Windows Server Update Services

1. Windows Server Update Services IT:Network:Microsoft Server 1 Chapter 27

2. Patch managment • 4 phases • Assess—determine effectiveness of current patch management plan. Inventory all computers and software. Determine whether you can accommodate your update needs. • Identify—notified when update is available, is it applicable, and prioritize when and what should be updated. • Evaluate and plan—submit a change request and plan to perform updates during non-peak times. • Deploy—test on subset of computers and then perform final rollout.

3. Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) • What is it? • WSUS (previously called Windows Update Services) is the new name for the next version of Software Update Services (SUS). • WSUS is a patch and update component of Windows Server and offers an effective and quick way to help you get secure and stay secure. • WSUS represents an important step toward delivering a core software distribution and update management infrastructure in Windows. • WSUS has both a server and client component.

4. Which Platforms Does the Client Run? • Windows XP • Windows Vista • Windows 7 • Windows Server 2003 • Windows Server 2008

5. Which Platforms Does the Server Run? • Windows Server 2003 • Windows Server 2008 • Windows Server 2008 R2

6. What will it update? • WSUS supports updating Windows operating systems additional Microsoft software products. • WSUS supports updating: • Microsoft Office XP, Office 2003/2007/2010 • Microsoft SQL Server 2005 • Microsoft Exchange Server 2003/2007/2010 • Zune • Windows Media Center • Etc

7. WSUS offers the following features: • An administrator-controlled content synchronization service within the intranet. • The synchronization service is a server-side component that retrieves the latest critical updates from Microsoft Update. • As new updates are added to Windows Update, the server running WSUS automatically downloads and stores them, based on an administrator-defined schedule. • If an administrator does not wish to set a schedule, they can manual synchronize their server running WSUS with Windows/Microsoft Update.

8. Features continued. • An intranet-hosted Windows Update server. • This easy-to-use server acts as the virtual Windows Update server for client computers. • It contains the synchronization service and administrative tools for managing updates. • This server can also host critical updates downloaded from the synchronization service and refer client computers to those updates.

9. WSUS Features • Administrator control over updates. • The administrator can test and approve updates from the public Windows Update site before deployment on the corporate intranet. • Deployment takes place on a schedule created by the administrator. • If multiple servers are running WSUS, the administrator controls which computers access particular servers running WSUS. • Administrators enable this level of control with a Group Policy in an Active Directory environment, or through registry keys.

10. WSUS Features • Automatic Updates on computers (desktops or servers). • Automatic Updates is a Windows feature that can be setup to automatically check for updates published on Windows Update. • You can configure Windows to install updates on a schedule.

11. WSUS Installation • WSUS is added as a role in Windows Server 2008 R2

12. WSUS Installation • IIS is required along with other role services

13. WSUS Interface

14. Client Side Configuration

15. Client Side Configuration

16. References and other solutions • http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/bb332157 • http://www.lumension.com/