Windows Server Update Services 2.0 Overview

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server Update Services

Microsoft® Windows™ Server Update Services (WSUS) enables information technology administrators to deploy the latest Microsoft product updates to Microsoft Windows Server 2000, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP operating systems. By using WSUS, administrators can fully manage the distribution of updates that are released through Microsoft Update to computers in their network.

Note

A downloadable copy of this document is available on the Microsoft Download Center at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=58285.

How WSUS works

WSUS provides a management infrastructure consisting of the following:Microsoft Update

The Microsoft Web site that WSUS components connect to for updates to Microsoft products.

Windows Server Update Services server

The server component that is installed on a computer running a Windows® 2000 Server with Service Pack 4 (SP4) or Windows Server2003 operating system inside the corporate firewall. The WSUS server provides the features that administrators need to manage and distribute updates through a Web-based tool, which can be accessed from Internet Explorer on any Windows computer in the corporate network. In addition, a WSUS server can be the update source for other WSUS servers within the organization. The WSUS server that acts as an update source is called an upstream server. In a WSUS implementation, at least one WSUS server in the network must connect to Microsoft Update to get available update information. The administrator can determine, based on network security and configuration, how many other servers connect directly to Microsoft Update.

Automatic Updates

The client computer component built into Windows 2000 with SP3, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Automatic Updates enables both server and client computers to receive updates from Microsoft Update or from a server running WSUS.