Merge branch 'main' of https://github.com/MicrosoftDocs/azure-docs-pr into tsk544790-sfi-ssh

Author: asudbring

articles/azure-cache-for-redis/retirement-faq.yml

@@ -105,7 +105,7 @@ sections:
       - question: Can I transfer my reservations or reserved pricing from Azure Cache for Redis to Azure Managed Redis?
 
         answer: | 
-          You can cancel or exchange your existing reservation. For more information, see [Cancel, exchange, and refund policies](/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/exchange-and-refund-azure-reservations).
+          Your existing reservations will be supported until September 30, 2028. However, you can cancel or exchange your existing reservation earlier than that date. For more information, see [Cancel, exchange, and refund policies](/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/exchange-and-refund-azure-reservations).
   
   - name: Questions on the Enterprise tier of Azure Cache for Redis retirement
 
@@ -184,4 +184,4 @@ sections:
       - question: Can I transfer my reservations or reserved pricing from Azure Cache for Redis to Azure Managed Redis?
 
         answer: |
-            You can cancel or exchange your existing reservation. For more information, see [Cancel, exchange, and refund policies](/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/exchange-and-refund-azure-reservations).
+            Your existing reservations will be supported until March 30, 2027. However, you can cancel or exchange your existing reservation earlier than that date. You can cancel or exchange your existing reservation. For more information, see [Cancel, exchange, and refund policies](/azure/cost-management-billing/reservations/exchange-and-refund-azure-reservations).

articles/cloud-services-extended-support/cloud-services-guestos-update-matrix.md

@@ -3,13 +3,13 @@ title: Learn about the latest Azure Guest OS Releases | Microsoft Docs
 description: The latest release news and SDK compatibility for Azure Cloud Services Guest OS.
 services: cloud-services
 ms.subservice: guest-os-patching
-author: ssundara
+author: jejackson
 ms.assetid: 6306cafe-1153-44c7-8554-623b03d59a34
 ms.service: azure-cloud-services-classic
 ms.topic: concept-article
-ms.date: 11/06/2025
+ms.date: 02/02/2026
 ms.update-cycle: 3650-days
-ms.author: ssundara
+ms.author: jejackson
 ms.custom: compute-evergreen
 # Customer intent: As a cloud services administrator, I want to stay updated on the latest Guest OS releases and their compatibility, so that I can plan timely upgrades and ensure my applications remain secure and functional before any deprecation deadlines.
 ---
@@ -40,6 +40,9 @@ Unsure about how to update your Guest OS? Check [this][cloud updates] out.
 
 ## News updates
 
+###### **February 2, 2026**
+The December 2025 Guest OS released.
+
 ###### **January 14, 2025**
 The November 2026 Guest OS released.
 
@@ -310,9 +313,10 @@ The September Guest OS released.
 
 | Configuration string | Release date | Disable date |
 | --- | --- | --- |
+|  WA-GUEST-OS-7.59_202512-01 |  February 2, 2026  |  Post 7.62  |
 |  WA-GUEST-OS-7.58_202511-01 |  January 14, 2026  |  Post 7.61  |
 |  WA-GUEST-OS-7.57_202510-01 |  November 6, 2025  |  Post 7.60  |
-|  WA-GUEST-OS-7.56_202509-01 |  October 6, 2025  |  Post 7.59  |
+|~~WA-GUEST-OS-7.56_202509-01~~|  October 6, 2025  |  February 2, 2026  |
 |~~WA-GUEST-OS-7.55_202508-01~~|  September 6, 2025  |  January 14, 2026  |
 |~~WA-GUEST-OS-7.54_202507-01~~|  July 30, 2025  |  November 6, 2025  |
 |~~WA-GUEST-OS-7.53_202506-01~~|  July 6, 2025  |  October 6, 2025  |
@@ -373,6 +377,7 @@ The September Guest OS released.
 
 | Configuration string | Release date | Disable date |
 | --- | --- | --- |
+|  WA-GUEST-OS-6.89_202512-01 |  February 2, 2026  |  Post 6.92  |
 |  WA-GUEST-OS-6.88_202511-01 |  January 14, 2026  |  Post 6.91  |
 |  WA-GUEST-OS-6.87_202510-01 |  November 6, 2025  |  Post 6.90  |
 |  WA-GUEST-OS-6.86_202509-01 |  October 6, 2025  |  Post 6.89  |
@@ -470,9 +475,10 @@ The September Guest OS released.
 
 | Configuration string | Release date | Disable date |
 | --- | --- | --- |
+|  WA-GUEST-OS-5.113_202512-01 |  February 2, 2026  |  Post 5.116  |
 |  WA-GUEST-OS-5.112_202511-01 |  January 14, 2026  |  Post 5.115  |
 |  WA-GUEST-OS-5.111_202510-01 |  November 6, 2025  |  Post 5.114  |
-|  WA-GUEST-OS-5.110_202509-01 |  October 6, 2025  |  Post 5.113  |
+|~~WA-GUEST-OS-5.110_202509-01~~|  October 6, 2025  |  February 2, 2026  |
 |~~WA-GUEST-OS-5.109_202508-01~~|  September 6, 2025  |  January 14, 2026  |
 |~~WA-GUEST-OS-5.108_202507-01~~|  July 30, 2025  |  November 6, 2025  |
 |~~WA-GUEST-OS-5.107_202506-01~~|  July 6, 2025  |  October 6, 2025  |

articles/expressroute/customer-controlled-gateway-maintenance.md

@@ -12,11 +12,21 @@ ms.author: cherylmc
 ---
 # Configure customer-controlled gateway maintenance for ExpressRoute
 
-This article helps you configure customer-controlled maintenance windows for your ExpressRoute virtual network gateways. Learn how to schedule customer-controlled maintenance for your gateways using the Azure portal or PowerShell.
+This article helps you configure customer-controlled maintenance windows for your ExpressRoute virtual network gateways. Learn how to schedule customer-controlled maintenance for your gateways using the Azure portal or PowerShell. 
 
 [!INCLUDE [Overview](../../includes/vpn-gateway-customer-controlled-gateway-maintenance-article-overview.md)]
 
 For more information on limitations and frequently asked questions related to customer-controlled maintenance, see the [ExpressRoute FAQ](expressroute-faqs.md#customer-controlled).
+## Maintenance window behavior
+
+Consider the following information about maintenance window behavior:
+
+* **Start date**: The maintenance window takes effect on the configured start date. Before this date, maintenance or upgrades might occur outside the selected window.
+* **End date**: If you configure an end (expiration) date, the maintenance window is honored through that date. After the end date, maintenance or upgrades might occur outside the selected window.
+* **Daily schedule**: The selected start time and duration apply daily while the window is active.
+* **Timing within the window**: If an upgrade is scheduled during the window, it can occur at any time within the configured duration. For example, if the window starts at 8:30 AM and has a 6-hour duration, the upgrade might occur at any point between 8:30 AM and 2:30 PM.
+* **Upgrade frequency**: Upgrades don't necessarily occur every day during the maintenance window. An upgrade is only applied during the window when there's an upgrade available for the resource.
+
 
 ## Azure portal steps
 

articles/load-balancer/load-balancer-standard-diagnostics.md

@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ The various load balancer configurations provide the following metrics:
 
 | Metric | Resource type | Description | Recommended aggregation |
 | --- | --- | --- | --- |
-| Data Path Availability | Public and internal load balancer | A load balancer continuously uses the data path from within a region to the load balancer frontend, to the network that supports your VM. As long as healthy instances remain, the measurement follows the same path as your application's load-balanced traffic. The data path in use is validated. The measurement is invisible to your application and doesn’t interfere with other operations.| Average |
+| Data Path Availability | Public and internal load balancer | A load balancer continuously uses the data path from within a region to the load balancer frontend, to the network that supports your VM. As long as healthy instances remain, the measurement follows the same path as your application's load-balanced traffic. The data path in use is validated. The measurement is invisible to your application and doesn’t interfere with other operations. | Average |
 | Health Probe Status | Public and internal load balancer | A load balancer uses a distributed health-probing service that monitors your application endpoint's health according to your configuration settings. This metric provides an aggregate or per-endpoint filtered view of each instance endpoint in the load balancer pool. You can see how load balancer views the health of your application, as indicated by your health probe configuration. |  Average |
 | SYN Count | Public and internal load balancer |A load balancer doesn’t terminate Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) connections or interact with TCP or User Data-gram Packet (UDP) flows. Flows and their handshakes are always between the source and the VM instance. To better troubleshoot your TCP protocol scenarios, you can make use of SYN packets counters to understand how many TCP connection attempts are made. The metric reports the number of TCP SYN packets that were received.| Sum |
 | Source Network Address Translation (SNAT) Connection Count | Public load balancer | A load balancer reports the number of outbound flows that are masqueraded to the Public IP address frontend.  SNAT ports are an exhaustible resource. This metric can give an indication of how heavily your application is relying on SNAT for outbound originated flows. Counters for successful and failed outbound SNAT flows are reported. The counters can be used to troubleshoot and understand the health of your outbound flows.| Sum |
@@ -43,6 +43,9 @@ The various load balancer configurations provide the following metrics:
   >
   >Max and min aggregations are not available for the SYN count, packet count, SNAT connection count, and byte count metrics.
   >Count aggregation is not recommended for Data path availability and health probe status. Use average instead for best represented health data.
+
+  >[!NOTE]
+  >Data Path Availability metric may take up to 10 minutes to appear in Azure Monitor metrics after a load balancer is created or updated. 
  
 ### View your load balancer metrics in the Azure portal
 

articles/load-balancer/monitor-load-balancer-reference.md

@@ -54,6 +54,9 @@ This table includes additional information about metrics from the Microsoft.Netw
 | Used SNAT ports | Public load balancer | Standard Load Balancer reports the number of SNAT ports that are utilized per backend instance. |
 | Data path availability | Public and internal load balancer |  Standard Load Balancer continuously exercises the data path from within a region to the load balancer front end, all the way to the SDN stack that supports your virtual machine. As long as healthy instances remain, the measurement follows the same path as your application's load-balanced traffic. The data path that your customer's use is also validated. The measurement is invisible to your application and doesn't interfere with other operations. |
 
+  >[!NOTE]
+  >Data Path Availability metric may take up to 10 minutes to appear in Azure Monitor metrics after a load balancer is created or updated. 
+
 ### Global load balancer metrics
 
 This table includes additional information about global metrics from the Microsoft.Network/loadBalancers table:

articles/nat-gateway/nat-gateway-resource.md

@@ -156,6 +156,7 @@ For UDP traffic, after a connection closes, the port is in hold down for 65 seco
 ## Bandwidth
 There are different bandwidth limits for each SKU of NAT Gateway.
 StandardV2 SKU NAT Gateway supports up to 100 Gbps of data throughput per NAT gateway resource.
+
 Standard SKU NAT Gateway provides 50 Gbps of throughput, which is split between outbound and inbound (response) data. Data throughput is rate limited at 25 Gbps for outbound and 25 Gbps for inbound (response) data per Standard NAT gateway resource.
 
 ## Performance

articles/virtual-wan/virtual-wan-expressroute-about.md

@@ -16,7 +16,7 @@ A virtual hub can contain gateways for site-to-site, ExpressRoute, or point-to-s
 ## ExpressRoute circuit SKUs supported in Virtual WAN
 The following ExpressRoute circuit SKUs can be connected to the hub gateway: Local, Standard, and Premium. ExpressRoute Direct circuits are also supported with Virtual WAN. To learn more about different SKUs, visit [ExpressRoute Circuit SKUs](../expressroute/expressroute-faqs.md#what-is-the-connectivity-scope-for-different-expressroute-circuit-skus). ExpressRoute Local circuits can only be connected to ExpressRoute gateways in the same region, but they can still access resources in spoke virtual networks located in other regions. 
 
-## ExpressRoute gateway performance
+## ExpressRoute gateway in Virtual WAN performance
 
 ExpressRoute gateways are provisioned in units of 2 Gbps. One scale unit = 2 Gbps with support up to 10 scale units = 20 Gbps. 
 

articles/vpn-gateway/gateway-sku-consolidation.md

@@ -92,6 +92,32 @@ Using the Standard SKU public IP address parameter with a VPN Gateway Basic SKU
 
 Standard and HighPerformance gateway will be migrated to AZ gateways in CY26. For more information, see this [announcement](https://azure.microsoft.com/updates/standard-and-highperformance-vpn-gateway-skus-will-be-retired-on-30-september-2025/) and [Working with VPN Gateway legacy SKUs](vpn-gateway-about-skus-legacy.md).
 
+### What happens to existing non-AZ VPN Gateways after the “block non-AZ SKU” rollout starting in February'26?
+### I have an existing VPN Gateway using a non-Availability Zone (non-AZ) SKU (VpnGw1–VpnGw5). What changes after this rollout?
+
+After the “block non-AZ SKU” feature flag rolls out, existing VPN Gateways using non-AZ SKUs will no longer allow configuration changes. If you attempt any management or configuration operation on a non-AZ gateway, you will receive a ValidationException. This is expected behavior after the rollout.
+
+### Why am I seeing a ValidationException? example error message: Microsoft.WindowsAzure.Networking.Nrp.Frontend.Common.ValidationException: VpnGw1-5 non-AZ SKUs are no longer supported for VPN gateways. Only VpnGw1-5AZ SKUs can be created going forward
+
+The exception indicates that configuration changes on non-AZ VPN Gateway SKUs are no longer supported. To proceed, the gateway must first be migrated to an equivalent Availability Zone–enabled (AZ) SKU.
+
+### What action is required to resolve this error?
+
+You must migrate your VPN Gateway from a non-AZ SKU to the corresponding AZ SKU before making any other changes.
+For example:
+
+VpnGw1 → VpnGw1AZ  
+VpnGw2 → VpnGw2AZ  
+
+### Will migrating to an AZ SKU cause downtime?
+
+Same SKU family migration (for example, VpnGw1 → VpnGw1AZ) is non-disruptive and is a metadata-only change.  
+Cross-family migration (for example, VpnGw1 → VpnGw3AZ) is disruptive, consistent with existing VPN Gateway resize behavior.  
+
+### Do AZ SKUs automatically become zone-redundant?
+
+AZ SKUs are AZ-capable. They become zone-redundant only in regions that support Availability Zones, as described in the [existing documentation](gateway-sku-consolidation.md#will-there-be-any-performance-impact-on-my-gateways-with-this-migration)
+
 ## Next steps
 
 For more information about SKUs, see [About gateway SKUs](about-gateway-skus.md).