Action required for Windows Server 2022 Marketplace image deprecation with Entra Connect (.NET 6)

Question

Action required for Windows Server 2022 Marketplace image deprecation with Entra Connect (.NET 6)

Yu-Jeong Seo 335

Hello,

I am currently running two Windows Server 2022 Datacenter Azure Edition VMs in Azure, which were deployed back in May 2024. These servers are dedicated to running Microsoft Entra Connect.

When running the dotnet --info command on these VMs, I confirmed that .NET Runtime version 6.0.29 is pre-installed. Based on the recent Azure Service Health notification regarding the deprecation of Windows Server 2022 images pre-installed with .NET 6, I would like to clarify what specific actions are required for my environment.

Since Microsoft Entra Connect relies on the .NET Framework (4.x) and the deprecation notice specifically targets .NET 6 (.NET Core family), can I simply uninstall the .NET 6 runtime from the OS to remain compliant and avoid any disruptions? Or is a full VM migration to the new Marketplace offer/SKU strictly necessary for standalone VMs?

Any technical guidance or official confirmation would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Himanshu Shekhar 6,420 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-02T06:54:38.5066667+00:00

The Azure Service Health notification is related to Windows Server 2022 Marketplace images that had .NET 6 pre-installed, and not specifically to your running workload.

.NET 6 has reached end of support, and newer Marketplace images no longer include .NET 6

As part of this, older Marketplace images are being deprecated, regardless of whether .NET 6 is actively used or not -https://thewindowsupdate.com/2024/10/07/breaking-change-for-window-server-2022-image-users-with-net-6/

After June 9th 2026:No new version of the images that include OS and .NET 6 security patches will be provided.

After Feb 9th 2027: New deployments, scale-out operations, and reimage operations will no longer be supported using these images.
Yu-Jeong Seo 335 Reputation points

2026-06-02T07:03:04.7366667+00:00

@Himanshu Shekhar
Thank you for your helpful response.

After reviewing the documentation link you provided, I noted that environments with no active dependencies on .NET 6 are not impacted by this change. As mentioned in my initial query, these specific servers are dedicated entirely to running Microsoft Entra Connect.

Based on this, my understanding is that our current setup is safe from operational disruptions. To confirm, does this mean we do not need to perform a runtime upgrade from .NET 6 to .NET 8, nor do we need to redeploy or recreate these VMs using the new Marketplace images?

I would appreciate your final confirmation on whether we can leave these standalone VMs running as-is without any further action.

Thank you.
Himanshu Shekhar 6,420 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-02T07:58:23.4833333+00:00
Microsoft Entra Connect does not depend on .NET 6 and it relies on .NET Framework (4.x) instead -https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/hybrid/connect/how-to-connect-install-prerequisites

The deprecation notice is related to the OS image and preinstalled .NET 6 runtime, not the Entra Connect workload itself

So from an application dependency perspective, your setup is not directly impacted.

As a short-term (no immediate action required for runtime stability)

You can continue running the existing VMs

Optionally, you may remove .NET 6 from the OS to align with compliance guidance

This approach is acceptable for:

Standalone VMs

Workloads like Entra Connect with no dependency on .NET 6

Even though the workload is not impacted:

The underlying image is still deprecated

It will:

Stop receiving image updates

Eventually reach enforcement (future operations like reimage/scale-out can be restricted)

Therefore, Microsoft recommendation is still to migrate to a supported image (e.g., windowsserver2022 or 1P gallery)

1 answer

Your answer

Himanshu Shekhar 6,420 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-02T06:54:38.5066667+00:00

The Azure Service Health notification is related to Windows Server 2022 Marketplace images that had .NET 6 pre-installed, and not specifically to your running workload.

.NET 6 has reached end of support, and newer Marketplace images no longer include .NET 6

As part of this, older Marketplace images are being deprecated, regardless of whether .NET 6 is actively used or not -https://thewindowsupdate.com/2024/10/07/breaking-change-for-window-server-2022-image-users-with-net-6/

After June 9th 2026:No new version of the images that include OS and .NET 6 security patches will be provided.

After Feb 9th 2027: New deployments, scale-out operations, and reimage operations will no longer be supported using these images.
Yu-Jeong Seo 335 Reputation points

2026-06-02T07:03:04.7366667+00:00

@Himanshu Shekhar
Thank you for your helpful response.

After reviewing the documentation link you provided, I noted that environments with no active dependencies on .NET 6 are not impacted by this change. As mentioned in my initial query, these specific servers are dedicated entirely to running Microsoft Entra Connect.

Based on this, my understanding is that our current setup is safe from operational disruptions. To confirm, does this mean we do not need to perform a runtime upgrade from .NET 6 to .NET 8, nor do we need to redeploy or recreate these VMs using the new Marketplace images?

I would appreciate your final confirmation on whether we can leave these standalone VMs running as-is without any further action.

Thank you.
Himanshu Shekhar 6,420 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-06-02T07:58:23.4833333+00:00

Microsoft Entra Connect does not depend on .NET 6 and it relies on .NET Framework (4.x) instead -https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/hybrid/connect/how-to-connect-install-prerequisites

The deprecation notice is related to the OS image and preinstalled .NET 6 runtime, not the Entra Connect workload itself

So from an application dependency perspective, your setup is not directly impacted.

As a short-term (no immediate action required for runtime stability)

You can continue running the existing VMs

Optionally, you may remove .NET 6 from the OS to align with compliance guidance

This approach is acceptable for:

Standalone VMs

Workloads like Entra Connect with no dependency on .NET 6

Even though the workload is not impacted:

The underlying image is still deprecated

It will:

Stop receiving image updates

Eventually reach enforcement (future operations like reimage/scale-out can be restricted)

Therefore, Microsoft recommendation is still to migrate to a supported image (e.g., windowsserver2022 or 1P gallery)

Answer 1

For Windows Server 2022 Azure Marketplace images, the change is about image contents and support for the preinstalled .NET 6 runtime, not about the OS itself or Microsoft Entra Connect specifically.

From the Windows Server image notices:

.NET 6 reaches end of support on November 12, 2024.
Azure Marketplace Windows Server 2022 images currently include .NET 6, but future images will not include any .NET runtime (.NET 8 and later are not preinstalled).
Microsoft will continue to provide security updates for the .NET 6 runtime included in these images until May 13, 2025.
.NET 6 will be removed from Marketplace media on June 10, 2025.

Key implications for the described Entra Connect VMs:

The deprecation notice is about the preinstalled .NET 6 runtime on the image, not about Windows Server 2022 itself.
Microsoft Entra Connect uses .NET Framework 4.x, which is separate from .NET 6.
The guidance in the notices is that customers must handle .NET runtime deployment themselves going forward and should upgrade applications to .NET 8 if they depend on .NET 6.

Based on the provided information:

A full VM migration to a new Marketplace offer/SKU is not stated as required for existing VMs.
Existing VMs that were created from images with .NET 6 will continue to run; the change is that the Marketplace images will no longer ship with .NET 6, and the preinstalled .NET 6 will only receive security updates until May 13, 2025.
If no workloads on the VM depend on .NET 6 (and Entra Connect does not, as it uses .NET Framework 4.x), uninstalling the .NET 6 runtime is technically possible from an application-compatibility perspective, but the notices do not require uninstalling .NET 6 to be “compliant.” The requirement is to not rely on the image-shipped .NET 6 for ongoing support and to plan an upgrade path (.NET 8 or later) for any .NET 6–based apps.

Practical guidance for this scenario, based on the notices:

Inventory .NET 6 usage on the Entra Connect VMs. If no custom tools or agents use .NET 6, Entra Connect itself is not affected.
Plan for .NET 6 end of support on these VMs by May 13, 2025:
- If any workload uses .NET 6, plan to upgrade it to .NET 8 using tools such as the .NET Upgrade Assistant.
- For CI/CD scenarios, handle .NET runtime deployment explicitly (for example, via scripts or pipelines) as described in Build, test, and deploy .NET Core apps - Azure Pipelines.
VM migration to a new image is optional, not mandated by the notice, as long as the support and security posture of any .NET 6–based workloads is addressed.

In summary: for standalone Entra Connect VMs that only rely on .NET Framework 4.x, the required action is to ensure that no critical workloads depend on the preinstalled .NET 6 runtime beyond its support window. Uninstalling .NET 6 is not required by the Marketplace image deprecation, and a full VM migration is not strictly required for compliance according to the provided notices.

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Action required for Windows Server 2022 Marketplace image deprecation with Entra Connect (.NET 6)

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