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TeachMeIT
975 pts.
 Best way to deploy a service pack?
Deployment tools, Group Policy, Service packs, WSUS
What is the best way to deploy a service pack? Group Policy or allow users to download it themselves or something like WSUS?

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ASKED: July 11, 2011  3:34 PM
UPDATED: March 31, 2012  9:47 PM
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Hell, In my humble opinion, if you have more than s few computers, you might want to give <a href="http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/bb332157">WSUS</a> a try... Windows Server Update System allows you to deploy not just Service Packs, but also all Microsoft related update in a corporate environment. The best of all is that it is free. (Ok, you just need to have a (old) server to the task).
Last Wiki Answer Submitted:  July 11, 2011  10:01 pm  by  Rakei   3,260 pts.
All Answer Wiki Contributors:  Rakei   3,260 pts.
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This all depends on the number of computers, where they are located, your bandwidth, what tools you already use to manage / deploy software and do you need to control the role out.

WSUS is great for a single location with lots of internal bandwidth and no other solution in place.

Pjb0222
 3,310 pts.
 

Hello,

Just to clarify:

- You can have multiple WSUS servers (one or more per location/site), as needed.
There is always one that is the “master” and all the “Slaves” update as needed from the first one. You only download once from the internet. You can rely on DNS (configuring Round Robin) so every client download it’s updates from its closest WSUS Server, conservirng bandwidth and speeding transfers.
You can limit the bandwidth used by WSUS clients (when downloading updates) configuring the bandwidth in the WSUS web site.

My bigger personal experience with WSUS (v 3 SP 2) is operating in 6 different geographical sites, with links around 1 and 2 Mbps between them with almost 500 clients (XP to WIn 7, W2k3 to W2k8 servers, Exchange, SQL and Terminal Servers, Office, etc). This is working for almost 6 years *without a problem* of any kind. In my experience, this is one of configure and forget solutions from Microsoft. (Ok, you need to approve updates every month, but this isn’t a feature, it is by design)

Of course there are much better and expensive solutions, but if you want, WSUS can save your day.

HTH

saturno
 4,570 pts.