Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty:

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2 Published by We Got Served Ltd. Copyright 2013 by Christopher Courtney. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review. All trademarks mentioned in this ebook are the property of their respective owners. We Got Served Ltd. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. First Published: December 2013 Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: The publisher and author make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of this content of this work and specifically disclaim all waranties, including without limitation warranties of fitness for a particular purpose. Although the author and publisher have made every effort to ensure that the information in this book was correct at press time, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. The advice outlined in this book may not be suitable for every situation. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher and author are not engaged in providing professional services. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Neither the publisher, not the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom. The fact that an organisation, service provider or website is referred to in this work as a citation and/or a potential source of further information does not mean that the author or the publisher endorses the information the organisation, service provider or website may provide.

3 About the Author Christopher Courtney Christopher Courtney is a frequent contributor and lead forum moderator at We Got Served, a popular home server destination for hundreds of thousands of readers every month. While he may not be in an IT job, computers have always been his passion. Indeed, when he discovered Windows Home Server in 2007, he already had a Windows XP computer set up to do a very similar thing. But after trying Windows Home Server, that XP computer was soon retired. Christopher s expertise and community support for Windows Home Server and its users has been recognised multiple times by Microsoft via the Most Valuable Professional award, a coveted honour granted to the best and brightest technology experts around the world. About We Got Served We Got Served ( is a popular technology news and community site which was founded in February It is written, edited and moderated by a dedicated and knowledgeable team of technology enthusiasts across the world who are focused on bringing you the latest news, reviews, tutorials and support for the products you re using today and tomorrow. We created We Got Served as a place to learn about new technology, help readers make the most of the products and services they use, and most importantly to create a community where readers can learn, discuss and share their experiences and knowledge with others in need of support. However you use the site, we hope you enjoy it. Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) About the Author 3

4 Revision History v1.0 December 2013 Initial release Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Revision History 4

5 Please Register This Book Whilst the concept of registering a book may sound a little strange, I heartily invite you to do so! Registering your with us allows us to inform you of updates and amendments to the book, and let you know about new ebooks we re writing as well as some offers on our other titles. Hey, if that s not enough, you know us so we d like to know you too! So head over to and spend 23.2 seconds signing up! Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Registration 5

6 Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) A We Got Served How To Project Contents About the Author 3 About We Got Served 3 Revision History 4 Before Installing Windows Server Update Services 8 Installing the Windows Server Update Services Role 12 Configuring Windows Server Update Services 19 Optimizing Your Windows Server Update Services Configuration 36 Limiting the Amount of Memory the WSUS Database Can Use 36 Enable an SSL Connection for Windows Server Update Services 39 Automating WSUS Server Cleanup 42 Connecting Clients to WSUS 45 Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Contents 6

7 x The Project Install Windows Server Update Services

8 Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) One of the drawbacks of a modern home or smal business with multiple PCs is the continual need for Windows Updates. Barely a week goes past without Microsoft releasing some kind of update for Windows, and of course, each of your PCs requires that update meaning you may well have to wander around updating each in turn. Wouldn t it be great if you could download all of those updates just once to your server, and push them out to client PCs over the network? Well, you can! If you re not familiar with Windows Server Update Services (or WSUS for short), it s basically a local copy of the Windows/Microsoft Update service. But it is a lot more than that. It allows you to cache the selected update locally, and roll them out over your network. It also allows you to control which updates are rolled out to your computers. It is heavily used in large companies, where every update needs to be tested for compatibility and possible side effects before being deployed to the whole network. It is also used to reduce bandwidth usage, as each computer configured to use WSUS will download the updates from that local server, instead of downloading all its updates from Microsoft s website. If you have a bandwidth cap on your internet connection, this can definitely save you precious megabytes (or even gigabytes) of data. As Windows Server 2012 Essentials supports up to 50 devices, you can quickly see how that could help you out. Before Installing Windows Server Update Services Before we really get started, you may need to download the hotfix that allows you to actually add the WSUS role. By default, the role was blocked from installation on Windows Server 2012 Essentials. There was a hotfix released on February on Microsoft s website that you can download and install to enable the role. Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Project 8

9 Before installing the hotfix As you can see, there is no WSUS role to be installed in the Add Roles and Features Wizard. So open the hotfix link ( fill out the form that is presented, and you should immediately get a download link ed to you. Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Project 9

10 Downloading the hotfix from the Microsoft website. Once you have the hotfix downloaded (it should be named something like _intl_x64_zip. exe ), copy it to the server. Right click on the file, and select Run as administrator. This will launch a windows that will ask where you want to extract the contents to, with C:\ selected by default. Go ahead and extract to there. Now, go to C:\, and you should see a variety of documents, a text file, and a Windows8-RT- KB x64 Microsoft Update file. Run the Windows8-RT-KB x64 file, and it should ask you if you want to install the Feature Pack for Windows (KB ). Since that is what we want, go ahead and hit Yes. Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Project 10

11 Installing the Feature Pack. Go ahead and follow the wizard until you get to the Installation Complete page. If it has the Restart button here, go ahead and restart. Otherwise, everything is ready now, and just close the wizard. Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Project 11

12 The hotfix is installed. Installing the Windows Server Update Services Role Now it s time to actually add the Role. Load up Server Manager. There are a couple of ways to get to it. The simplest way is to remote into the server, and find Administrative Tools, which should be in the Start Screen. Otherwise, open up File Explorer, right click on Computer and select Manage. Once you ve opened Administrative Tools, give it a minute or two to refresh. Select the Add Roles and Features option in the Manage menu/button located in the top right corner. This will open the Add Roles and Features Wizard. Install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Project 12