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Cloud PC Maintenance Windows: Scheduling Resize Operations for Maximum Efficiency + Bonus Microsoft Graph Powershell way of implementation

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Today I’m diving into a feature that’s currently in preview but promises to be super useful for Windows 365 Cloud PC admins: Cloud PC Maintenance Windows.

If you’ve ever needed to resize multiple Cloud PCs but worried about disrupting users during work hours, this new feature is about to make your life much easier. Let’s break it down!

What Are Cloud PC Maintenance Windows?

Simply put, maintenance windows allow you to schedule when certain actions (currently just resize operations) will take place on your Cloud PCs. Instead of changes occurring immediately after you initiate them, you can schedule them to run during specified time periods.

Think of it as telling your Cloud PCs, “Hey, only accept these maintenance actions during these specific hours.” It’s perfect for organizations that need to plan around busy periods and minimize disruption.

Why You Should Care About This Feature

There are several compelling reasons to start using maintenance windows:

Setting Up Your First Maintenance Window

The setup process is straightforward and consists of two main parts: creating the window itself and then applying it to a device action.

Part 1: Creating a Maintenance Window

Part 2: Using Your Maintenance Window

Once your window is created, it won’t do anything by itself until you create a bulk device action that uses it:

When the maintenance window becomes active, the resize operation will run, and users will receive notifications based on the lead time you specified.

Powershell way to implement Cloud PC maintence

Step 1 – Install the MS Graph Beta Powershell Module

#Install Microsoft Graph Beta Module
PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Install-Module Microsoft.Graph.Beta

Step 2 – Connect to scopes and specify which API you wish to authenticate to. If you are only doing read-only operations, I suggest you connect to “CloudPC.Read.All” in our case, we are creating the policy, so we need to change the scope to “CloudPC.ReadWrite.All”

#Read-only
PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "CloudPC.Read.All" -NoWelcome
Welcome To Microsoft Graph!

OR

#Read-Write
PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "CloudPC.ReadWrite.All" -NoWelcome
Welcome To Microsoft Graph!
Permissions for MS Graph API

Step 3 –  Check the User account by running the following beta command.

#Beta APIs
PS C:WINDOWSsystem32> Get-MgBetaUser -UserId admin@wdomain.com

Create Cloud Maintenace Policy Window

We are creating a provisioning policy that involves the following: avdwin365mem/createcloudpcmaintwindow at main · askaresh/avdwin365mem

# Ensure the Microsoft.Graph.Beta module is installed
if (-not (Get-Module -ListAvailable -Name Microsoft.Graph.Beta)) {
    Write-Host "Installing Microsoft.Graph.Beta module..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
    Install-Module Microsoft.Graph.Beta -Force -AllowClobber
}
Import-Module Microsoft.Graph.Beta

# Connect to Microsoft Graph with the required permissions for maintenance operations
Write-Host "Connecting to Microsoft Graph..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "CloudPC.ReadWrite.All" -NoWelcome

# Define the endpoint for Cloud PC maintenance windows
$uri = "beta/deviceManagement/virtualEndpoint/maintenanceWindows"

# Construct the JSON payload for the maintenance window
$maintenancePayload = @{
    displayName                   = "CloudPC-Window-askaresh"
    description                   = "A window for test"
    notificationLeadTimeInMinutes = 60
    schedules                     = @(
        @{
            scheduleType = "weekday"
            startTime    = "01:00:00.0000000"
            endTime      = "04:00:00.0000000"
        },
        @{
            scheduleType = "weekend"
            startTime    = "01:00:00.0000000"
            endTime      = "04:00:00.0000000"
        }
    )
} | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 5

# Call the Microsoft Graph API to create the maintenance window
try {
    Write-Host "Creating Cloud PC maintenance window..." -ForegroundColor Cyan
    $result = Invoke-MgGraphRequest -Method POST -Uri $uri -Body $maintenancePayload
    Write-Host "Maintenance window created successfully." -ForegroundColor Green
    $result | Format-List
}
catch {
    Write-Error "Error creating maintenance window: $_"
}

# Optionally disconnect from Microsoft Graph when done
Disconnect-MgGraph

The User Experience

From the user perspective, they’ll receive a notification in their Cloud PC session when a maintenance window is approaching. The notification will indicate that maintenance is scheduled and when it will occur. They can’t override or postpone the maintenance, but at least they’ll be prepared.

Current Limitations

It’s worth noting that this feature is still in preview, and has some limitations:

When NOT to Use Maintenance Windows

If you have an urgent situation requiring immediate resizing of Cloud PCs, simply don’t check the “Use Cloud PC maintenance windows” box when creating your bulk action. This way, the resize will happen immediately rather than waiting for the next scheduled window.

Conclusion

Having played with this feature for a bit, I’m impressed with how it streamlines the management of Cloud PCs. Before this, scheduling maintenance was much more manual and potentially disruptive. While I wish it supported more actions beyond just resizing, this is a solid foundation that I expect Microsoft will build upon.

This feature is particularly valuable for organizations with users across different time zones or with strict requirements about when system changes can occur. It’s also a huge time-saver for admins who manage large fleets of Cloud PCs. I hope you find this helpful information for creating a Cloud PC maintenance window using PowerShell. If I have missed any steps or details, I will be happy to update the post.

Thanks,
Aresh Sarkari

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