Microsoft has unveiled a sophisticated update orchestration platform, designed to enhance the existing Windows Update infrastructure. This innovative system aims to streamline the updating process for applications, drivers, and system components across Windows environments, creating a cohesive experience for users and developers alike.
Developers and IT product teams eager to leverage this new platform can easily onboard their updates through Windows Runtime (WinRT) APIs or PowerShell commands. To participate in the private preview, interested parties should reach out to unifiedorchestrator@service.microsoft.com.
Upon registration as an update provider, the orchestrator will utilize an update scan tool provided during the onboarding process. This tool regularly scans for pending updates, queuing downloads and installations at optimal times to mitigate CPU and bandwidth surges. The orchestrator takes into account user activity, power status, and network conditions to ensure a seamless updating experience.
In this new model, the platform will also manage restart requirements, notification deadlines, and the rescheduling of any failed operations. This eliminates the need for developers to create custom scheduling or logging solutions, thereby simplifying the update process significantly.
Microsoft articulated the vision behind this initiative, stating, “Updates across the Windows ecosystem can feel like a fragmented experience. To solve this, we’re building a vision for a unified, intelligent update orchestration platform capable of supporting any update (apps, drivers, etc.) to be orchestrated alongside Windows updates.”
Currently in private preview
The update orchestration platform is currently in private preview, catering to developers and those involved in creating apps or management tools for updates. It accommodates applications packaged as MSIX, APPX, or traditional Win32 installers.
Onboarding to this platform presents several advantages, including a consistent notification experience via native Windows Update dialogs and a centralized app update history accessible within the Settings app, alongside official Windows updates. Microsoft emphasized that “the orchestrator will coordinate across all onboarded products that are updated on Windows 11, in addition to Windows Update, to provide IT admins and users with a consistent management plane and experience, respectively.”
This initiative complements Microsoft’s existing Winget Windows package manager and the Microsoft Store, as well as third-party package managers like Chocolatey and Scoop, which serve as additional tools for installing, managing, and updating applications on Windows systems.
