Installation of Required Software

The following is a list of required software for the Windows Server operating systems that support WSUS 3.0. Ensure that the WSUS server meets the minimum system requirements before running WSUS setup. If any updates require restarting the computer when installation is completed, restart your server before installing WSUS.

For a complete list of system requirements, refer to the Release Notes for Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2.

WSUS Server Software Prerequisites

  • One of the following supported operating systems: Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 SP1 or later, Windows Server 2003 SP2 or later, or Windows Small Business Server 2008 or 2003. Note that additional prerequisites apply for Windows Small Business Server. See the “Windows Small Business Server Prerequisites” section for details. WSUS 3.0 is also supported for use in virtual operating system environments.
  • IIS 6.0 or later
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 or later
  • One of the following supported databases: Microsoft SQL Server 2008, SQL Server 2005 SP2, or Windows Internal Database. If one of these versions of SQL Server is not installed, the WSUS 3.0 SP2 Setup Wizard will install Windows Internal Database.
  • Microsoft Management Console 3.0
  • Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2008
  • You cannot run Terminal Services on the computer that is the front-end server of a remote SQL installation.