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Deploying WSUS for Exchange patch management


Brien M. Posey
07.26.2005
Rating: -4.67- (out of 5)


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Introduction

We all know that it's important to keep Exchange patched and up to date, but that can be easier said than done. Exchange administrators used to have to either manually apply patches or invest in expensive patching software.

Furthermore, patching Exchange isn't enough. You must also patch the underlying operating system and client machines. At a minimum, this means patching Windows and Outlook.

The good news is that Microsoft has a free utility called Windows Server Update Service (WSUS) that can automate patching for all the products I mentioned above and more. In this article, I will walk you through how to get WSUS up and running.

The prep work

Before you install WSUS, you need to make sure your system is running the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) 2.0 and the Service Pack 1 version of the .NET Framework.

Installing WSUS

Configuring WSUS

WSUS offers countless


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options and I don't have the space to talk about all of them. But I will at least explain the minimum configuration necessary to get WSUS up and running.

Configuring clients

The final step in the process is to point your servers and workstations to the WSUS server you've just configured.

Conclusion

You just received a crash course in deploying WSUS, which you can use to keep your Exchange organization up to date. Of course, there is a lot more to WSUS than what I have covered in this article. For more information, go here.

About the author: Brien M. Posey, MCSE, is a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional for his work with Windows 2000 Server and IIS. Brien has served as the CIO for a nationwide chain of hospitals and was once in charge of IT security for Fort Knox. As a freelance technical writer he has written for Microsoft, TechTarget, CNET, ZDNet, MSD2D, Relevant Technologies and other technology companies. You can visit Brien's personal Web site at http://www.brienposey.com.

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