Building a WSUS server: where to start?
Rather than having all of my computers go out to the internet and download their Automatic Updates, I am seriously considering building a WSUS server. That is, a Windows Update server. I have read some articles, and they have been helpful, but not complete. The following is what I have gleaned are the steps I need to take:
- Commission a computer to be the server with Windows 2003 Server.
- Install the WSUS package(s) and select the type of updates to check for.
- Configure the rest of my computers to be clients of this server.
- Set the clients to receive updates from the server.
My questions are as follows:
- Does the server have to run Windows 2003 Server, or will Windows XP Professional work?
- Where do I download the WSUS packages from?
- How can I configure my computers to look for updates from my server instead of the internet?
Thanks!!
Solution 1:
Does the server have to run Windows 2003 Server, or will Windows XP Professional work?
Yes, Windows Server is required.
Where do I download the WSUS packages from?
Microsoft's website: WSUS 3.0
How can I configure my computers to look for updates from my server instead of the internet?
There's a deployment guide & a step-by-step guide that explains it all in detail. The executive summary is:
If your computers are members of a domain, then you can use group policy.
If your computers are stand alone, then you will have to modify the registry of each machine. THis KB covers both scenarios.
Solution 2:
1: I would run it on server 2003.
2: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/wsus/default.aspx The install is fairly simple. A whole bunch of "next" and "yes" You have to pay attention to the port number though, that must be the same port number to put in the group policy.
3: The easiest way is to issue domain group policy on the automatic updates
Group Policy location:
Computer Configuration --> Administration Templates --> Windows Components --> Windows Updates In the server field you input your local WSUS server.
Solution 3:
The only thing I will add to the other excellent answers is a warning.
WSUS uses a lot of disk space, especially if you configure it wrongly. Make sure you only download the languages you want or you will need over a terabyte of disk to hold everything.