Onboard servers through Microsoft Defender for Endpoint's onboarding experience
Applies to:
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for servers
- Microsoft Defender for Servers Plan 1 or Plan 2
You can choose from several options to onboard a server to Microsoft Defender for Endpoint. Make sure to review the Minimum requirements for Microsoft Defender for Endpoint.
Server plans
To onboard servers to Defender for Endpoint, server licenses are required. You can choose from these options:
- Microsoft Defender for Servers Plan 1 or Plan 2 (as part of the Defender for Cloud) offering
- Microsoft Defender for Endpoint for servers
- Microsoft Defender for Business servers (for small and medium-sized businesses only)
Onboarding options
The following table lists deployment methods for onboarding servers:
| Operating system | Deployment method |
|---|---|
| Windows Server 2025 Windows Server 2022 Windows Server 2019 Windows Server, version 1803 |
Local script (uses an onboarding package) Defender for Servers Microsoft Configuration Manager Group Policy VDI scripts |
| Windows Server 2016 Windows Server 2012 R2 |
Modern, unified solution in Defender for Endpoint |
| Linux | Installer script based deployment Ansible Chef Puppet Saltstack Manual deployment (uses a local script) Direct onboarding with Defender for Cloud Connect your non-Azure machines to Microsoft Defender for Cloud with Defender for Endpoint Defender for Endpoint on Linux for ARM64-based devices (preview) Deployment guidance for Defender for Endpoint on Linux for SAP |