News

Microsoft Releases System Center 2019

System Center 2019, the latest version of Microsoft's management software suite, is now generally available.

As of Thursday, customers with a "valid license" can download the product from the Volume Licensing Service Center, while evaluation copies of the software, good for 180 days, are available at the Microsoft Evaluation Center download page (with sign-up).

Much of Microsoft's documentation is already appearing for the System Center 2019 components. At press time, there were "What's New" documents available for Operations Manager, Orchestrator, Service Manager, Service Management Automation, Service Provider Foundation and Virtual Machine Manager.

Some specific questions about System Center 2019 Operations Manager, including upgrade paths and operating system support, are answered in this blog post by Kevin Holman, a principal Premier Field Engineer with Microsoft Services.

Microsoft is still offering Operations Manager for its customers with the System Center 2019 product. However, Microsoft internally switched to using Azure Monitor to monitor the operations of its applications, and it no longer uses Operations Manager for the purpose. The company talked about that switch earlier this week.

The general availability of System Center 2019 is perhaps most noteworthy for dispensing with the semiannual channel (SAC) update model for most of the System Center 2019 components.

"Semiannual" means that there are two feature updates that arrive per year, adding new capabilities to the System Center components. However, with System Center 2019, instead of having SAC releases, which were supported for just 18 months, Microsoft plans to release new features every six months as so-called "Update Rollups." These Update Rollups won't have the 18-month end-of-support deadline attached to them, giving organizations a longer leeway when it comes to having to install product updates.

The only exception to dropping the SAC model in System Center 2019 is the Configuration Manager component. It continues to follow the SAC update model to track with Windows 10 update cycles. The Configuration Manager component is somewhat of an oddball in the group of components as it typically gets updates three times per year.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

Featured

  • Hands-On AI Skills Now Outshine Certs in Salary Stakes

    For AI-related roles, employers are prioritizing verifiable, hands-on abilities over framed certificates -- and they're paying a premium for it.

  • Roadblocks in Enterprise AI: Data and Skills Shortfalls Could Cost Millions

    Businesses risk losing up to $87 million a year if they fail to catch up with AI innovation, according to the Couchbase FY 2026 CIO AI Survey released this month.

  • Microsoft Cuts Windows 11 Recovery Time with New Update

    Microsoft has introduced two key enhancements to Windows 11 aimed at minimizing downtime and streamlining error resolution.

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.