Windows Admin Center (WAC) is a flexible, locally-deployed, browser-based management platform, and solution. It contains core tools for troubleshooting, configuration, management, and maintenance for Windows Server, Windows Client, Software-Defined Storage (SDS), Software-Defined Network (SDN), Microsoft Hyper-V Server, and more…
Windows Admin Center is a freely available management tool for anyone to use and makes managing a set of Windows servers with or without GUI remotely, very easy, especially for “day-to-day activities” without the need to login into your server for management, and without complex installation.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Windows Admin Center is not only for managing servers, clusters, hyper-converged infrastructure, and Windows 10/11 clients, but it also lets you connect your Windows Server to Azure hybrid services whether they are running on-premises or in a different cloud provider. There are many more hybrid services for Windows Server, which you can leverage with Windows Admin Center.
- Azure Backup
- Azure File Sync
- Azure Network Adapter
- Azure Site Recovery
- Azure Security Center
- Azure ARC
- And much more…
For the complete list of all Azure hybrid services integration with Windows Admin Center, please check the official documentation from Microsoft here.
If you have experience with the Windows Admin Center, you might already have deduced it is a powerhouse of functionality making light of important server management tasks. If you’re just adding it to your system administrator toolbox, welcome to the wonder of Windows Admin Center!
Windows Admin Center – Second Edition
With so much functionality, figuring out where to focus is key. Whether you’re just setting out with Windows Admin Center or wanting to realize its full potential, start with Altaro’s free 160+ page second edition eBook, How To Get The Most Of The Windows Admin Center.
Written by fellow Microsoft Cloud & Datacenter Management MVP Eric Siron, it covers the latest developments like the Control Azure Stack HCI, use of WinRM over HTTPS, and integration with Azure Monitor, amongst others. It’s a comprehensive guide on everything from installation methods and security considerations to integrating Windows Admin Center into an existing environment. There is even a brief history lesson along with a comparison to alternatives so you should get a solid overview of Windows Admin Center, why chose it, and how to work with it.

Summary
An all-new server management experience when it was introduced, Windows Admin Center modernized administrative activities with a centralized HTML 5 web application. Just add servers, clusters, desktops, and Azure virtual machines into a personalized, persistent interface, and manage their roles, features, software, registry, PKI certificates, and more. And with Microsoft’s latest investment into the Windows Admin Center and new functionality, there is now even more server management power to work with.
Learn to simplify and optimize your server management tasks – Download your free eBook now!
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Thank you for reading my blog.
If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment.
-Charbel Nemnom-
Thank you for the post. Do you know when the next release of WAC will be? I ask because there is a known bug with the current release that prevents viewing of the phase details (which is key IMO). I’ve not been able to locate a version of WAC prior to 2110, which is one of the workarounds.
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/windows-admin-center/windows-admin-center-2110-storage-migration-service-missing/m-p/2941624/highlight/false#M1503
Hello Jason, thank you for the comment and for sharing this bug!
I have uploaded for you an older WAC version. You can download version 2103 for Windows Admin Center (WAC) here.
At the time of this writing, the latest Version for WAC is: 1.3.2111.01001
Let me know if it works for you.
Thanks!
Thank you very much! I uninstalled the version I had and installed the version you gave me. I then had to uninstall the extension version of SMS so it reverted back to 1.139.0.
Thank you, Jason, good to hear that the issue is resolved now!
All the best,