How to Push Microsoft Patches With Microsoft Configuration Manager

Windows Server Update Services provides a convienient way to manage updates on networked computers.

Microsoft publishes security updates at least once per month. For administrators, this can create a lot of work to distribute and manage these updates in their environments. Windows updates can be managed on the individual computer or on multiple computers in an environment using additional software. Microsoft offers the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) application to manage updates free of charge. WSUS allows administrators to approve or reject updates and manage their distribution.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Windows Server Update Services
• Internet access

1. Download Windows Server Update Services. (See Resources 1)

2. Install the application on a compatible system. The system must be running Windows XP Service Pack 3 or newer.

3. Configure the software. This includes setting up appropriate networking options for connecting to Microsoft, as well as determining the preferred method of distributing updates to other computers.

4. Set the client computers to use the newly-installed WSUS for updates. This is done through the Automatic Updates configuration on individual computers or using Group Policies in an Active Directory domain.

5. Configure groups in WSUS to manage the computers. Groups allow specific updates to be approved or rejected on a per-group basis, applying the selection to all computers within the group.

6. Approve or reject updates in the WSUS console. Once approved, updates will be automatically identified by the client computers and installed based on the configuration set up.

References

• Microsoft: Step by Step Installation Guide
• Microsoft: Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 Release Notes

Resources

• Microsoft: Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2