2Pint Software blog roundup - spring 2026 edition

Welcome to our spring roundup, covering March and April. It has been a busy stretch for the 2Pint Software team with a new release of DeployR, content delivery warnings from Microsoft, Secure Boot preparations, and conference season news. Let’s get into it!

DeployR 1.1 is here

Barely three months after the 1.0 launch, DeployR has its first feature update. Michael Niehaus walked through everything in DeployR 1.1, and there is a lot to like! The headline addition is support for creating standalone USB or ISO media, so you can fully deploy an OS without pulling content from the DeployR server (while still optionally connecting for offline domain join and Autopilot registration). There’s also a new Run server-side script step that executes PowerShell on the DeployR server which is useful when a task sequence needs Active Directory, Entra ID, or Intune without worrying about client-side authentication. DeployR 1.1 also provides greater flexibility for managing OEM driver packs, configurable Windows PE keyboard layouts, faster content downloads, and initial support for installing Ubuntu Desktop 24.04 LTS and above. The release notes have the full list. Watch for further updates ahead!

If you're just getting started with DeployR, we've got lots of great resources for you. Our DeployR launch and ongoing development has been supported by a video installation guide and a series of webinars from Mike Terrill and Gary Blok. Their March webinar was Deployment scenarios: pros and cons and tips for migrating to DeployR, followed in April by Scripting, DeployR, and content items - both valuable references worth bookmarking.

MDT deprecation and Secure Boot changes

Chances are that if you are reading this, you're aware of MDT's unsupported status from previous roundups and our team's various posts on the OS deployment and bare-metal provisioning landscape. To brush up or gather points to build the case for your organization's next OS deployment investment, check out Johan Arwidmark's post To Use or Not to Use MDT, which explains why imaging, task sequences, and controlled builds still matter in the real world despite Microsoft's pitch for a cloud-only future.

Johan followed up with a more hands-on piece on Extending ConfigMgr hardware inventory to track Secure Boot data, based on a community solution from Eric Schloss that surfaced during his and Andrew Johnson’s Office Hours. Johan has also posted a video of the 12-step setup process to YouTube. This is linked to Microsoft updating the Secure Boot certificates and revocation lists that validate boot components, as we've covered previously. This has real implications for how devices boot, deploy, and recover — and our boot media and recovery tools like iPXE Anywhere and RecoveR can support your IT strategy in this area.

Microsoft Connected Cache and HTTPS

Michael Niehaus has posted a concise and enormously useful account of how Delivery Optimization downloads are changing. As of June 16, 2026, Intune content moves to HTTPS, and any Microsoft Connected Cache that can’t serve HTTPS will simply stop caching it, causing slower Autopilot provisioning and a spike in internet bandwidth for organizations that don't address the issue. There are two options, as Michael explains: the relatively painless SCCM-integrated MCC update, and the tougher slog of running the new standalone MCC for Enterprise on WSL, where wrangling your own TLS certificate, in his words, "isn't much fun at all". All of this reinforces why your organization should leverage 2Pint Software's enterprise grade peer-to-peer content delivery management solutions.

Wondering which insider build and channel of Windows 11 to grab? The answer is yes. Michael suggests either a secret decoder ring 🤣 or his helpful guide to Windows release naming. And he's also posted tips on determining which dynamic parameters are available in your PowerShell session using Get-PSProvider discovering PowerShell provider dynamic parameters. Visit his blog Out of Office Hours for more great insights.

UniFi and DHCP for PXE network booting in the lab

Mike Terrill has posted two helpful and informative articles to his blog. If you use UniFi networking equipment and want to configure the DHCP scope options for PXE network booting with our iPXE Anywhere product, Mike breaks it down for you in a few easy-to-follow steps. Then there are those questions that many people have, but few take the time to answer. For OSD veterans, one of those questions is: Why does WinPE assign that random MININT-xxxxxxx computer name?, and How do I assign a more useful name? Thanks, Mike, for both asking AND answering that question for us all.

Nathan keeps the PowerShell streak alive

Settling into his new seat, Nathan Ziehnert kept his Advent of Code PowerShell series rolling. What do batteries, forklifts of wrapping paper rolls, and sorting fresh meal ingredients have in common? Read Nathan's Day Three, Day Four, and Day Five posts to find out. They're a much better read than the PowerShell Language Specification 📚💤.

Working systems administrators will also appreciate Nathan's post on error handling in PowerShell. He explains how to implement Try_Catch_Finally blocks, the kinds of PowerShell fundamentals that quietly support your scripts in production. Read it for a solid addition (or a refresher) to your PowerShell fitness regimen.

Conference season picks up

Microsoft MVP Summit in Redmond, WA – March 24-26, 2026

We had a great showing at the Microsoft MVP Summit in Redmond, Washington from March 24-26 with our own group of Microsoft MVPs on hand. We'd love to tell you about it, but all MVPs are under NDAs and ours didn't tell us what they were told so we can't tell you 🤐. We can't even tell you what they didn't tell us. 😵‍💫 What happens in Redmond stays in Redmond!

🎬 That’s a wrap on #MVPSummit 2026! A huge THANK YOU for making this year’s Summit unforgettable! 💙

Microsoft MVP Communities (@MVPAward) March 27, 2026

Northwest System Center User Group, Bellevue, WA – March 27, 2026

Newest 2Pinter Nathan Ziehnert was sharing his PowerShell knowledge with systems administrators in the US northwest in late March at NWSCUG. His talk was on Securing, Logging, and Monitoring PowerShell.

Microsoft Management User Group Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden – April 17, 2026

In mid April Michael Niehaus, Andreas Hammarskjöld, and Nathan Ziehnert gave presentations to a packed house as 2Pint Software sponsored MMUGSE's spring meetup.

Andreas and Michael previewed DeployR Community Edition to great excitement and Michael followed that up with Ten(-ish) learnings from ten(-ish) years of Windows Autopilot. Nathan gave his talk on Securing, Logging, and Monitoring PowerShell.

Following the event, the sales and product teams met up for an offsite at Michelle and Andreas' place. 🤩

Just kidding, that's the Great Hall of Sweden's Riddarhuset or House of Nobility in Stockholm! 

Looking ahead

With MMS MOA in May, and DeployR Community Edition on the horizon, the next edition of the roundup will be every bit as busy as this one so watch for it. You can always keep an eye on the 2Pint Software events page for the latest on where to connect with us. Thanks for reading!