Stemcell v2019.x (Windows Server version 2019) Release Notes

This topic includes release notes for Windows stemcells used with the following runtimes:

  • VMware Tanzu Application Service for VMs [Windows] (TAS for VMs [Windows]) v2.5, v2.6, v2.7, and v2.8
    • For Windows stemcell compatibilities with TAS for VMs [Windows], see specific stemcell version notes below.
  • VMware Tanzu Kubernetes Grid Integrated Edition (TKGI, formerly PKS) v1.5 and later
    • For Windows stemcell compatibilites with TKGI, refer to the Release Notes for your TKGI version.

The stemcell is based on Windows Server, version 2019.

To download a stemcell, see Stemcells (Windows) on VMware Tanzu Network.

Note: Manual stemcell creation is deprecated. Use stembuild v2019.23 or later to create stemcells automatically. For more information, see Creating a Windows Stemcell for vSphere Using stembuild.

2019.24

Release Date: July 24th, 2020

Security Fix

2019.23

Release Date: June 25th, 2020

General Availability Release of stembuild

This release announces the general availability of stembuild. For more information about stembuild, see Creating a Windows Stemcell for vSphere Using stembuild.

Security Fix

Features

  • stembuild construct identifies the location of the base VM, including across multiple data centers.
  • stembuild construct logs out any users who are logged in while the construct command is in progress, ensuring minimum disruption during stemcell creation.

Deprecation Notice for Manual Stemcell Creation Process

The manual procedure for creating stemcells is deprecated. Support for manual stemcell creation ends September 2020. Ensure that you start using the new stembuild-based stemcell creation procedure on or before September 2020. See Creating a Windows Stemcell for vSphere Using stembuild.

2019.22

Release Date: May 21st, 2020

Security Fix

Features

  • stembuild construct streams logs after the target VM reboots. Stembuild reconnects to the target VM using WinRM to stream logs after the VM reboot, showing you what is occurring on your target VM.
  • The BOSH Agent version is upgraded to v2.317. This version of the BOSH Agent can create a vcap user on a Windows VM.

2019.21

Note: There is no Windows stemcell v2019.21.

2019.20

Release Date: April 24th, 2020

Security Fixes

2019.19

Release Date: March 25th, 2020

TAS for VMs [Windows] Compatibilities

This stemcell and later v2019.x versions work with:

  • TAS for VMs [Windows] v2.6.15, v2.7.11, or v2.8.6 and later.

Security Fixes

2019.18

Note: There is no Windows stemcell v2019.18.

2019.17

Release Date: February 14th, 2020

TAS for VMs [Windows] Compatibilities

This stemcell and later v2019.x versions work with:

  • TAS for VMs [Windows] versions v2.6.15, v2.7.11, or v2.8.6 and later.

Security Fixes

Features

  • Supports signed URL capability. If Windows users opt in, the BOSH agent manages artifacts on the blobstore using signed URLs rather than blobstore credentials. For more information on how to opt in to signed URLs, see Signed URLs in the Cloud Foundry BOSH documentation.
  • stembuild validates the VM OS is Windows Server 2019, OS build 17763. This is the only OS version that stembuild v2019.x is compatible with.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a bug where stembuild construct did not execute successfully if it could not fetch updated root certificates from the public Windows Update Server.

    Note: You must manually update your certificates if your VM does not have access to the public Windows Update Server.

  • Fixed a bug that tried to validate your VM credentials before connecting to the VM via WinRM. For more information on the original validation bug, see “Validating connection to vm…” step fails during stembuild construct for Stembuild v2019.15 in the Knowledge Base.

2019.16

Note: There is no Windows stemcell v2019.16.

2019.15

Release Date: January 18, 2020

Security Fixes

Known Issues

Note: The feature to update root certificates in stembuild-built stemcells released in 2019.14 requires internet connection to the Windows Updates Server to complete successfully.

2019.14

Release Date: December 16, 2019

Security Fixes

Features

  • Updated stembuild to always use the latest version of OpenSSH (8.0.0-p1-beta as of this release)
  • Root certificates on machines deployed using stembuild-built stemcells get updated certificates from the Windows Updates Server

2019.13

Release Date: November 22, 2019

Security Fixes

Features

  • Added logging and exit code to stembuild construct to allow users to see the progress of the command and know whether it has completed preparing the VM for packaging
  • Added retry behavior for the file rename operation in the compilation VM to reduce risk of compilation failure due to custom antivirus installations in the base image

2019.12

Release Date: October 10, 2019

Security Fixes

Features

  • Added a flag to stembuild package to allow user to specify patch version for the stemcell .tgz output
  • Aligned Internet Explorer-based policies in stemcells built using stembuild with Microsoft Baseline Security Standard

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a bug where stembuild construct was failing to execute with a DISM error

Note: Do not use stembuild-2019.11 because it will fail on stembuild construct. Use stembuild-2019.12 instead.

2019.11

Release Date: September 26, 2019

Security Fixes

Features

  • Enabled the Hyper-V Windows feature for enabling Windows 2019 stemcells built using stembuild
  • Improved security hardening of Windows stemcells by aligning Internet Explorer-based policies with the Microsoft Baseline Security Standard

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed a bug that left user directories on the target machines after a user had terminated a BOSH SSH connection into that machine:
    • Deleted: .ssh directory and all normal files in the home directory that may have been created during the SSH session.
    • Not deleted: .dat files loaded as part of the registry hive when a user logs in. Files will exist with file locks until the next VM reboot.


Note: There is no Windows stemcell v2019.10.

2019.9

Release Date: August 27, 2019

Features

2019.8

Release Date: July 23, 2019

Features

2019.7

Release Date: July 1, 2019

Features

  • Key improvements in stembuild with features such as SSH enable-by-default for deployed Windows VMs on vSphere and security fixes.
  • Enabled the Hyper-V Windows feature for enabling Windows in PKS and NSX-T compatibility with Windows teams.

2019.6

Release Date: June 19, 2019

Security Fixes

  • Includes Microsoft Security Updates June 11, 2019—KB4503327
  • Introduces 2.3.1.2 (L1) and 1.1.1 (L1) CIS L1 policy hardenings based on the CIS Security Benchmark.

2019.5

Release Date: May 30, 2019

Security Fixes

  • Based on Microsoft’s guidance, additional fixes to protect against speculative execution side-channel vulnerabilities

2019.4

Release Date: May 22, 2019

Features

  • Platform Engineers can deploy Windows Stemcells on a BOSH Director with Google Cloud Storage as their external Blobstore.
  • Improved Troubleshooting of Windows VMs, with ssh enabled by default for all Windows VMs. You can still disable SSH in the TAS for VMs [Windows] tile.
  • Includes Microsoft Security Updates to protect against Microarchitectural Data Sampling side-channel vulnerabilities. For more information, see May 14, 2019—KB4494441 (OS Build 17763.503) in the Windows support documentation.

2019.3

Release Date: April 25, 2019

Features