What you need to know
In what order should RDS roles be upgraded, and where is an outage expected?
Potentially affected
Administrators planning Windows Server upgrades for an RDS deployment.
DSE recommendation
Build a role-by-role sequence with an explicit broker outage window.
Source facts
Microsoft upgrades RD Connection Broker first. In an active/active deployment, it removes all but one broker, upgrades that broker in place, upgrades the others offline, and adds them back. The deployment is unavailable during the broker upgrade. All brokers must be upgraded; mixed broker versions are unsupported. License servers should be upgraded before Session Host servers. Microsoft documentation.
Applicability
Inventory every RDS role, its release, redundancy configuration, and allowed upgrade path. Review the source’s role-specific limitations and known upgrade issues before scheduling the work.
DSE recommendation
Build a role-by-role sequence with an explicit broker outage window. Have the RDS owner agree on user communication, session handling, recovery checkpoints, and the conditions for advancing to the next role. Preserve the deployment inventory and required recovery material before the first upgrade.
Verification
After the broker stage, confirm that all brokers run the intended release and test the required session workflows. Repeat appropriate checks after the licensing and Session Host stages. Record failures and mixed-version exceptions before declaring the overall deployment upgraded.
Official references
Microsoft Learn: Upgrade Remote Desktop Services deployments. Source reviewed September 8, 2026.
Review the official source
Upgrade Remote Desktop Services deployments · Verified September 8, 2026
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