Overview
How Update Services works
Update Services uses Windows Server Updates Services 2.0 (WSUS) "under the hood" as the main engine for managing updates. When you install and enable Update Services, a process of synchronization begins that is repeated every day. Each time, synchronization follows the same general steps.
To better understand the steps for Update Services synchronization, consider the following example:
10:00 A.M.: Microsoft Update releases a new update.
10:00 P.M.: Update Services on the computer that is running Windows SBS 2003 R2 contacts the servers for Microsoft Update Services in order to begin downloading information about available updates (metadata).
Note
The very first time that Update Services performs synchronization, download of the metadata could take several hours, depending upon network connection speed. Also, during the first 48 hours after you enable synchronization, Update Services downloads metadata only for critical and security updates. All subsequent synchronizations download metadata for all update types.
- 11:00 P.M.: Automatic updates on the network computers run detection against Update Services on the computer that is running Windows SBS 2003 R2 to see if there are required updates available.
Note
Update Services configures network computers so that they run detection hourly.
If network computers detect required updates listed in the metadata, Update Services downloads them to the computer that is running Windows SBS 2003 R2.
- Depending on the setting in the Schedule tab of the Update Services Settings dialog, computers either wait for user intervention to finish installing the updates, or they install the updates at the scheduled time, as in the following table:
| Schedule setting | Result |
|---|---|
Install updates, and then reboot according to this schedule |
|
Download updates, and notify the user that updates are ready to be installed. |
|
- Network computers install the required updates and then report their status back to Update Services.
The Green Check
A green check icon appears when the synchronization process above finishes and all client computers that are registered with Update Services finish installing all of the required updates. Update Services then reports that the network is up-to-date and displays the green check.
Note
The green check appears even if some network computers have not contacted Update Services in more than 7 days. Computers that have not contacted Update Services in more than 7 days are listed in the Update Services Status on the Update Services home page.
Note
The green check appears even if some network computers in Active Directory are not registered with Update Services. Those computers are listed in the Update Services Status on the Update Services home page.