2 could be the last official version of Windows 10. As a result, users are wondering if there will be extended security updates available for Windows 10. In a recent "Ask me Anything" (AMA) for the Windows service Joe Lurie, senior program manager for Microsoft Endpoint Manager, showed no commitment: "We're not ready to talk about an Extended security update program for Windows 10 . Keep an eye on the tech community blogs to see when it's available. . Note that even with Windows 7, ESUs are Extended Security Updates, not Extended Support. Dave Backman, an evangelist for the Windows Servicing & Delivery organization, also reiterated that nothing other than the availability of 21H2 has been officially announced. For IT professionals wondering about the long-term maintenance pipeline, the version of Windows 10 that doesn't have semi-annual releases and is used for more specific configurations, Lurie simply noted that “we have announced that the next Windows LTSC will be built on Windows 10, version 21H2, and yes, it will be a 5-year support lifecycle. We can expect the next LTSC *after* Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2021 to be based on Windows 11. And it will also keep the support of 5 years. However, this is expected in about 3 years, so anything can happen in that time frame. If you need to use LTSC for a longer period of time, we recommend that you upgrade to Windows 10 IoT LTSC. During the AMA, Lurie indicated that 21H2 will arrive again as an activation package; The features will be implemented over time and once the feature version is finalized, they will be activated with the activation feature. For future maintenance, Windows 11 should have a different ADMX than Windows 10, according to Lurie. But "many of the existing ones will work too, as long as the feature or service it manages is available in Windows 11. ... You don't need to reconfigure all your policies for Windows 11." Microsoft's Jason Sandys said that Windows Configuration Service Providers (CSPs) are the preferred channel for configuring Windows in the future. CSPs are similar "to Group Policy client-side extensions in that they provide an interface to read, set, change, or remove configuration values ​​for a given feature." Typically, these settings correspond to registry keys, files, or permissions. Some of these parameters are configurable and others are read-only. CSPs can be used in your deployment, just like Intune. The bottom line is that Windows 10 21H2 may or may not be the final version of Windows 10. The only thing we can be sure of is that there will be a 21H2 release later this year, around the same time Windows 11 comes out. 
    <p>Copyright © 2021 IDG Communications, Inc.</p>

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