Important Areas to Master on WSUS

Exploring the crucial “Areas to Master on WSUS” is essential. Formerly known as Software Update Services (SUS), WSUS, developed by Microsoft, empowers administrators to manage update distribution in a corporate computer network efficiently. Please see Windows Server Update Services: Windows 2016 Servers does not show up on WSUS console, and WSUS clients appear and disappear from the WSUS Update Services console.

For more articles I have written, see Configuring WSUS Email Notification to Work With Office365. How to setup and configure Windows server update services (WSUS), and Targeting WSUS Client with the Registry keys: How to configure WSUS Clients to get Updates from the WSUS server using Registry settings.

Understanding Update Applicability and Installation

Installed and not applicable

This means applicable updates. This means that the particular patch is for Windows Server 2012 as an example. Also, all of your systems that report to your WSUS server.

Looking for Areas to Master on WSUS? If your server is Windows Server 2012, patches might appear as installed/not applicable, as they're not meant for those systems.

Here is how to Start, Stop and Restart Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) via PowerShell and CMD.

Explanation: If you have four servers reporting to WSUS which are 2 windows 2012 and 2 windows 2008 servers, MS.Netframeork Update for server 2012. This will show up as 50 installed / not applicable. Each of those servers (meaning 50% of the total computers reporting to WSUS need this).

Install 1/4 WSUS

This meaning  a Groups configured for install (The (1/4) means you have approved it for one of your four targets groups.)

Exploring the WSUS Admin Console, we discover that under the “Approval” column, certain updates display as “Install (1/3)”. These are key Areas to Master on WSUS for effective update management.

Answer: The parenthetical numbers document how many groups are configured for Install (All computer groups/Unassigned group/ Test Server Group) etc.

In the first case, one of three groups has the update approved for install. In the second case, the update is approved for all computers and is inherited to all groups.

This can be seen from the update status which shows the computer installed and not applicable 

Please see How to apply Windows Updates from WSUS to the server using AWS RunCommand. How to Configure SSL between WSUS servers (Upstream and Downstream Servers), and Windows Server Update Services Commands, WAUACLT, PowerShell and USOClient

Installed / Not applicable 100%

This means the updates is not applicable to any client whatsoever.

I hope you found this blog post on Important Areas to Master on WSUS useful. Please feel free to leave a comment below.