The clock is ticking! October 14, 2025, marks the official End of Life (EOL) for Windows 10 Enterprise. After this date, Windows 10 will no longer receive patches or security updates from Microsoft, essentially becoming unsupported. While it might continue to function, running an unsupported OS poses significant security risks.
If you work in the IT endpoint space, you’re likely well aware of this deadline. You’re probably already planning your migration path or perhaps scrambling to figure out the best approach. A major hurdle? The hardware requirements for Windows 11. Upgrading or replacing devices often hinges on meeting these prerequisites, particularly around the CPU.
The Windows 11 Security Baseline: More Than Just a CPU Check
Windows 11 introduced several security-focused hardware requirements that, while sometimes present, weren’t mandatory when many organizations transitioned from Windows 7 to Windows 10 on physical endpoints. Back then, a common approach was a “wipe and reload,” configuring the necessary settings manually. Key among these requirements are:
- EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) and a GPT (GUID Partition Table) partition: Modern firmware and partitioning schemes required for advanced features.
- Secure Boot: A security standard ensuring that a device boots using only software trusted by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).
- TPM (Trusted Platform Module) version 2.0: A secure crypto-processor chip providing hardware-based security functions.
On physical devices, there was clear value in enabling these, especially when combining EFI’s enhanced security features with BitLocker Drive Encryption.
The Virtualization Lag: Why VMs Often Fell Behind
However, the story has often been different on the virtual side. Many organizations “kicked the can down the road” when it came to implementing these features in their virtual environments. Why? Because the perceived value wasn’t as immediately apparent. Virtual machines typically reside on servers in secure data centers, already under lock and key, reducing the urgency for endpoint-specific hardware security features like TPM.
Bridging the Gap: Getting Your VMs Windows 11 Ready
This brings us to the critical question this series aims to answer: How do you configure your virtual environment to meet the EFI, Secure Boot, and TPM requirements for Windows 11 before the EOL deadline, ideally at scale using automation?
In this series, we’ll specifically explore configuring Virtual Machines running in a VMware / Broadcom vSphere environment. While the core ideas and processes are largely the same across different hypervisors, the specific implementation steps vary.
(Important Note: If you’re using Microsoft Hyper-V or Azure Virtual Desktop (AVD), ensure you are running Generation 2 VMs. Configuring Gen 1 VMs is outside the scope of these posts, and a rebuild might be necessary.)
There are many ways to approach this challenge, but our goal here is to provide practical guidance to get you across the finish line.
So, let’s dive into the firmware, security, and configuration details needed to prepare your virtual infrastructure. Stay tuned for the next post!
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