Rahul Somvanshi
Microsoft is rolling out Windows Server 2025 hotpatching as a paid subscription service starting July 1, 2025. For $1.50 per CPU core per month, IT administrators can install most security updates without the dreaded system reboot.
This shift marks a notable change in how Microsoft monetizes what many IT professionals consider essential functionality.
What Is Hotpatching?
Hotpatching modifies in-memory code of running processes, allowing security updates without disrupting server operations. While the technology reduces reboots, it doesn’t eliminate them entirely.
“With hotpatching, you will still need to restart your Windows Servers about four times yearly for baseline updates, but hotpatching can save significant time and ease the inconvenience of a traditional Patch Tuesday,” Microsoft stated in its announcement.
The service follows a three-month cycle:
- One “baseline month” requiring a reboot (January, April, July, October)
- Two months of rebootless hotpatches
This schedule aims to deliver approximately eight hotpatches yearly, cutting mandatory reboots from potentially twelve to about four.
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The Fine Print
The subscription requirements include:
- Windows Server 2025 Standard or Datacenter edition
- Connection to Microsoft’s Azure Arc management tool
- $1.50 USD per CPU core monthly fee
For a 16-core server, that’s $288 annually. Organizations with hundreds or thousands of server cores face potentially substantial recurring costs.
Windows Server Datacenter: Azure Edition users will continue receiving hotpatching at no additional cost.
Industry Reaction
The announcement has sparked mixed reactions among IT professionals. Many appreciate reduced downtime, while others question the growing subscription costs for server management.
Microsoft’s Xbox team has already implemented hotpatching, reportedly “reducing processes that used to take weeks down to just a couple of days.”
Microsoft claims the feature “can decrease the ‘window of vulnerability'” that occurs when administrators delay updates to avoid disruptive reboots.
Automatic Enrollment Coming
Current preview participants will be automatically enrolled in the paid subscription on July 1, 2025, unless they opt out before June 30, 2025.
General manager of Windows Server Hari Pulapaka previously called hotpatching “a game changer; simpler change control, shorter patch windows, easier orchestration,” adding, “You may finally get to see your family on the weekends.”
Business Strategy Context
This move fits Microsoft’s broader trend toward subscription-based services and cloud-connected infrastructure management. By linking hotpatching to Azure Arc, Microsoft extends its cloud management reach into on-premises environments.
The company will continue providing traditional security updates requiring reboots at no extra cost, positioning hotpatching as a premium option for organizations where downtime carries significant operational impact.
As organizations weigh the $1.50/core/month fee against their operational needs, the decision ultimately depends on how they value reduced server downtime against increasing IT subscription costs.
