Thought Leadership
Microsoft plans to deprecate the WDS server role with the next version of Windows Server. Companies should plan their migration now, such as to Configuration Manager.
Microsoft has announced that it will deprecate the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) server role starting with the next version of Windows Server. This is according to support article KB5129631. WDS is the successor to Remote Installation Services (RIS) and enables administrators to deploy Windows operating systems across networks to numerous machines.
What Is Being Deprecated
The deprecation includes the WDS role along with its role services, Deployment Server and Transport Server, the PXE network boot provided by WDS, as well as management tools, command-line interfaces, and APIs. Added to this are WDS multicast transport and the Windows PE component WinPE-WDS-Tools. Microsoft is no longer actively developing WDS and plans to completely remove the role in a future version of Windows. The company has not yet specified a timeline for this.
“Deprecated products are supported until they are eventually removed from a future operating system release.”
Microsoft
Gradual Phasing Out Since 2021
Back in 2021, Microsoft had already deprecated installations via the boot.wim of installation media for Windows 11 and newer versions. Since the updates on April 14, 2026, so-called hands-free deployment is also disabled by default and no longer supported. The background for this was vulnerability CVE-2026-0386.
Windows Server 2025 Not Affected
On all currently supported versions up to and including Windows Server 2025, WDS remains available in accordance with their lifecycle. PXE solutions and deployment products from third-party vendors that do not rely on WDS are also unaffected. Operating system deployment in Microsoft Configuration Manager is not being deprecated either.
Configuration Manager Without Multicast
Environments using Configuration Manager that still rely on WDS-based PXE should transition to the PXE responder without WDS. However, this responder only supports unicast, not WDS multicast. Microsoft therefore advises checking distribution point capacity, network bandwidth, and the size of deployment waves. HTTP(S) Boot can be an alternative for other solutions, but according to Microsoft, it does not replace PXE-based deployment in Configuration Manager.
For companies using WDS, Microsoft recommends identifying servers with the WDS role and checking for indirect dependencies, such as in scripts, custom Windows PE images, or when using WDSUTIL.
(Editorial Team)
