Runs only as a VM and is optimised for Azure, adding Hotpatch, SMB over QUIC and Extended Network. For the Azure appliance, the Extended Network wizard lists this edition alone.
Also called Azure Edition.
Read more: Microsoft Learn
In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Agents (classic) API
First-generation Foundry Agent Service API, based on threads, messages and runs. It is deprecated, replaced by conversations and responses, and retires on 31 March 2027.
- Hotpatch
Lets security fixes go on with no reboot, apart from in the quarterly baseline months. Windows Server 2025 Standard and Datacenter can get it via Azure Arc.
- SMB over QUIC
Carries SMB inside QUIC, using UDP port 443 and TLS 1.3, so people can reach file shares safely with no VPN. Every edition of Windows Server 2025 includes it, as does Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition.
Related terms
- Azure Extended-Network Gateway
The appliance VM placed in Azure for Azure Extended Network. Its OS must be Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition, and it needs two NICs: one on the extended subnet, one on a routable subnet.
See Windows Server 2022 Datacenter: Azure Edition in the full glossary