Manage Laptop Computers

Portable, or laptop, computers are increasingly being used in small-business networks. Update Services can easily manage updates for these computers.

Considerations

If you are administering a Windows Small Business Server 2003 R2 (Windows SBS 2003 R2) network that has laptop computers joined to the domain and you are using Update Services to manage updates for the laptop computers, you should consider the following important points:

• While it is physically connected to the Windows SBS 2003 R2 network, the laptop computer is managed in the same way as a desktop computer that is connected to the network.
• While it is connected to the Windows SBS 2003 R2 network over a virtual private network (VPN) connection, the laptop computer receives updates from Update Services. However, depending on the connection speed, updating can be considerably slower than when the computer is physically connected to the network.
• If the laptop computer is not connected to the Windows SBS 2003 R2 network, either on the physical network or through VPN, it does not receive updates from Update Services. Additionally, if the laptop computer is disconnected from the domain for 7 days or more, a message appears on the Update Services home page that warns that the laptop computer has not contacted Update Services for 7 days or more.
• Users can keep their laptop computers up-to-date when they are directly connected to the Internet by using Microsoft Update. To do so, click Start, point to Programs, and then click Internet Explorer. From the File menu, click Tools, and then click Windows Update. When the Microsoft Update Web site appears, the users can download any required updates.

See Also

Concepts

Advanced Management
Import Content
Branch Office
Back Up Update Services
Troubleshooting