Updated on: 07 MAY 2020 VMware Tools | 07 MAY 2020 | Build 16036546 Check for additions and updates to these release notes. |
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What's in the Release Notes
The release notes cover the following topics:What's New
- VMware Tools 11.1.0 includes a new 'Service Discovery' plugin, which connects with the vRealize Operations Manager product. Refer to the following links for more information on this feature:
https://marketplace.vmware.com/vsx/solutions/vrealize-operations-service-discovery-management-pack?ref=search
https://www.vmware.com/products/vrealize-operations.html
The 'Service Discovery' plugin is installed and enabled by default in a Windows VM.
For information on open-vm-tools for Linux, refer to https://github.com/vmware/open-vm-tools/blob/master/README.md.
For more details on configuring this plugin, refer to Configuring Service Discovery. - In this release, a new tools.conf switch is added to enable and disable the guest customization in the guest virtual machine. By default, the guest customization is enabled. For more details, refer KB 78903.
- From this release onwards, VMware Tools will no longer be installable on Windows Vista SP2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2. For more details, refer to KB 75163 and the 'Before You Begin' section for guest operating system support.
- OSS updates:
- openssl, libpng and glib (in windows) versions are upgraded to 1.0.2u, 1.2.59, and 2.56.3 respectively.
- protobuf is upgraded to latest version v3.6.1.
- Pcre is upgraded to latest version 8.43.
- 7zip is upgraded to version 18.06.
Earlier Releases of VMware Tools
- For earlier releases of VMware Tools, see the VMware Tools Documentation page.
Before You Begin
- VMware Tools 11.1.0 supports the following guest operating systems:
windows.iso supports Windows 7 SP1 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.
- VMware Tools 11.1.0 depends on and ships Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019. While preparing the system for VMware Tools 11.1.0 installation, Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable for Visual Studio 2015, 2017 and 2019 is installed on the system as a prerequisite. Installing or upgrading to VMware Tools 11.1.0 is not supported for Windows versions that do not meet the prerequisites and customers should continue to use VMware Tools 10.2.x or older until they can patch or update Windows OS to meet the prerequisites for VMware Tools 11.1.0. Refer to Microsoft's update KB2977003 for latest supported Visual C++ downloads.
- Windows OS level prerequisites
- Windows Server 2019
- Windows Server 2016
- Windows 10
- Windows Server 2012 R2 with Microsoft update KB2919355
- Windows 8.1 with Microsoft update KB2919355
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows 8
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
- Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
darwin.iso
supports Mac OS X versions 10.11 and later.- For details on
linux.iso
, refer to VMware Tools 10.3.22 Release Notes. - For details on
solaris.iso
, refer to VMware Tools 10.3.10 Release Notes.
- VMware Tools ISO images are frozen for some end of life guest operating systems. Some ISO images are not included with ESXi in the tools-light VIB. For more details, see the VMware Tools Documentation page. All VMware Tools ISO images are available for download from http://my.vmware.com.
- VMware Tools for Windows: 32-bit and 64-bit installer executable (.exe) files are available for download. These files are provided for easier access and installation of VMware Tools in Windows guest operating systems.
Important note about upgrading to ESXi 6.5 or later
Resolution on incompatibility and general guidelines: While upgrading ESXi hosts to ESXi 6.5 or later, and using older versions of Horizon View Agent, refer to the knowledge base articles:
Internationalization
VMware Tools 11.1.0 is available in the following languages:
- English
- French
- German
- Spanish
- Italian
- Japanese
- Korean
- Simplified Chinese
- Traditional Chinese
Product Support Notice
- The Windows pre-Vista iso image for VMWare Tools is no longer packaged with ESXi. The Windows pre-Vista iso image is available for download by users who require it. For download information, see the Product Download page.
End of Feature Support Notice
- Balloon driver has been removed from MacOS VMware Tools 11.1.0.
- The tar tools (linux.iso) and OSPs shipped with VMware Tools 10.3.5 release will continue to be supported. However, releases after VMware Tools 10.3.5 will only include critical and security fixes and no new feature support in these types of VMware Tools (tar tools and OSP's). It is recommended that customers use open-vm-tools for those operating systems that support open-vm-tools. For more information on different types of VMware Tools, see https://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2016/02/understanding-the-three-types-of-vm-tools.html
Compatibility Notes
- Starting with VMware Tools version 10.2.0, Perl script-based VMware Tools installation for FreeBSD has been discontinued. FreeBSD systems are supported only through the open-vm-tools packages directly available from FreeBSD package repositories. FreeBSD packages for open-vm-tools 10.1.0 and later are available from FreeBSD package repositories.
Guest Operating System Customization Support
The Guest OS Customization Support Matrix provides details about the guest operating systems supported for customization.
Interoperability Matrix
The VMware Product Interoperability Matrix provides details about the compatibility of current and earlier versions of VMware Products.
Installation and Upgrades for this release
VMware Tools can be downloaded from the Product Download page.
The steps to install VMware Tools vary depending on your VMware product and the guest operating system you have installed. For general steps to install VMware Tools in most VMware products, see General VMware Tools installation instructions (1014294).To set up productLocker to point to the shared datastore, see KB 2004018.
For specific instructions to install, upgrade, and configure VMware Tools, see the VMware Tools Documentation page.
For specific instructions to install, upgrade, and configure VMware Tools, see the VMware Tools Documentation page.
Windows guest drivers installed by VMware Tools
VMware Tools 11.1.0 supports the following driver versions on a Windows Guest Operating System.
Drivers | VMware Tools 11.1.0 |
Hardware Drivers | |
vmci | 9.8.16.0 |
vsock | 9.8.16.0 |
pvscsi | 1.3.15.0 |
wddm | 8.16.07.0007 |
vmxnet3 | 1.8.16.0 |
vmxnet2 | 2.2.0.0 |
vmmouse | 12.5.10.0 |
vmusbmouse | 12.5.10.0 |
vmaudio | 5.10.0.3506 |
efifw | 1.0.0.0 |
Software Drivers | |
vmrawdsk.sys | 1.1.5.0 |
vmmemctl.sys | 7.5.5.0 |
vmhgfs.sys | 11.0.42.0 |
vsepflt.sys | 11.1.0.0 |
vnetWFP.sys | 11.1.0.0 |
glgxi.sys | 2.3.0.0 |
giappdef | 2.3.1.0 |
Security DLL | |
vmwsu.dll | 2.5.0.0 |
Resolved Issues
- PowerCLI Invoke-VMScript cmdtlet throws permission error with VMware Tools 10.3.10 and 11.0.x versions.PowerCLI client machine and the target Windows VM are in the same NT domain. Invoke-VMScript works fine, if the guest username and password are provided in the PowerCLI command.This issue is fixed in this release.
Known Issues
- After upgrading to a new version VMware Tools with installer parameter to remove the NetworkIntrospection feature, old version of vnetflt or vnetWFP driver service still runs.After the upgrade, the NetworkIntrospection feature is not present in the system's VMware Tools MSI database, but the feature's vnetflt or vnetWFP driver service still exists.Workaround:Refer to KB 78016.Note: Future tools upgrade from version 11.1.0 to a newer tools version will not have the issue.
- VMware Tools upgrade fails on Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 without SHA-2 code signing support.Microsoft has changed Windows driver signing to use SHA-2 algorithm exclusively starting December 3, 2019. Hence, legacy Windows systems without SHA-2 code signing support fails driver signature verification.Snippetslab 1 9 22. Workaround:Refer to KB 78708.
- VMware Tools 11.1.0 fails to install on a VM with VMware Horizon Agent 7.7 or earlier installed.VMware Tools installation setup fails with a popup message: 'Setup failed to install the SVGA driver automatically. This driver will have to be installed manually.'Workaround:To workaround this issue:
- Choose Custom Setup.
- Unselect the SVGA Driver
- Install VMware Tools.
Setup will complete successfully and retain the existing installed SVGA Driver. To reinstall the SVGA driver on a failed VMware Tools install, refer to KB1016770. - Upgrade of VMware Tools hangs in a Windows Server 2008 Virtual Machine.VMware Tools upgrade process hangs in a Windows Server 2008 VM. This happens because the 'vcredist' bundled in the tools installer gets stuck and does not return.Workaround:If you have Windows remote management interface to the VM in the guest network, then kill the process when it hangs, like 'c:vcredist_x86.exe' /quiet /noRestart -burn.unelevated BurnPipe.{32940ADA-3765-4E48-8624-3DB276BB8083} {D6A63D73-EE4C-4698-8D19-C926D5E854A4} 1088'.You can also opt to kill the child process manually.
- AppDefense driver glxgi logs an error in the event viewer.AppDefense driver glxgi logs an error in the event viewer similar to the following:'The glxgi service failed to start due to the following error: A device attached to the system is not functioning.'The events are observed when Guest Integrity is disabled.Workaround:These events do not impact the system and are safe to ignore.
- Event Viewer driver warnings generated by VMware Tools boot start drivers glxgi, pvscsi, vsepflt, and vsock. When you have a secure boot VM with Microsoft Hyper-V and virtualization-based security enabled with Device Guard and Code Integrity policy set to enforced, then drivers, glxgi, pvscsi, vsepflt, and vsock might generate the event log warnings similar to the following.Log Name: Microsoft-Windows-CodeIntegrity/Operational
Source: Microsoft-Windows-CodeIntegrityOperational Log:WarningsEvent ID: 3083
Level: WarningDescription:
Code Integrity determined kernel module system32DRIVERSvsock.sys that did not meet the WHQL requirements is loaded into the system.
Check with the publisher to see if a WHQL compliant kernel module is available.Workaround:These warnings are safe to ignore. The drivers load and operate in the normal manner. - Installing or upgrading versions earlier than VMware Tools 10.3.0 to VMware Tools 11.1.0 might take longer and Windows OS might need a restart.Installation process might appear to be in progress and displays a message similar to the following:
'Preparing 'VMware Tools' for installation..'During this process, the user might be prompted to restart the operating system.Workaround:For more information, see KB 55798. - Drag functionality fails to work in Ubuntu.Drag functionality fails to work in Ubuntu 16.04.4 32-bit virtual machine installed using easy install. Also, failure of copy and paste functionality is observed in the same system.Note: This issue is applicable for VMware Tools running on Workstation and Fusion.Workaround:
- Add the modprobe.blacklist=vmwgfx linux kernel boot option.
- To gain access to larger resolutions, remove svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware = 'TRUE' option from the VMX file.
- Shared Folders mount is unavailable on Linux VM.If the Shared Folders feature is enabled on a Linux VM while it is powered off, shared folders mount is not available on restart.Note: This issue is applicable for VMware Tools running on Workstation and Fusion.Workaround:If the VM is powered on, disable and enable the Shared Folders feature from the interface.
For resolving the issue permanently, edit /etc/fstab and add an entry to mount the Shared Folders automatically on boot.
For example, add the line:
vmhgfs-fuse /mnt/hgfs fuse defaults,allow_other 0 0
Provides you with up-to-date information about the latest Azure Guest OS releases for Cloud Services. This information helps you plan your upgrade path before a Guest OS is disabled. If you configure your roles to use automatic Guest OS updates as described in Azure Guest OS Update Settings, it is not vital that you read this page.
Important
This page applies to Cloud Services web and worker roles, which run on top of a Guest OS. It does not apply to IaaS Virtual Machines.
Tip
Subscribe to the Guest OS Update RSS Feed to receive the most timely notification on all Guest OS changes.
Important
Only the latest 2 versions of the Guest OS will be supported and available in the Azure portal.
Unsure about how to update your Guest OS? Check this out.
News updates
October 10, 2020
The September Guest OS has released.
September 5, 2020
The August Guest OS has released.
August 17, 2020
The July Guest OS has released.
August 10, 2020
The June Guest OS has released.
The Guest 2011
June 2, 2020
The May Guest OS has released.
May 4, 2020
The April Guest OS has released.
April 2, 2020
The March Guest OS has released.
March 5, 2020
The February Guest OS has released.
January 24, 2020
The January Guest OS has released.
January 8, 2020
The December Guest OS has released.
December 5, 2019
The November Guest OS has released.
November 1, 2019
The October Guest OS has released.
October 7, 2019
The September Guest OS has released.
September 4, 2019
The August Guest OS has released.
July 26, 2019
The July Guest OS has released.
July 8, 2019
The June Guest OS has released.
June 6, 2019
The May Guest OS has released.
May 7, 2019
The April Guest OS has released.
March 26, 2019
The March Guest OS has released.
March 12, 2019
The February Guest OS has released.
February 5, 2019
The January Guest OS has released.
January 24, 2019
Family 6 Guest OS (Windows Server 2019) has released.
January 7, 2019
The December Guest OS has released.
December 14, 2018
The November Guest OS has released.
November 8, 2018
The October Guest OS has released.
October 12, 2018
The September Guest OS has released.
Releases
Family 6 releases
Windows Server 2019
.NET Framework installed: 3.5, 4.7.2
Note
The Windows Azure SDK for .NET - 3.0 can be downloaded here.
![Guest Guest](https://comps.canstockphoto.com/soccer-match-scoreboard-guest-win-0-1-stock-illustrations_csp20494958.jpg)
Installation steps:
- Please uninstall any older versions of MicrosoftAzureAuthoringTools*.msi
- Install the Azure SDK for .NET - 3.0
- Restart your machine
- Create a new Cloud Service project and add a single Worker Role
- Change the OS Family to 6 and build a package
- Deploy the package to Azure using the Azure portal or Visual Studio
Guest OS Family 6 release enforces TLS 1.2 by explicitly disabling TLS 1.0 and 1.1 and defining a specific set of cipher suites. Learn more.
Configuration string | Release date | Disable date |
---|---|---|
WA-GUEST-OS-6.23_202009-01 | October 10, 2020 | Post 6.25 |
WA-GUEST-OS-6.22_202008-02 | September 5, 2020 | Post 6.24 |
August 17, 2020 | October 10, 2020 | |
August 10, 2020 | September 5, 2020 | |
June 2, 2020 | August 17, 2020 | |
May 4, 2020 | August 10, 2020 | |
April 2, 2020 | June 2, 2020 | |
March 5, 2020 | May 4, 2020 | |
January 24, 2020 | April 2, 2020 | |
January 8, 2020 | March 5, 2020 | |
December 5, 2019 | January 24, 2020 | |
November 1, 2019 | January 8, 2020 | |
October 7, 2019 | December 5, 2019 | |
August 4, 2019 | November 1, 2019 | |
July 26, 2019 | October 7, 2019 | |
July 8, 2019 | August 4, 2019 | |
June 6, 2019 | July 26, 2019 | |
May 7, 2019 | July 8, 2019 | |
March 26, 2019 | June 6, 2019 | |
March 12, 2019 | May 7, 2019 | |
February 5, 2019 | March 26, 2019 | |
January 24, 2019 | March 12, 2019 | |
January 24, 2019 | February 5, 2019 |
Family 5 releases
Windows Server 2016
.NET Framework installed: 3.5, 4.6.2
Note
The RDP password for OS family 5 must be a minimum of 10 characters.
Configuration string | Release date | Disable date |
---|---|---|
WA-GUEST-OS-5.47_202009-01 | October 10, 2020 | Post 5.49 |
WA-GUEST-OS-5.46_202008-02 | September 5, 2020 | Post 5.48 |
August 17, 2020 | October 10, 2020 | |
August 10, 2020 | September 5, 2020 | |
June 2, 2020 | August 17, 2020 | |
May 4, 2020 | August 10, 2020 | |
April 2, 2020 | June 2, 2020 | |
March 5, 2020 | May 4, 2020 | |
January 24, 2020 | April 2, 2020 | |
January 8, 2020 | March 5, 2020 | |
December 5, 2019 | January 24, 2020 | |
November 1, 2019 | January 8, 2020 | |
October 7, 2019 | December 5, 2019 | |
August 4, 2019 | November 1, 2019 | |
July 26, 2019 | October 7, 2019 | |
July 8, 2019 | August 4, 2019 | |
June 6, 2019 | July 26, 2019 | |
May 7, 2019 | July 8, 2019 | |
March 26, 2019 | June 6, 2019 | |
March 12, 2019 | May 7, 2019 | |
February 5, 2019 | March 26, 2019 | |
January 7, 2019 | March 12, 2019 | |
December 14, 2018 | February 5, 2019 | |
November 8, 2018 | January 7, 2019 | |
October 12, 2018 | December 14, 2018 |
Family 4 releases
Windows Server 2012 R2
.NET Framework installed: 3.5, 4.5.1, 4.5.2
Configuration string | Release date | Disable date |
---|---|---|
WA-GUEST-OS-4.82_202009-01 | October 10, 2020 | Post 4.84 |
WA-GUEST-OS-4.81_202008-02 | September 5, 2020 | Post 4.83 |
August 17, 2020 | October 10, 2020 | |
August 10, 2020 | September 5, 2020 | |
June 2, 2020 | August 17, 2020 | |
May 4, 2020 | August 10, 2020 | |
April 2, 2020 | June 2, 2020 | |
March 5, 2020 | May 4, 2020 | |
January 24, 2020 | April 2, 2020 | |
January 8, 2020 | March 5, 2020 | |
December 5, 2019 | January 24, 2020 | |
November 1, 2019 | January 8, 2020 | |
October 7, 2019 | December 5, 2019 | |
August 4, 2019 | November 1, 2019 | |
July 26, 2019 | October 7, 2019 | |
July 8, 2019 | August 4, 2019 | |
June 6, 2019 | July 26, 2019 | |
May 7, 2019 | July 8, 2019 | |
March 26, 2019 | June 6, 2019 | |
March 12, 2019 | May 7, 2019 | |
February 5, 2019 | March 26, 2019 | |
January 7, 2019 | March 12, 2019 | |
December 14, 2018 | February 5, 2019 | |
November 8, 2018 | January 7, 2019 | |
October 12, 2018 | December 14, 2018 |
Family 3 releases
Windows Server 2012
.NET Framework installed: 3.5, 4.5
Configuration string | Release date | Disable date |
---|---|---|
WA-GUEST-OS-3.89_202009-01 | October 10, 2020 | Post 3.91 |
WA-GUEST-OS-3.88_202008-02 | September 5, 2020 | Post 3.90 |
August 17, 2020 | October 10, 2020 | |
August 10, 2020 | September 5, 2020 | |
June 2, 2020 | August 17, 2020 | |
May 4, 2020 | August 10, 2020 | |
April 2, 2020 | June 2, 2020 | |
March 5, 2020 | May 4, 2020 | |
January 24, 2020 | April 2, 2020 | |
January 8, 2020 | March 5, 2020 | |
December 5, 2019 | January 24, 2020 | |
November 1, 2019 | January 8, 2020 | |
October 7, 2019 | December 5, 2019 | |
August 4, 2019 | November 1, 2019 | |
July 26, 2019 | October 7, 2019 | |
July 8, 2019 | August 4, 2019 | |
June 6, 2019 | July 26, 2019 | |
May 7, 2019 | July 8, 2019 | |
March 26, 2019 | June 6, 2019 | |
March 12, 2019 | May 7, 2019 | |
February 5, 2019 | March 26, 2019 | |
January 7, 2019 | March 12, 2019 | |
December 14, 2018 | February 5, 2019 | |
November 8, 2018 | January 7, 2019 | |
October 12, 2018 | December 14, 2018 |
Family 2 releases
Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1
.NET Framework installed: 3.5 (includes 2.0 and 3.0), 4.5
Configuration string | Release date | Disable date |
---|---|---|
WA-GUEST-OS-2.102_202009-01 | October 10, 2020 | Post 2.104 |
WA-GUEST-OS-2.101_202008-02 | September 5, 2020 | Post 2.103 |
August 17, 2020 | October 10, 2020 | |
August 10, 2020 | September 5, 2020 | |
June 2, 2020 | August 17, 2020 | |
May 4, 2020 | August 10, 2020 | |
April 2, 2020 | June 2, 2020 | |
March 5, 2020 | May 4, 2020 | |
January 24, 2020 | April 2, 2020 | |
January 8, 2020 | March 5, 2020 | |
December 5, 2019 | January 24, 2020 | |
November 1, 2019 | January 8, 2020 | |
October 7, 2019 | December 5, 2019 | |
August 4, 2019 | November 1, 2019 | |
July 26, 2019 | October 7, 2019 | |
July 8, 2019 | August 4, 2019 | |
June 6, 2019 | July 26, 2019 | |
May 7, 2019 | July 8, 2019 | |
March 26, 2019 | June 6, 2019 | |
March 12, 2019 | May 7, 2019 | |
February 5, 2019 | March 26, 2019 | |
January 7, 2019 | March 12, 2019 | |
December 14, 2018 | February 5, 2019 | |
November 8, 2018 | January 7, 2019 | |
October 12, 2018 | December 14, 2018 |
MSRC patch updates
The list of patches that are included with each monthly Guest OS release is available here.
SDK support
![The The](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/da62693b0357dcd60ad7a9d2eb35ef2e8d2c45d8/c=0-132-3813-2277/local/-/media/2017/06/09/GreatFalls/B9328001096Z.1_20170609202424_000_GFPILF4N7.1-0.jpg)
Even though the retirement policy for the Azure SDK indicates that only versions above 2.2 are supported, specific Guest OS families allow you to use earlier versions. You should always use the latest supported SDK.
Guest OS family | Compatible SDK versions |
---|---|
6 | Version 2.9.6+ |
5 | Version 2.9.5.1+ |
4 | Version 2.1+ |
3 | Version 1.8+ |
2 | Version 1.3+ |
1 | Version 1.0+ |
Guest OS release information
There are three dates that are important to Guest OS releases: release date, disabled date, and expiration date. A Guest OS is considered available when it is in the Portal and can be selected as the target Guest OS. When a Guest OS reaches the disabled date, it is removed from Azure. However, any Cloud Service targeting that Guest OS will still operate as normal.
The window between the disabled date and the expiration date provides you with a buffer to easily transition from one Guest OS to one newer. If you're using automatic as your Guest OS, you'll always be on the latest version and you don't have to worry about it expiring.
When the expiration date passes, any Cloud Service still using that Guest OS will be stopped, deleted, or forced to upgrade. You can read more about the retirement policy here.
Guest OS family-version explanation
The Guest OS families are based on released versions of Microsoft Windows Server. The Guest OS is the underlying operating system that Azure Cloud Services runs on. Each Guest OS has a family, version, and release number.
The Guest 2018
- Guest OS family
A Windows Server operating system release that a Guest OS is based on. For example, family 3 is based on Windows Server 2012. - Guest OS version
Specific to a Guest OS family image plus relevant Microsoft Security Response Center (MSRC) patches that are available at the date the new Guest OS version is produced. Not all patches may be included.Numbers start at 0 and increment by 1 each time a new set of updates is added. Trailing zeros are only shown if important. That is, version 2.10 is a different, much later version than version 2.1. - Guest OS release
A rerelease of a Guest OS version. A rerelease occurs if Microsoft finds issues during testing; requiring changes. The latest release always supersedes any previous releases, public or not. The Azure portal will only allow users to pick the latest release for a given version. Deployments running on a previous release are usually not force upgraded depending on the severity of the bug.
In the example below, 2 is the family, 12 is the version and 'rel2' is the release.
Guest OS release - 2.12 rel2
Configuration string for this release - WA-GUEST-OS-2.12_201208-02
The configuration string for a Guest OS has this same information embedded in it, along with a date showing which MSRC patches were considered for that release. In this example, MSRC patches produced for Windows Server 2008 R2 up to and including August 2012 were considered for inclusion. Only patches specifically applying to that version of Windows Server are included. For example, if an MSRC patch applies to Microsoft Office, it will not be included because that product is not part of the Windows Server base image.
Guest OS system update process
This page includes information on upcoming Guest OS Releases. Customers have indicated that they want to know when a release occurs because their cloud service roles will reboot if they are set to 'Automatic' update. Guest OS releases typically occur 2-3 weeks after the MSRC update release that occurs on the second Tuesday of every month. New releases include all the relevant MSRC patches for each Guest OS family.
Microsoft Azure is constantly releasing updates. The Guest OS is only one such update in the pipeline. A release can be affected by many factors too numerous to list here. In addition, Azure runs on literally hundreds of thousands of machines. This means that it's impossible to give an exact date and time when your role(s) will reboot. We are working on a plan to limit or time reboots.
When a new release of the Guest OS is published, it can take time to fully propagate across Azure. As services are updated to the new Guest OS, they are rebooted honoring update domains. Services set to use 'Automatic' updates will get a release first. After the update, you’ll see the new Guest OS version listed for your service in the Azure portal. Rereleases may occur during this period. Some versions may be deployed over longer periods of time and automatic upgrade reboots may not occur for many weeks after the official release date. Once a Guest OS is available, you can then explicitly choose that version from the portal or in your configuration file.
Guests' Or Guest's
For a great deal of valuable information on restarts and pointers to more information technical details of Guest and Host OS updates, see the MSDN blog post titled Role Instance Restarts Due to OS Upgrades.
If you manually update your Guest OS, see the Guest OS retirement policy for additional information.
The Last Guest 5
Guest OS supportability and retirement policy
The Guest 1 00
The Guest OS supportability and retirement policy is explained here.