Upgrade Azure Local version 22H2 to Azure Local version 23H2

Note: 22H2 is officially end of life as of May 31, 2025.

Upgrades from 22H2 to 23H2 are a paid service from Dell and are not covered by a support contract. Microsoft is offering limited assistance with upgrade-related issues for cases opened directly with them through the Azure Portal.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/upgrade/about-upgrades-23h2 

Prerequisites

1.    This article assumes that the existing cluster is running Azure Local version 22H2 and is registered with Azure.
2.    Ensure that all the nodes in the cluster are healthy and show as online.
3.    Backup the Network Configuration, if Network ATC is not in use.
4.    The Cluster-Aware Updating (CAU) role should be installed and enabled on the cluster.
5.    All cluster nodes must have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) installed.

Create an Active Directory user and add the user to the local Administrators group on all cluster nodes. For more information, see Prepare Active Directory for new Azure Stack HCI, version 23H2 deployment - Azure Stack HCI | Microsoft Learn.

Steps to upgrade Azure Local version 22H2 to version 23H2

NOTE:  Azure Local version 22H2 will reach end of support on May 31, 2025. After this date, you will not receive monthly security and quality updates from Microsoft. Microsoft recommends that customers upgrade their operating system (OS) to version 23H2 to continue receiving updates.

Upgrading Azure Local from version 22H2 to 23H2 involves multiple steps.

1.    There are three ways to upgrade the operating system from 22H2 to 23H2:

•    PowerShell (Microsoft recommended)
•    Windows Admin Center (WAC)
•    Manual methods

2.    Perform post-OS upgrade steps.
3.    Install and configure Network ATC.
4.    Validate solution upgrade readiness and apply the solution upgrade.

NOTE:  Stretched Cluster OS upgrade from 22H2 to 23H2 is now supported by Microsoft.  Please see the Microsoft article for more details. 

Upgrade stretched clusters from Azure Stack HCI OS, version 22H2 to 23H2 - Azure Local | Microsoft Learn 

Methods of OS Upgrade

NOTE: The PowerShell and WAC methods of OS upgrade should be performed during a planned maintenance window.

1.    PowerShell (Recommended by Microsoft):
       https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/upgrade/upgrade-22h2-to-23h2-powershell 

2.    Windows Admin Center:
       https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/upgrade/upgrade-22h2-to-23h2-windows-admin-center  

3.    Manual methods:
       https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/upgrade/upgrade-22h2-to-23h2-other-methods  

Ensure that the OS upgrade is completed successfully using any of the above suggested methods. 

To perform the post-upgrade steps, see https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/upgrade/post-upgrade-steps.

Solution Upgrade

Install and Enable Network ATC.

If Network ATC is already enabled on the cluster, skip this step. If Network ATC is not enabled, it must be set up after the OS upgrade from version 22H2 to version 23H2.

See this link for the detailed procedure:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/upgrade/install-enable-network-atc 

Solution Upgrade readiness

After the operating system (OS) is upgraded from version 22H2 to version 23H2, the upgrade readiness of the cluster should be validated. Steps for doing so can be found here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/upgrade/validate-solution-upgrade-readiness 

Apply the Solution Upgrade.

After the successful completion of prechecks and validation of solution upgrade readiness, proceed with the solution upgrade steps given here:
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/upgrade/install-solution-upgrade 

Known Issues and workarounds

1.    Network ATC intent shows PhysicalAdapterNotFound after the OS upgrade to version 23H2:

 https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure-stack/hci/upgrade/troubleshoot-upgrade-to-azure-stack-hci-23h2#network-atc-intent-health-state  

2.    Virtual machine (VM) live migrations fail during an OS upgrade:  

AzureLocal-Supportability/TSG/Upgrade/Known%2Dissue-%2D-Live-migrations-may-fail-when-upgrading-OS-from-22H2-to-23H2.md at main · Azure/AzureLocal-Supportability · GitHub

  Note: It is recommended to perform any upgrade activity during a maintenance window.

3.    Intel X710 NIC driver reverts to the inbox version configuration after the 22H2 to 23H2 base OS upgrade. 

        The following command shows the driver version used by the Intel X710 NIC:

Get-NetAdapter -InterfaceDescription *X710* | Format-List Name, DriverInformation

 Workaround:

Suspend-ClusterNode -Name <NodeName> -drain

Suspend-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:" -RebootCount 0

Get-NetAdapter -InterfaceDescription *X710* | Format-List Name, DriverInformation

Resume-ClusterNode -Name <NodeName> -Failback

Resume-BitLocker -MountPoint "C:"

4.    Cluster validation fails after the OS upgrade to version 23H2, as the Remote NDIS adapter shows as #2.

Workaround:

Exclude multiple network adapters with the description Remote NDIS Compatible Device from cluster validation (and failover cluster usage): 

$regPath = "HKLM:\system\currentcontrolset\services\clussvc\parameters"
$propertyName = "ExcludeAdaptersByDescription"
$propertyValue = "Remote NDIS Compatible Device,Remote NDIS Compatible Device #2"
New-ItemProperty -Path $regPath -Name $propertyName -Value $propertyValue -PropertyType String -Force

5.   Azure Stack registration status shows Out of Policy after the base OS upgrade from 22H2 to 23H2 on cluster nodes.

           Workaround:

           The following procedure is provided by Microsoft to repair the Azure Local registration connection. It involves temporarily evicting each node from the cluster and bringing the node back in.  

              a.   Run the following on one of the cluster nodes:

$Subscription = "Enter the Subscription ID"
$Tenant = "Enter the Tenant ID"
$Region = "Region_name"

Register-AzureStackHCI -RepairRegistration - SubscriptionId $Subscription - TenantId $Tenant -Region $Region

       
              b. Start with the first node and repeat on each node. Update $NodeName for each node. Drain roles from the node to ensure safe removal and verify all the roles have been moved off the node. 

@NodeName = "name of the node"
Suspend-ClusterNode -Name @NodeName -Drain
Get-ClusterGroup

                Evict the node from the cluster.

Remove-ClusterNode -Name $NodeName -Force

               Reboot the node and then wait 10 minutes for the repair to complete.

Restart-Computer -ComputerName $NodeName -Force

             Wait 10 minutes after the node has rebooted into the OS.
             
             Check the status and verify that the repair was successful by looking for the "Enclave repair complete" event.
 

Get-WinEvent "Microsoft-AzureStack-Hci/Debug" -OldestGet-WinEvent "Microsoft-AzureStack-Hci/Debug" -Oldest | ? {$_.Message -match "Enclave"} 
Get-WinEvent "Microsoft-AzureStack-Hci/Debug" -Oldest | ? {$_.Message -match "Enclave repair complete."}

   
              c. After repair, re-add the node to the cluster and resume the node. 

Add-ClusterNode -Name $NodeName
Resume-ClusterNode -Name $NodeName

             d. Repeat the above steps for the remaining nodes.
             e. Run the following again on one of the cluster nodes and check the Azure Local registration status again. 

$Subscription = "Enter the Subscription ID"
$Tenant = "Enter the Tenant ID"
$Region = "Region_name"
Register-AzStackHCI -RepairRegistration -SubscriptionId $Subscription -TenantId $Tenant -Region $Region
Get-AzureStackHCI | Format-List RegistrationStatus, ConnectionStatus, LastConnected, NextSync

      Reference:  Troubleshoot Azure Stack HCI registration issues and errors - Azure Local | Microsoft Learn

6. Default WDAC policies are missing after a solution upgrade on a 23H2 instance. Microsoft has confirmed that the missing base policy is an expected behavior.

   Manage security after upgrading your Azure Local from version 22H2 to version 23H2. - Azure Local | Microsoft Learn

7. This link provides a list of known issues and workarounds from Microsoft:

     AzureLocal-Supportability/TSG/Upgrade/README.md at main · Azure/AzureLocal-Supportability · GitHub

Azure Local solution overview - Azure Local | Microsoft Learn

Azure Local, version 23H2 release information - Azure Local | Microsoft Learn

https://dell.github.io/azurestack-docs/docs/hci/supportmatrix/2506/14g-15g_hci/

Solution Builder Extensions for Azure Local -Integrated System AX Server Release Notes | Dell US