Windows Server Update Services

Awhile ago, I implemented WSUS version 2 at the company I work for. I had it running on a old Windows 2000 Server. It did just fine for the longest time. When WSUS version 3 came out, I looked at it, was excited about it, and then had my hopes dashed as it required Windows 2003 Server. Bummer. So, I put it on the back burner because I had only about 1000 other things to work on.

Two years or so later, I start looking at implementing some Windows 7 computers and realize that WSUS v2 does not handle Windows 7. Crud. I am therefore forced to deal with deploying WSUS v3. Looking over all the documentation and guides that Microsoft has about it, I start thinking about the best way to handle it. When I read docs and guides, I find that a lot of the time, it just points me in the right direction and I can extrapolate what works best for my systems.

So, I came up with the following plan:

1. Backup WSUS v2 database to main database server
2. Rebuild existing server with Win2k3
3. Install WSUS v3 on new server and point to existing database

Now, I hate wiping out systems that are working just to try out something that may, or may not, work. Instead, I go ahead and install a Win2k3 server inside my Virtual Server so I can play a little with WSUS v3. I very quickly realize that the benefit of the retaining the old database is quite limited and decide to forget the plan. Instead, I decide to just use my Virtual Server install as my ‘go live’ system and move all of my computers to it with a clean database. That has the benefit of getting rid of all my old system that don’t even exist anymore.

Got that taken care of over the weekend. And now, after a couple of days, I’ll rebuild the old WSUS server as Win2k3, copy the new WSUS database to the database server, and point the new server to it. Perfect! After that, I’ll have to deploy local servers to the other two offices in my company for faster responses and downloads of patches. No Problem!

Signing off.

Justin