Select a Defender for Servers plan
This article helps you select the Microsoft Defender for Servers plan that's right for your organization.
Defender for Servers is one of the paid plans provided by Microsoft Defender for Cloud.
Before you begin
This article is the fourth article in the Defender for Servers planning guide. Before you begin, review the earlier articles:
- Start planning your deployment
- Understand where your data is stored and Log Analytics workspace requirements
- Review access and role requirements
Review plans
You can choose from two paid plans:
Defender for Servers Plan 1 is entry-level and must be enabled at the subscription level. Features include:
Foundational cloud security posture management (CSPM), which is provided free by Defender for Cloud.
- For Azure virtual machines and Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud Platform (GCP) machines, you don't need a Defender for Cloud plan enabled to use foundational CSPM features.
- For on-premises server, to receive configuration recommendations machines must be onboarded to Azure with Azure Arc, and Defender for Servers must be enabled.
Endpoint detection and response (EDR) features that are provided by Microsoft Defender for Endpoint Plan 2.
Defender for Servers Plan 2 provides all features. The plan must be enabled at the subscription level and at the workspace level to get full feature coverage. Features include:
- All the functionality that's provided by Defender for Servers Plan 1.
- More extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities.
Note
Plan 1 and Plan 2 for Defender for Servers aren't the same as Plan 1 and Plan 2 for Defender for Endpoint.
Plan features
| Feature | Details | Plan 1 | Plan 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defender for Endpoint integration | Defender for Servers integrates with Defender for Endpoint and protects servers with all the features, including: - Attack surface reduction to lower the risk of attack. - Next-generation protection, including real-time scanning and protection and Microsoft Defender Antivirus. - EDR, including threat analytics, automated investigation and response, advanced hunting, and Endpoint Attack Notifications. - Vulnerability assessment and mitigation provided by Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management (MDVM) as part of the Defender for Endpoint integration. With Plan 2, you can get premium MDVM features, provided by the MDVM add-on. |
|
|
| Licensing | Defender for Servers covers licensing for Defender for Endpoint. Licensing is charged per hour instead of per seat, lowering costs by protecting virtual machines only when they're in use. |
|
|
| Defender for Endpoint provisioning | Defender for Servers automatically provisions the Defender for Endpoint sensor on every supported machine that's connected to Defender for Cloud. |
|
|
| Unified view | Alerts from Defender for Endpoint appear in the Defender for Cloud portal. You can get detailed information in the Defender for Endpoint portal. |
|
|
| Threat detection for OS-level (agent-based) | Defender for Servers and Defender for Endpoint detect threats at the OS level, including virtual machine behavioral detections and fileless attack detection, which generates detailed security alerts that accelerate alert triage, correlation, and downstream response time. Learn more about alerts for Windows machines Learn more about alerts for Linux machines Learn more about alerts for DNS |
Provided by MDE |
|
| Threat detection for network-level (agentless security alerts) | Defender for Servers detects threats that are directed at the control plane on the network, including network-based security alerts for Azure virtual machines. Learn more | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management (MDVM) Add-on | Enhance your vulnerability management program consolidated asset inventories, security baselines assessments, application block feature, and more. Learn more. | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| Security Policy and Regulatory Compliance | Customize a security policy for your subscription and also compare the configuration of your resources with requirements in industry standards, regulations, and benchmarks. Learn more about regulatory compliance and security policies | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| Free data ingestion (500 MB) to Log Analytics workspaces | Free data ingestion is available for specific data types to Log Analytics workspaces. Data ingestion is calculated per node, per reported workspace, and per day. It's available for every workspace that has a Security or AntiMalware solution installed. | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| System updates and patches | Azure Update Manager remediation of unhealthy resources and recommendations is available at no additional cost for Arc enabled machines. | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| Just-in-time virtual machine access | Just-in-time virtual machine access locks down machine ports to reduce the attack surface. To use this feature, Defender for Cloud must be enabled on the subscription. | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| File integrity monitoring | File integrity monitoring examines files and registries for changes that might indicate an attack. A comparison method is used to determine whether suspicious modifications have been made to files. | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| Docker host hardening | Assesses containers hosted on Linux machines running Docker containers, and then compares them with the Center for Internet Security (CIS) Docker Benchmark. | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| Network map | Provides a geographical view of recommendations for hardening your network resources. | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
| Agentless scanning | Scans Azure virtual machines by using cloud APIs to collect data. | Not supported in Plan 1 |
|
Note
Once a plan is enabled, a 30-day trial period begins. There is no way to stop, pause, or extend this trial period. To enjoy the full 30-day trial, make sure to plan ahead to meet your evaluation purposes.
Select a vulnerability assessment solution
A couple of vulnerability assessment options are available in Defender for Servers:
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management: Integrated with Defender for Endpoint.
Available in Defender for Servers Plan 1 and Defender for Servers Plan 2.
Defender Vulnerability Management is enabled by default on machines that are onboarded to Defender for Endpoint.
Has the same Windows, Linux, and network prerequisites as Defender for Endpoint.
No extra software is required.
Note
Microsoft Defender Vulnerability Management Add-on capabilities are included in Defender for Servers Plan 2. This provides consolidated inventories, new assessments, and mitigation tools to further enhance your vulnerability management program. To learn more, see Vulnerability Management capabilities for servers.
Defender Vulnerability Management add-on capabilities are only available through the Microsoft Defender 365 portal.
Next steps
After you work through these planning steps, review Azure Arc and agent and extension requirements.