Microsoft: Windows Server hotpatching to require subscription

Microsoft will require a paid subscription ($1.50 per CPU core per month) for Windows Server 2025 Hotpatching starting July 1, 2025, advising preview users to disenroll by June 30 to avoid auto-subscription. Hotpatching can be enabled on Azure Arc–connected Windows Server 2025 Standard/Datacenter systems via Azure Update Manager and applies to multi-cloud and on-premises environments, patching in-memory for security updates without reboots (with some non-security and non-Windows updates still requiring restarts). It builds on prior Azure-only availability and recent previews for Windows Server 2025 and Windows 11 24H2.