Configuring WSUS 3.0 on Windows Server 2008
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Windows Server Update Services, abbreviated WSUS, is a solution developed by Microsoft that is ideal in corporate environments. The system allows system administrators to easily manage, administer, and deploy security patches, software updates, and hot-fixes through the use of Automatic Updates in their network. In this article we’re going to discuss how to set up WSUS 3.0 SP1 on the Windows Server 2008 platform.
WSUS is a locally administered system that synchronizes the patches and hot-fixes from the official Microsoft Update website. These are downloaded and stored locally on a server. System administrators are able to manage the deployment of these patches throughout their network. This gives them much more control over the updates—from scheduling up to manual approval. It’s a comprehensive suite that is very configurable.
As you can imagine, implementing the WSUS solution (formerly known as SUS—Software Update Services) brings a lot of benefits in a corporate environment. First of all, aside from greater control, it also helps reduce workload, saving bandwidth, disk space, and ultimately also time. The network's computers will grab the updates via the local network from the central server.
WSUS makes it possible to remotely deploy not only Windows-related hot-fixes and patches, but also for any other Microsoft-made product, such as Office, Visual Studio, Exchange, and many other. Furthermore, administrators can configure WSUS to deploy device drivers and feature packs individually. The web interface of WSUS runs on a virtual IIS site, while the repository is based on an MSDE (SQL Server) platform.
In corporate environments, chances are that the infrastructure is based on Active Directory and certain policies are enforced via GPOs (Group Policy Objects). In this case, the administrators can set up and enforce specific policies regarding Automatic Updates on the client-side. This way they won’t be able to bypass and/or skip the deployment of the software patches supplied by WSUS. This turns it into a safer suite.
Now let’s see how to get started with this system. We are going to install and configure WSUS.
Next: Installing WSUS >>
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