Windows 11 and feature updates

Overview

This document is intended for the following audience:

  • Users with computers running Windows 10 who want to install the latest version of Windows 11.
  • Users with computers running Windows 11 who want to update to the latest feature release of Windows 11.
  • Users with computers running specific editions of Windows who need to perform feature updates while accommodating that edition.

This document is not intended for the following audience:

  • Users with computers running Windows 7, 8, or 8.1 who want to install Windows 11.

NOTE  Upgrade installations to Windows 11 are only possible from Windows 10.

  • Users who are looking to perform normal patching operations on Windows devices. Refer to Patch Management.
  • Users who are looking to keep the software on their devices up to date. Refer to Software Management.

Updating Windows 10 to Windows 11

Supplementary reading: Best practices for upgrading to Windows 11 using Datto RMM
The best practices guide covers how to identify devices running Windows 10 and check their compatibility for upgrading to Windows 11.

As no enablement package-style upgrade options exist for this use case, the recommended method of updating from Windows 10 to Windows 11 via Datto RMM is to use components.

Continue reading to find out which component best fits your requirements.

Updating Windows 11 using Patch Management

Supplementary reading: Patch Management

Datto RMM Patch Management can process Windows feature updates provided they come in a form known as an “enablement package."

EXAMPLE  Refer to this Microsoft article.

This form factor came about as a remedy to complaints over very large periodical updates overwhelming internal networks. Updates that previously would have been held back for a feature update are instead drip-fed into monthly update releases and held back behind a marker, which is instead enabled all together by a periodic enablement package-style release. This keeps network load down while not subjecting users to pre-release code.

As these updates are generally small in scope and handled in the same manner as any other update, Datto RMM is able to dispatch and install them without issue.

If a device is registering as having a feature update available and the text Enablement Package (or your localized equivalent) is present, Datto RMM should be able to handle it.

If you do not see the words Enablement Package in the update, or if attempting to update via enablement package has failed, or if you simply would prefer greater control over scheduling and downloading than what Patch Management can afford, please read the next section for information on performing the same task using a ComStore component.

Updating Windows 11 using ComStore components

Supplementary reading: Component Library, ComStore

Datto offers two ComStore components for Windows 11 updates:

These components offer similar functionality but perform the job in a different way, and which one you use depends heavily on your use case.

Expand the following sections to determine which component is more appropriate for you.

Both components permit Windows 10 and Windows 11 devices to update to a later release of Windows 11.

Component descriptions

How it works

This component uses the Windows 11 Installation Assistant, a tool provided by Microsoft, to automatically download and install the latest version of Windows 11 onto the device.

The component downloads the tool and launches it silently, informing it to download Windows 11. The tool then handles the entire process from preflight checks, to downloading, to installing Windows 11.

Reboot behavior

IMPORTANT  Due to the way the tool works, it is not possible to control when the device reboots when using this component. The Installation Assistant does not contain support for suppressing reboots via the command-line. This means that a device that has this component running on it, provided it can support Windows 11, will reboot the moment the system is ready to proceed with the update; administrators will not be able to stem this behavior. This is beyond the control of Datto RMM.

Supported Windows editions

This component supports only the following Windows editions:

  • Enterprise
  • Professional/Pro/Pro for Workstations (/N)
  • Home/Core

How it works

This component downloads, on a per-device level, a disc image (ISO) of Windows 11 from an external source. It then uses a command-line version of 7-Zip to extract the ISO locally onto the system and install from the setup.exe file.

The ISO file can come directly from Microsoft; alternatively, if you have a specific edition of Windows you need to distribute (for example, Education), you can upload it to internal file storage to make it available within your network.

The component’s usrImagePath variable is provided for administrators to supply a URI linking to a disc image in ISO format. This can either be an HTTP link or an internal link to an SMB share. Because the Windows 11 setup.exe file supports more advanced command-line flags than the Windows 11 Installation Assistant used by the previous component, automatic reboots can be suppressed with this component. This behavior can be configured using the usrReboot variable. Unfortunately, suppressing a reboot does not inform the end user that a reboot is necessary; for this, you may want to use the Display Branded Toast Notification/Reboot [WIN] component.

The URI given for the disc image can be on a file system local to the device running the component (for example, a USB flash drive). This allows users to effectively pre-download the installation ISO.

File access permissions

IMPORTANT  If you are making a disc image available via a network share, please ensure the file you upload is viewable by the LocalSystem account. This is the default context ComStore components run as on the endpoint, and if the endpoint is not able to see the file, the download will fail. Please also ensure that your file server is up to the task of serving multiple copies of a large file to several endpoints at the same time.

Supported Windows editions

As this component will work with whatever ISO you give it, no hard-coded restrictions exist on Windows edition as they do for the Upgrade or Update to Latest Feature Release [WIN] component.

If you need to distribute a specific edition (for example, Education), supply a Windows 11 Education ISO.

Component comparison

Features Upgrade or Update to Latest Feature Release Upgrade via ISO
Update Windows 10 to Windows 11
Update Windows 11 to later Windows 11
Non-English OS support
Suppress reboots
Pre-download ISO using local storage to save bandwidth
Always update to latest version
Need to supply own ISO
Support Windows Education

Support Windows Server