Step 1: Review WSUS Installation Requirements

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

This guide offers instruction for installing Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) on Microsoft Windows Server 2003 operating systems (except for Web Edition and all 64-bit versions). If you have a server running Microsoft Windows 2000 Server and need more information, see the “Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services” white paper.

The following are the baseline installation requirements for installations that use the default options. You can find hardware and software requirements for other installations in the “Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services” white paper.

Hardware recommendations for a server with up to 500 clients are as follows:

  • 1 gigahertz (GHz) processor

  • 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM

Software Requirements

To install WSUS with default options, you must have the following installed on your computer. For more information about WSUS software requirements, see the “Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services” white paper. If any of these updates require restarting the computer when installation is completed, you should restart your server prior to installing WSUS.

  • Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0. For instruction about how to install IIS, see the “Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services” white paper or Help and Support Center in Windows Server 2003.

  • Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003. To obtain this software, go to the Download Center at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=47358.

    An alternative is to go to https://www.windowsupdate.com and scan for Critical Updates and Service Packs – Install Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2003.

  • Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) 2.0. BITS 2.0 for Windows Server 2003 is not available from the Download Center at this time. To obtain this software, go to the Microsoft Web site for Windows Server Update Services Open Evaluation at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=47357.

Note

Although database software is required to install WSUS, it is not listed here because the default WSUS installation on Windows Server 2003 includes Windows SQL Server™ 2000 Desktop Engine (WMSDE) database software.

Disk Requirements and Recommendations

To install WSUS, the file system of the server must meet the following requirements:

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

  • A minimum of 1 GB free space is required for the system partition.

  • A minimum of 6 GB free space is required for the volume where WSUS stores content; 30 GB is recommended.

  • A minimum of 2 GB free space is required on the volume where WSUS Setup installs Windows SQL Server 2000 Desktop Engine (WMSDE).

Automatic Updates Requirements

Automatic Updates is the client component of WSUS. Automatic Updates has no hardware requirements other than being connected to the network. You can use Automatic Updates with WSUS on computers running any of the following operating systems:

  • Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Service Pack 4 (SP4), Windows 2000 Server with SP3 or SP4, or Windows 2000 Advanced Server with SP3 or SP4.

  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional, with or without Service Pack 1 or Service Pack 2.

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition; Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition; Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition; or Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.