We’re pleased to share an update on N-able’s support for Windows 11 across its product suite. Microsoft is expected to start a gradual release of Windows 11 on October 5th and we have been working to ensure that the N-able products are in a position to support this latest OS version, including our Patch Management solution.  

It’s important to note that Microsoft has indicated that it will control the pace of the rollout and when the update will be offered to individual Windows 10 devices. They currently state that they expect all eligible devices to be offered the free upgrade to Windows 11 by mid-2022. See here for more details.  

Patch Management in N-central and RMM 

To ensure you as the MSP are in control of how Patch Management will make the upgrade available to devices, we are making the following provisions:  

• We have fully and successfully tested the Windows 10 to 11 upgrade in-house using the insider updates. 

• When Microsoft releases the new version on October 5th, we will begin testing the upgrade in-house with the latest production build. 

• We expect to release a Patch Management Engine (PME) update to add support once testing of the production build completes. This is expected to be later in October. 

Here are additional product and feature specific notes for you to be aware of:  

N-central 

N-central has been fully tested for Windows 11 support and we are pleased to report that current and previous N-central agents and monitoring is compatible with Windows 11. There is an update that we will be releasing in N-central 2021.2 so that the Operating System drop-down menu includes “Windows 11”, instead of defaulting to “Windows OS”. Please also note the feature specific comments below regarding Managed Antivirus and EDR.  

N-central’s Patch Management currently offers patches by the classification given by Microsoft. We expect Microsoft to release the production version of Windows 11 with the ‘Upgrades’ classification. If so, partners who auto-approve the Upgrades class need to be mindful of this and may wish to adjust their settings accordingly or leverage the keyword functionality to control the rollout. 

If on the other hand Microsoft releases a new class, Patch Management will automatically show the new class in the auto-approval rules and approval workflows, which are off by default. 

RMM 

RMM has fully tested its Monitoring Agent and we’re pleased to confirm that our tests show the current GA Agent (v10.11.8) is compatible with Windows 11. This includes monitoring, automation and associated services such as NetPath and Web Protection. Do however note the feature specific comments below regarding Bitdefender Managed Antivirus and EDR.  

RMM’s Patch Management currently offers patch rules based on severity. In order to avoid sudden or accidental auto-upgrades to Windows 11, we will offer Windows 11 as a manual patch, so that it is fully in the MSP’s control. It means that once the patch is discovered on a device, it will show as ‘ignored’ regardless of policy. As the MSP you are then able to manually approve the patch at the time of your choosing.  

We plan to add support for classification-based approval rules in RMM in the not-too-distant future, so that you will have additional options for upgrading endpoints to Windows 11.  

Bitdefender in N-central and RMM 

Bitdefender is working on adding support for Windows 11 to its product, which includes the integration with Bitdefender in N-central and Managed Antivirus in RMM. We recommend holding off on updating devices that use Bitdefender until they release their update. We’ll advise you in a follow-up post when that’s the case.  

UPDATED OCT 18TH: Bitdefender has announced support for Windows 11 in version 7.2.2.92

EDR in N-central and RMM 

SentinelOne is working on adding support for Windows 11 to its product and will release an update once it’s available. We recommend holding off on updating devices that use EDR, both standalone or integrated with N-central or RMM until SentinelOne releases their update. We’ll advise you in a follow-up post when that’s the case. 

UPDATED OCT 8TH: SentinelOne has confirmed support for Windows 11 is provided in Windows agents 21.5 and higher. The current version is v21.6. In addition, for partners who are still using an older version, Microsoft will block the Windows 11 install and report that the agent has to be upgraded first.

Backup 

Backup has fully tested its service against Windows 11 and is pleased to confirm that Windows 11 devices will continue to back up as expected. The team has identified some areas to update, such as accurate reporting of the Windows version, and will make a Windows 11 update available in October. 

Our tests also show that the integrated Backup feature in N-central and RMM will continue to back up the endpoints with the current settings. 

Take Control  

Take Control has fully tested its software against Windows 11 and is pleased to confirm the service and features are compatible.  

Passportal 

Passportal has fully tested its software against Windows 11 and is pleased to confirm the service and features are compatible.