WSUS 3.0 SP2 System Requirements

Updated: October 30, 2015

Applies To: Windows Server Update Services, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1

This topic describes the software and hardware requirements needed to install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2).

In this topic:

• WSUS server minimum hardware requirements

• WSUS server software requirements

• WSUS database requirements

• WSUS Administration Console software requirements

• WSUS client system requirements

WSUS server minimum hardware requirements

To serve as a WSUS server, a computer must comply with the following minimum hardware requirements:

• The CPU, graphics card, memory, and other hardware components must be sufficient to run the installed operating system.

• I/O subsystem: Fast ATA/IDE 100 hard drive or equivalent SCSI drive is recommended.

• Network adapter: Minimum 10 MB; however, 100 MB or more is recommended.

• Both the system partition and the partition on which you install WSUS 3.0 SP2 must be formatted with the NTFS file system.

• Minimum 1 GB of free space on the system partition.

• Minimum 2 GB of free space on the volume on which the database is stored.

• Minimum 20 GB of free space on the volume on which updates are stored; however, 30 GB is recommended.

WSUS server software requirements

The following requirements identify the minimum operating system versions, application software, and database software for a WSUS server.

The server must have one of the following operating systems installed:

• Windows Server 2008 R2

• Windows Server 2008 with SP2 or Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)

• Windows Server 2003 with SP2

• Windows® Small Business Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2008, or Windows Small Business Server 2003 with SP2

  If you are installing WSUS 3.0 SP2 on Windows Small Business Server, the following prerequisites apply:

  1. Remove IP address and domain name restrictions from default IIS Web site.

     If the IIS virtual root is restricted to certain IP addresses or domain names, the Windows Update Client on the server may be unable to update itself. Remove the IP address and domain name restrictions before you install WSUS 3.0 SP2.

  2. Confirm ISA proxy server settings.

     • If Windows Small Business Server uses an ISA proxy server to access the Internet, type proxy server settings, proxy server name, port in the Settings user interface (UI).

     • If ISA is using Windows Authentication, type the proxy server credentials in the form DOMAIN\user. The user should be a member of the Internet Users group.

  3. If you added a subnet to the network and did not use the Microsoft Windows Small Business Server wizards:

     The WSUS server setup process installs two IIS vroots on the server: SelfUpdate and ClientWebService. Setup also puts some files under the root directory of the default Web site (on port 80), which enable client computers to self-update through the default Web site. By default, the default Web site is configured to deny access to any IP address other than localhost or to specific subnets attached to the server. Therefore, client computers that are not on localhost or on those specific subnets cannot self-update.To grant access to these client computers, complete the following steps on the default Web site’s SelfUpdate and ClientWebService virtual directories:

     To grant access to the client computers to self-update

     1. In Server Management, expand Advanced Management, expand Internet Information Services, expand Web Sites, expand Default Web Site, right-click the SelfUpdate virtual directory, and then click Properties.

     2. Click Directory Security.

     3. Under IP address and domain name restrictions, click Edit, and then click Granted Access.

     4. Click OK, right-click the ClientWebService virtual directory, and then click Properties.

     5. Click Directory Security.

     6. Under IP address and domain name restrictions, click Edit, and then click Granted Access.

The server must also be running all of the following application software:

• At least Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0

• At least Microsoft® .NET Framework 2.0

• At least Microsoft Management Console 3.0

• At least Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2008

WSUS database requirements

WSUS 3.0 SP2 requires a SQL Server database, which must be at least one of the following versions or editions:

• Windows Internal Database

• Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008 R2

• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition

• Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008

• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 with SP3

• Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with SP3

Remote SQL Server installation

You can install the WSUS 3.0 SP2 server software on a computer that is separate from the database server computer. In this case, the following additional criteria apply:

• The database server cannot be configured as a domain controller.

• The WSUS server cannot run Terminal Services.

• The database server must be in the same Active Directory domain as the WSUS server, or it must have a trust relationship with the Active Directory domain of the WSUS server.

• The WSUS server and the database server must be in the same time zone or be synchronized to the same Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time) time source.

WSUS Administration Console software requirements

Any computer that runs the WSUS Administration Console must have one of the following operating systems installed:

• At least Windows Server 2008 R2

• At least Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)

• At least Windows Server 2003 with SP2

• At least Windows Small Business Server 2003 with SP2

• Windows 7

• Windows Vista®

• Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3)

Any computer that runs the WSUS Administration Console must also have all of the following software installed:

• At least The Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0

• At least Microsoft Management Console 3.0

• At least Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2008

The computer that runs the WSUS Administration Console must be in the same Active Directory domain as the WSUS server, or it must have a trust relationship with the Active Directory domain of the WSUS server.

WSUS client system requirements

Automatic Updates is the client software that operates with WSUS. Automatic Updates can be installed and used on any computer that is running one of the following operating systems:

• Windows 7 

• Windows Vista

• Windows XP Professional 

• Windows Server 2008 R2

• Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)

• Windows Small Business Server 2008

• Windows Small Business Server 2005

• Windows Small Business Server 2003 or later versions

• Microsoft Windows Server 2000 with Service Pack 4 (SP4)