Hey everyone, I'm looking to gather some feedback on Microsoft's HotPatch solution for Windows Servers, especially for versions from 2022 onward. Our organization is considering implementing it, but I want to do my research first because I'm a bit hesitant. On paper, HotPatch seems promising, but I've come across some sources suggesting it might be quite unstable at the moment and still in early access. Since all our infrastructure is set up on Azure using Virtual Machines mainly located in UK South, I want to know if it's reliable enough for critical systems like our Domain Controller, RD Gateways, and Connection Brokers—essential services that don't rely on third-party apps. What has been your experience with it?
4 Answers
I regret enabling it. We've switched back to traditional patching for our new servers since some of our tools just don't work well with HotPatch. It's been a hassle.
Yeah, we’ve been using it across all our servers, and it’s been working well. We activated it on our on-prem Windows Server 2025 and our Windows 11 devices a few months back without issues.
We’ve implemented HotPatch on our Hyper-V host cluster and it functions fine. It cuts down on downtime since we don't have to migrate VMs every month for patches. Just keep in mind that you still need to do a full reboot every three months, and there's a cost of $1.50 per CPU core each month.
On paper, HotPatch looks good, but I'd be careful using it for Tier 0 systems right now. It only covers a portion of updates and you still have to do a baseline reboot every few months, so it's not completely reboot-free. From what I’ve seen, others are starting with it on stateless or low-risk workloads rather than critical infrastructure like DCs because troubleshooting can get complicated. Treat it as a minor upgrade in availability, but don’t ditch your regular patching schedule just yet.
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