WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) is Microsoft's built-in solution for centralized patch management. WSUS is easy to install and allows you to control which patches go out, when they go out and on which system there are installed.
Of course, WSUS out of the box only supports patching Windows and other Microsoft products like Office but the infrastructure is there to patch everything else on your Windows systems including Adobe products, Java updates and even your own custom applications. And 3rd party patching via WSUS is getting easier.
But first, more on WSUS. In Windows Server 2016, WSUS is still alive and kicking and easier than ever to rollout. In this webinar, I will take you through installing the WSUS role on a server and then configuring other systems on your network to use it for deploying security patches and other updates. Questions we'll answer:
- Do I need more than one WSUS server?
- Should I deploy a hierarchy of WSUS servers?
- Can I use WSUS on a disconnected/isolated network?
- How do you rollout patches to different classes of systems?
Those of you already using WSUS, will be interested in these questions:
- How can I get computers to show up in new WSUS groups without rebooting them?
- How do you leverage WSUS to patch 3rd party applications like Adobe products and Java?
- How can I rollout patches to a portion of advance system for a final trial before wide-scale deployment?
- Tips on scheduling and controlling reboots
- Recommended settings for workstations vs. servers
- Advantages of setting up a DNS alias for your WSUS server
- How to avoid dragging large patches over your WAN or site-to-site VPN and other ways to conserve bandwidth
And perhaps most importantly: how to determine if systems are successfully patching and identifying your problem systems.
SolarWinds is my sponsor for this rreal-training-for-free ™ event and Jamie Hynds, Senior Product Manager for SolarWinds Security Portfolio, will be showing one of the most important parts of the whole event which is how SolarWinds® Patch Manager uses your existing Microsoft WSUS infrastructure to deploy pre-built patches for 3rd party applications, and even your own custom apps, in addition to providing you more control over Microsoft WSUS and saving you loads of time by eliminating patch management headaches.