Windows Server Update Services 3.

0 SP2
Operations Guide
Microsoft Corporation
Author: Anita Taylor
Editor: Theresa Haynie

Abstract
This guide describes how to manage Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 (WSUS 3.0
SP2). You will find best practices and instructions for managing updates, maintaining client
computers and groups, and running reports. This guide also offers server and client
troubleshooting information.
Copyright Notice
Information in this document, including URL and other Internet Web site references, is subject to
change without notice. Unless otherwise noted, the companies, organizations, products, domain
names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places, and events depicted in examples herein are
fictitious. No association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, e-mail
address, logo, person, place, or event is intended or should be inferred. Complying with all
applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under
copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft
Corporation.
Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual
property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any
written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any
license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.
© 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Active Directory, ActiveX, Authenticode, Excel, InfoPath, Internet Explorer, MSDN,
Outlook, Visual Studio, Win32, Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are trademarks of
the Microsoft group of companies.
All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Contents
Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 Operations Guide........................................................1
Abstract....................................................................................................................................1

Copyright Notice.............................................................................................................................2

Contents..........................................................................................................................................3

Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 Operations Guide......................................................11

Administering Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2.............................................................11

Overview of Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2...............................................................11

How WSUS Works.....................................................................................................................11
Software Updates...................................................................................................................12

Managing Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2..................................................................12

Setting Up Synchronizations.........................................................................................................12
Synchronizing Updates by Product and Classification...............................................................13
Synchronizing Updates by Language........................................................................................14
Configuring Proxy Server Settings.............................................................................................14
Configuring the Update Source.................................................................................................14
Configuring Update Storage......................................................................................................15
Synchronizing Manually or Automatically...................................................................................15

Managing the Client Computers and Computer Groups...............................................................16

Managing the Client Computers....................................................................................................16

Managing the Computer Groups...................................................................................................17

Managing the Updates..................................................................................................................18

Overview of Updates.....................................................................................................................18
How WSUS Stores Updates......................................................................................................18
Managing Updates with WSUS.................................................................................................19
Update Products and Classifications.........................................................................................19
Products Updated by WSUS..................................................................................................19
Update Classifications............................................................................................................20

Viewing the Updates.....................................................................................................................21

WSUS 3.0 SP2 and the Catalog Site............................................................................................23

Importing hotfixes from the Microsoft Update catalog site.........................................................23
 Restricting access to hotfixes....................................................................................................24
Importing updates in different languages................................................................................24

Approving the Updates..................................................................................................................24

Approving Updates....................................................................................................................25
Declining Updates......................................................................................................................26
Change an Approved Update to Not Approved..........................................................................27
Approving Updates for Removal................................................................................................27
Approving Updates Automatically..............................................................................................28
Automatically Approving Revisions to Updates and Declining Expired Updates........................29
Approving Superseding or Superseded Updates.......................................................................29
Best Practices for Approving a Superseding Update..............................................................30

Office Update Approval.................................................................................................................31

SQL Server and Exchange Server Updates Approval...................................................................31

Updating Microsoft SQL Server instances.................................................................................31
Updating Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Servers that are part of a cluster......32

Testing the Updates......................................................................................................................32

Storing the Updates......................................................................................................................33

Specifying Where to Store the Updates........................................................................................33

Local Storage Considerations....................................................................................................33
About Express Installation Files.................................................................................................33
Updates, Update Files, and Languages.....................................................................................34
Changing the Location Where You Store Update Files Locally..................................................34

Managing the Database................................................................................................................35

Additional resources..................................................................................................................36

Migrating from Windows Internal Database to SQL Server...........................................................36

Why Migrate the WSUS Database to SQL Server.....................................................................36
SQL Server Database Requirements........................................................................................36
Scenarios...................................................................................................................................36
Migrating the WSUS Database...............................................................................................37
Migrating the WSUS Database and Moving to a Remote SQL Server...................................38
Remote SQL Scenario Limitations......................................................................................38
Prerequisites.......................................................................................................................39
To migrate the WSUS database from a Windows Internal Database instance to an
instance of SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2 on a remote server................39

Using the Server Cleanup Wizard.................................................................................................41

Running the Server Cleanup Wizard.........................................................................................41

Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica Mode.....................................................................................42

 Replica server synchronization..................................................................................................43

Backing Up Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2................................................................43

Best Practices with Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2....................................................45

Best practices for security..........................................................................................................45
Best practices for resource usage.............................................................................................46
Disk space.......................................................................................................................46
Network bandwidth..........................................................................................................47
Best practices for setting up WSUS networks...........................................................................48
Best practices for maintaining WSUS databases......................................................................48
Other best practices...................................................................................................................48
Manage restarts...............................................................................................................48
Ensure WSUS availability................................................................................................49
Test service packs carefully.............................................................................................49
Check overall system health............................................................................................49

Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command Line.....................................................................50

Using the wsusutil utility.............................................................................................................50
configuressl............................................................................................................................51
Syntax.................................................................................................................................52
Output.................................................................................................................................52
healthmonitoring.....................................................................................................................52
Syntax.................................................................................................................................52
Output.................................................................................................................................55
export.....................................................................................................................................55
Syntax.................................................................................................................................55
Import.....................................................................................................................................55
Syntax.................................................................................................................................56
Movecontent...........................................................................................................................56
If the drive is full..................................................................................................................56
If the hard disk fails.............................................................................................................57
Syntax.................................................................................................................................57
listfrontendservers..................................................................................................................57
deletefrontendserver..............................................................................................................57
Syntax.................................................................................................................................57
checkhealth............................................................................................................................58
Syntax.................................................................................................................................58
reset.......................................................................................................................................58
Syntax.................................................................................................................................58
listinactiveapprovals...............................................................................................................58
Syntax.................................................................................................................................58
removeinactiveapprovals........................................................................................................59
Syntax.................................................................................................................................59
usecustomwebsite..................................................................................................................59
 Syntax.................................................................................................................................59

Reports in Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2..................................................................59

In this section.............................................................................................................................60

Terminology for Update Status......................................................................................................60

Creating Reports...........................................................................................................................61
Using the Reports Page.............................................................................................................62
Update Reports......................................................................................................................62
Update Status Summary View............................................................................................63
Computer Reports..................................................................................................................64
Synchronization Results Report.............................................................................................64
Printing a Report.................................................................................................................65
Exporting a Report..............................................................................................................65
Extending Reports.....................................................................................................................66
Use WSUS APIs to Create Custom Reports.......................................................................66
Use WSUS Public Views to Create Custom Reports..........................................................66

Securing Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2....................................................................66

Troubleshooting Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2........................................................67

Health Monitoring in WSUS 3.0 SP2.............................................................................................67

Health checks............................................................................................................................67
Polling WSUS components....................................................................................................67
Viewing event logs.................................................................................................................68
Resolving problems................................................................................................................68

WSUS 3.0 SP2 Server Administration Issues...............................................................................68

Issues with Setup..........................................................................................................................69

Troubleshooting WSUS setup....................................................................................................69
Check for required software and hardware.........................................................................69
Check setup logs................................................................................................................69
Check the .NET framework installation...............................................................................69
The WSUSService service is marked for deletion...............................................................70
On a domain controller, the NetBiosDomainName is different from the DNS domain name
........................................................................................................................................70
Duplicate ASP.Net entries in the IIS Web services list........................................................70
There is a SUSDB database from an earlier installation.....................................................70
UseCustomWebsite fails when the default Web site does not have a site ID of 1...............71
API compression may not be used after installing WSUS 3.0 SP2 on Windows Server 2008
........................................................................................................................................71
WSUS 3.0 SP2 setup fails to install to Windows Server 2008 when installing to a case-
sensitive SQL and the computer name is in lowercase letters.........................................71
Issues with Upgrades....................................................................................................................71
Troubleshooting WSUS Upgrades.............................................................................................71
If a WSUS Upgrade Fails, WSUS May Be Uninstalled.......................................................71
Upgrading to WSUS 3.0 from WSUS 2 0............................................................................71
Certificate Not Configured after WSUS 2.0 SP2 is Upgraded to WSUS 3.0 with Custom
Web site...........................................................................................................................72

Issues with the WSUS 3.0 SP2 Administration Console...............................................................72

Troubleshooting the WSUS administration console...................................................................72
Cannot access the WSUS administration console and a timeout error message appears. 72
Get an error looking at a network load balanced cluster if the "master" is unavailable.......72
Cannot see client computers in the WSUS administration console.....................................73
Cannot see computers having 100 percent installed state on the Computers page when the
"Installed/NotApplicable or No Status" filter is applied.....................................................73
Cannot connect to remote WSUS 3.0 server in a saved MMC console..............................73
Get error accessing WSUS 3.0 servers from the WSUS administration console because
the WWW Publishing service is configured to allow interaction with the desktop............73
Get other errors accessing WSUS 3.0 servers from the WSUS administration console.....74

Issues with Update Storage..........................................................................................................74

Troubleshooting update storage................................................................................................74
The updates listed in the WSUS administrative console do not match the updates listed in
your local folder...............................................................................................................74
Downloads from a WSUS server are failing........................................................................75
The local content directory is running out of disk space......................................................75

Issues with Synchronization..........................................................................................................76

Troubleshooting synchronization...............................................................................................77
Check the error in the synchronization's Details pane........................................................77
Synchronization retries by downstream servers..................................................................77
Check proxy server settings by using the WSUS console..................................................77
Check the firewall settings..................................................................................................77
Check the name of the upstream WSUS server.................................................................77
Verify that users and the network service have Read permissions to the local update
storage directory..............................................................................................................78
On a downstream WSUS server, check that the updates are available on the upstream
WSUS server...................................................................................................................78
Restart the BITS service.....................................................................................................79
The number of updates that are approved on a parent upstream server does not match the
number of approved updates on a replica server............................................................79
The last catalog synchronization failed...............................................................................79
A WSUS 2.0 replica times out when synchronizing.............................................................79

Issues with Update Approvals.......................................................................................................79

Troubleshooting update approvals.............................................................................................80
 New approvals can take up to one minute to take effect.....................................................80
Remote computers accessed by using Terminal Services cannot be restarted by non-
administrators..................................................................................................................80
The number of updates that are approved on a parent upstream server does not match the
number of approved updates on a replica server............................................................80

Issues with Backup and Restore...................................................................................................80

Troubleshooting backup and restore issues..............................................................................80
Cannot access WSUS data after restoring the database....................................................80
Clients have download failures after restoring the database...............................................80

Issues with E-Mail Notifications.....................................................................................................81

Troubleshooting the WSUS e-mail setup...................................................................................81
Troubleshooting the SMTP server.............................................................................................81

Issues with the Database..............................................................................................................81

Troubleshooting Database Issues.............................................................................................81

Issues with WSUS 3.0 Services....................................................................................................82

Troubleshooting services...........................................................................................................82
General service troubleshooting.........................................................................................82
Reset IIS.............................................................................................................................82
SQL service........................................................................................................................82
Access rights on Web service directories............................................................................83
IIS settings for Web services...............................................................................................83

WSUS 3.0 SP2 Client Computer Administration Issues................................................................83

In This Section...........................................................................................................................83

Issues with Client Computer Groups.............................................................................................83

Client computers appear in the wrong groups...........................................................................84
Verify that the WSUS console is set to use client-side targeting.........................................84
Verify that target computer group names match groups on the WSUS server....................84
Reset the Automatic Update client......................................................................................84

Issues with Update Installation on Clients.....................................................................................84

Troubleshooting Update Installation Issues...............................................................................85
Checking DCOM Configuration...........................................................................................85
Default DCOM Permissions................................................................................................85

Issues with Clients Not Reporting.................................................................................................85

Troubleshooting client not reporting issues................................................................................85
Check the HTTP hotfix...........................................................................................................85
Troubleshoot client connectivity.............................................................................................86
Troubleshoot the Automatic Update client..............................................................................86
Reset the Automatic Update client.........................................................................................87
Issues with Client Self-Update......................................................................................................87
Troubleshooting client self-update issues..................................................................................87
How to differentiate between the SUS client and WSUS client...........................................88
Verify that the client software in your organization can self-update.....................................90
Verify that SUS clients are pointed to the WSUS server.....................................................90
Check for the self-update tree on the WSUS server...........................................................90
Check IIS logs on the WSUS Server...................................................................................91
If you have installed Windows SharePoint Services on the default Web site in IIS, configure
it to coexist with Self-update............................................................................................91
Check if the Content and Selfupdate Web sites have different authentication levels..........92
Check network connectivity on the WSUS client computer.................................................93
Check logs on the WSUS client computer..........................................................................93
Manipulate registry settings on the WSUS client computer.................................................93

Issues with BITS...........................................................................................................................95

Finding BITS..............................................................................................................................95
Stopping and Restarting BITS...................................................................................................96
Troubleshooting BITS Download Issues....................................................................................96
The BITS service must run under the Local System user account......................................97
Proxy Servers Must Support HTTP 1.1 RANGE Requests.................................................97
There is a mismatch between the BITS per-user job limit and the per-computer job limit...97
BITS Jobs are Failing..........................................................................................................97
BITS Fails to Start.............................................................................................................100
Repairing a Corrupted BITS Configuration........................................................................101

Issues with High CPU Utilization.................................................................................................101

Additional Resources for Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2.........................................102

Windows Server Update Services communities......................................................................102
Additional references...............................................................................................................102

Appendix A: Uninstalling Windows Internal Database.................................................................103

Appendix B: Uninstalling WSUS 3.0 SP2 from SQL Server........................................................103

Uninstalling WSUS might leave some WSUS accounts on computers running SQL Server. . .103

Appendix C: IIS Settings for Web Services.................................................................................104

IIS vroots.................................................................................................................................104
Using the adsutil IIS utility........................................................................................................106
Finding Web service paths with adsutil....................................................................................106
Checking the properties of a Web service...............................................................................106
Global properties.....................................................................................................................107
Global Properties of the WWW Web site..................................................................................111
Properties of the API Remoting Web service...........................................................................112
Properties of the Client Web service........................................................................................113
Properties of the Downstream Server Authentication Web service..........................................114
 Properties of the Inventory Collection Web service..................................................................115
Checking the properties of the Reporting Web service............................................................116
Properties of the Selfupdate Web service................................................................................117
Properties of the Server Synchronization Web service............................................................118
Properties of the Simple Authorization Web service................................................................119

Appendix D: Permissions on WSUS Directories and Registry Keys...........................................120

The cacls system command....................................................................................................120
Permissions on WSUS registry keys....................................................................................121

Appendix E: Configuring BITS 2.0 and 3.0 for Download Performance......................................121

Throttling..................................................................................................................................121
Peer caching............................................................................................................................122

Appendix F: Configuring IIS for Download Performance.............................................................123

Limiting bandwidth on all Web sites.........................................................................................123
Limiting bandwidth on a specific Web site...............................................................................124

Appendix G: Windows Update Agent Result Codes....................................................................124

Windows Update Agent result codes.......................................................................................124

Appendix H: The wuauclt Utility..................................................................................................145

Command line switches for wuauclt.........................................................................................145

Appendix I: Database Maintenance............................................................................................145

Appendix J: Setup Return Codes................................................................................................146

Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Setup Return Codes....................................................146
Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2
Operations Guide
This guide describes the major tasks involved in administering and troubleshooting Windows
Server Update Services 3.0 SP2.

Administering Windows Server Update

Services 3.0 SP2
This section contains background information and procedures for performing the major tasks
involved in administering Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2.

Overview of Windows Server Update

Services 3.0 SP2
You can use Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 SP2 to manage downloading
software updates from Microsoft Update and distributing them to computers in your network.

How WSUS Works

WSUS provides a management infrastructure consisting of the following:
• Microsoft Update: the Microsoft Web site that distributes updates to Microsoft products.
• Windows Server Update Services server: the server component that is installed on a
computer running a supported operating system inside the corporate firewall. WSUS server
software enables administrators to manage and distribute updates through an administrative
console, which can be used to manage any WSUS server in any domain with which it has a
trust relationship. A WSUS server can obtain updates either from Microsoft Update or from
another WSUS server, but at least one WSUS server in the network must connect to
Microsoft Update to get available updates. The administrator can decide how many WSUS
servers should connect directly to Microsoft Update, based on network configuration,
bandwidth, and security considerations. These servers can then distribute updates to other
downstream WSUS servers.
• Automatic Updates: the client computer component built into Windows operating
systems. Automatic Updates enables both server and client computers to receive updates
either from Microsoft Update or from a WSUS server.

11
Software Updates
Software updates consist of two parts:
• Update files: the actual files that are installed on client computers.
• Update metadata: the information needed to perform the installation, which includes:
• Update properties: title, description, Knowledge Base article, Microsoft Security
Response Center number.
• Applicability rules: used by Automatic Updates to determine whether or not the
update is needed on a particular computer.
• Installation information: command-line options to apply when installing the updates.
The two parts of the update can be downloaded independently of each other. For example, if you
choose not to store updates locally, only update metadata (and any applicable Microsoft Software
License Terms) will be downloaded to the WSUS server; clients will get their update files directly
from Microsoft Update. On the other hand, if you are storing updates locally on the WSUS server,
you can either download everything at the time of synchronization, or download only the
metadata during the synchronization, leaving the actual update files to be downloaded after you
have approved the update.

Managing Windows Server Update Services

3.0 SP2
In this section
• Setting Up Synchronizations
• Managing the Client Computers and Computer Groups
• Managing the Updates
• Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica Mode
• Backing Up Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2
• Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command Line

Setting Up Synchronizations
During synchronization, your WSUS server downloads updates (update metadata and files) from
an update source. It also downloads new product classifications and categories, if any. When
your WSUS server synchronizes for the first time, it will download all of the updates you specified
when you configured synchronization options. After the first synchronization, your WSUS server
downloads only updates from the update source, as well as revisions in metadata for existing
updates and expirations to updates.

12
 Note
The first time a WSUS server downloads updates may take a long time. If you are setting
up multiple WSUS servers, you can speed up the process to a certain extent by
downloading all the updates on one WSUS server and then copying the updates to the
content directories of the other WSUS servers. Update metadata must be downloaded
separately to each server during synchronization.
The Options page is the central access point in the WSUS Administration Console for
customizing how your WSUS server synchronizes updates. You can specify which updates are
synchronized automatically, where your server gets updates, connection settings, and the
synchronization schedule. You can also use the Configuration Wizard from the Options page to
configure or reconfigure your WSUS server at any time.

Synchronizing Updates by Product and

Classification
Your WSUS server downloads updates based on the products or product families (for example,
Windows, or Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition) and classifications (for example, critical
updates or security updates) that you specify. At the first synchronization, your WSUS server
downloads all of the updates available in the categories you have specified. In later
synchronizations your WSUS server downloads only the newest updates (or changes to the
updates already available on your WSUS server) for the categories you specified.
You specify update products and classifications on the Options page under Products and
Classifications. Products are listed in a hierarchy, grouped by product family. If you select
Windows, you automatically select every product that falls under that product hierarchy. By
selecting the parent check box you select all items under it, as well as all future versions.
Selecting the child check boxes will not select the parent check boxes. The default setting for
products is all Windows products, and the default setting for classifications is critical and security
updates.
If your WSUS server is running in replica mode, you will not be able to perform this task. For
more information about replica mode, see Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica Mode.

To specify update products and classifications for synchronization

1. In the WSUS Administration Console, click the Options node.

2. Click Products and Classifications, and then click the Products tab.
3. Select the check boxes of the products or product families you want to update with
WSUS, and then click OK.
4. In the Classifications tab, select the check boxes of the update classifications you
want your WSUS server to synchronize, and then click OK.

Note
You can remove products or classifications in the same way. Your WSUS server will stop
synchronizing new updates for the products you have cleared. However, updates that
13
 were synchronized for those products before you cleared them will remain on your WSUS
server and will be listed as available. For more information about removing unused
updates, see Issues with Update Storage.

Synchronizing Updates by Language

Your WSUS server downloads updates based on the languages that you specify. You can
synchronize updates in all of the languages in which they are available, or you can specify a
subset of languages. If you have a hierarchy of WSUS servers, and you need to download
updates in different languages, make sure that you have specified all the necessary languages on
the upstream server. On a downstream server you can specify a subset of the languages you
specified on the upstream server.

Configuring Proxy Server Settings

You can configure your WSUS server to use a proxy server during synchronization with an
upstream server or Microsoft Update. This setting will apply only when your WSUS server runs
synchronizations. By default your WSUS server will try to connect directly to the upstream server
or Microsoft Update.

To specify a proxy server for synchronization

1. In the WSUS Administration Console, click Options, and then click Update Source
and Proxy Server.
2. On the Proxy Server tab, select the Use a proxy server when synchronizing
check box, and then type the server name and port number (port 80 is the default) of the
proxy server.
• If you want to connect to the proxy server with specific user credentials, select
the Use user credentials to connect to the proxy server check box, and then
enter the user name, domain, and password of the user in the corresponding boxes.
• If you want to enable basic authentication for the user connecting to the proxy
server, select the Allow basic authentication (password is sent in cleartext)
check box.
3. Click OK.

Note
Because WSUS initiates all of its network traffic, there is no need to configure Windows
Firewall on a WSUS server connected directly to Microsoft update.

Configuring the Update Source

The update source is the location from which your WSUS server gets its updates and update
metadata. You can specify that the update source should be either Microsoft Update or another

14
WSUS server (the WSUS server that acts as the update source is the upstream server, and your
server is the downstream server).
Options for customizing how your WSUS server synchronizes with the update source include the
following:
• You can specify a custom port for synchronization. For information about configuring
ports, see the WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).
• You can use Secure Socket Layers (SSL) to secure synchronization of update
information between WSUS servers. For more information about using SSL, see Securing
Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2.

To specify the update source for your WSUS server

1. In the WSUS Administration Console, click Options, and then click Update Source
and Proxy Server.
2. On the Update Source tab, do one of the following:
• If you want your WSUS server to synchronize directly from Microsoft Update,
click Synchronize from Microsoft Update. If your server is running in replica mode,
this option is disabled. For more information, see Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica
Mode.
• If you want to synchronize from another WSUS server in your network, click
Synchronize from an upstream Windows Server Update Services server, and
then type the server name and port number in the corresponding boxes.
• If you want to use SSL when synchronizing, type the port number that the
upstream server uses for SSL connections, and then select the Use SSL when
synchronizing update information check box. For more information about using
SSL during synchronization, see Securing Windows Server Update Services 3.0
SP2.
• If your WSUS server is running in replica mode, type the server name and port
number in the Server name box. The upstream server does not have to be the
administration server (for example, it can be another replica mode server). For more
information about replica mode, see Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica Mode.
3. Click OK.

Configuring Update Storage

For more information, see Specifying Where to Store the Updates.

Synchronizing Manually or Automatically

You can either synchronize your WSUS server manually or specify a time for it to synchronize
automatically.

15
 To synchronize your server manually

1. In the WSUS Administration Console, click Options, and then click Synchronization
Schedule.
2. Click Synchronize manually, and then click OK.

To set up an automatic synchronization schedule

1. In the WSUS Administration Console, click Options, then Synchronization

Schedule.
2. Click Synchronize automatically.
3. For First synchronization, select the time you want synchronization to start each
day.
4. For Synchronizations per day, select the number of synchronizations you want to
do each day. For example, if you want four synchronizations a day starting at 3:00 A.M.,
then synchronizations will occur at 3:00 A.M., 9:00 A.M., 3:00 P.M., and 9:00 P.M. each
day. (A random time offset will be added to the scheduled synchronization time in order to
space out the server connections to Microsoft Update.)
5. Click OK.

To synchronize your WSUS server immediately

1. On the WSUS Administration Console, select the top server node.

2. In the Overview pane, under Synchronization Status, click Synchronize now.

Managing the Client Computers and

Computer Groups
In this section
• Managing the Client Computers
• Managing the Computer Groups

Managing the Client Computers

The central access point in the WSUS administrative console for managing computers is the
Computers node. Under this node you can find the different groups you have set up (plus the
default group, Unassigned Computers). Selecting one of the computer groups causes the
computers in that group to be displayed in the Details pane. (If a computer is assigned to multiple

16
groups, it will appear in the listings of both groups.) If you select a computer in the list, you can
see its properties, which include general details about the computer and the status of updates for
it, such as the installation or detection status of an update for a particular computer. You can filter
the list of computers under a given computer group by status. The default shows only computers
for which updates are needed or which have had installation failures; however, you can filter the
display by any status. Click Refresh after changing the status filter.
You can also manage computer groups on the Computers page, which includes creating the
groups and assigning computers to them. For more information about managing computer
groups, see Managing the Computer Groups.

Important
You must first configure client computers to contact the WSUS server before you can
manage them from that server. Until you perform this task, your WSUS server will not
recognize your client computers and they will not be displayed in the list on the
Computers page. For more information about setting up client computers, see the
WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=139832).

Managing the Computer Groups

WSUS allows you to target updates to groups of client computers, so you can ensure that specific
computers always get the right updates at the most convenient times. For example, if all the
computers in one department (such as the Accounting team) have a specific configuration, you
can set up a group for that team, decide which updates their computers need and what time they
should be installed, and then use WSUS reports to evaluate the updates for the team.
Computers are always assigned to the All Computers group, and remain assigned to the
Unassigned Computers group until you assign them to another group. Computers can belong to
more than one group.
Computer groups can be set up in hierarchies (for example, the Payroll group and the Accounts
Payable group below the Accounting group). Updates that are approved for a higher group will
automatically be deployed to lower groups, as well as to the higher group itself. Thus, if you
approve Update1 for the Accounting group, the update will be deployed to all the computers in the
Accounting group, all the computers in the Payroll group, and all the computers in the Accounts
Payable group.
Because computers can be assigned to multiple groups, it is possible for a single update to be
approved more than once for the same computer. However, the update will be deployed only
once, and any conflicts will be resolved by the WSUS server. To continue with the example
above, if ComputerA is assigned to both the Payroll and the Accounts Payable groups, and
Update1 is approved for both groups, it will be deployed only once.
You can assign computers to computer groups by using one of two methods, server-side
targeting or client-side targeting. With server-side targeting, you manually move one or more
client computers to one computer group at a time. With client-side targeting, you use Group
Policy or edit the registry settings on client computers to enable those computers to automatically

17
add themselves into the previously created computer groups. This process can be scripted and
deployed to many computers at once. You must specify the targeting method you will use on the
WSUS server by selecting one of the two options on the Computers section of the Options
page.

Note
If a WSUS server is running in replica mode, computer groups cannot be created on that
server. All the computer groups needed for clients of the replica server must be created
on the WSUS server that is the root of the WSUS server hierarchy. For more information
about replica mode, see Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica Mode.
For more information about server-side and client-side targeting, see the WSUS Deployment
Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).

Managing the Updates

In this section
• Overview of Updates
• Viewing the Updates
• WSUS 3.0 SP2 and the Catalog Site
• Approving the Updates
• Testing the Updates
• Storing the Updates

Overview of Updates
Updates are used for updating or providing a full file replacement for software that is installed on
a computer. Every update that is available on Microsoft Update is made up of two components:
• Metadata: Provides information about the update. For example, metadata supplies
information for the properties of an update, thus enabling you to find out for what the update
is useful. Metadata also includes Microsoft Software License Terms. The metadata package
downloaded for an update is typically much smaller than the actual update file package.
• Update files: The actual files required to install an update on a computer.

How WSUS Stores Updates

When updates are synchronized to your WSUS server, the metadata and update files are stored
in two separate locations. Metadata is stored in the WSUS database. Update files can be stored
either on your WSUS server or on Microsoft Update servers, depending on how you have
configured your synchronization options. If you choose to store update files on Microsoft Update
servers, only metadata is downloaded at the time of synchronization; you approve the updates

18
through the WSUS console, and then client computers get the update files directly from Microsoft
Update at the time of installation. For more information about your options for storing updates,
see the WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).

Managing Updates with WSUS

You will be setting up and running synchronizations, adding computers and computer groups, and
deploying updates on a regular basis. The following list gives examples of general tasks you
might undertake in updating computers with WSUS.
1. Determine an overall update management plan based on your network topology and
bandwidth, company needs, and organizational structure. Considerations might include the
following:
• Whether to set up a hierarchy of WSUS servers, and how the hierarchy should be
structured.
• Which database to use for update metadata (for example, Windows® Internal
Database, SQL Server 2005).
• What computer groups to create, and how to assign computers to them (server-side
or client-side targeting).
• Whether updates should be synchronized automatically, and at what time.
2. Set synchronization options, such as update source, product and update classification,
language, connection settings, storage location, and synchronization schedule.
3. Get the updates and associated metadata on your WSUS server through synchronization
from either Microsoft Update or an upstream WSUS server.
4. Approve or decline updates. You have the option of allowing users to install the updates
themselves (if they are local administrators on their client computers).
5. Configure automatic approvals. You can also configure whether you want to enable
automatic approval of revisions to existing updates or approve revisions manually. If you
choose to approve revisions manually, then your WSUS server will continue using the older
version until you manually approve the new revision.
6. Check the status of updates. You can view update status, print a status report, or
configure e-mail for regular status reports.

Update Products and Classifications

Updates available on Microsoft Update are differentiated by product (or product family) and
classification.

Products Updated by WSUS

A product is a specific edition of an operating system or application, for example
Windows Server 2003. A product family is the base operating system or application from which
the individual products are derived. An example of a product family is Microsoft Windows, of

19
which Windows Server 2003 is a member. You can select the products or product families for
which you want your server to synchronize updates. You can specify a product family or individual
products within the family. Selecting any product or product family will get updates for current and
future versions of the product.

Update Classifications
Update classifications represent the type of update. For any given product or product family,
updates could be available among multiple update classifications (for example, Windows XP
family Critical Updates and Security Updates). The following table lists update classifications.

Update Classification Description

Critical updates Broadly released fixes for specific problems

addressing critical, non-security related bugs.

Definition updates Updates to virus or other definition files.

Drivers Software components designed to support new

hardware.

Feature packs New feature releases, usually rolled into

products at the next release.

Security updates Broadly released fixes for specific products,

addressing security issues.

Service packs Cumulative sets of all hotfixes, security

updates, critical updates, and updates created
since the release of the product. Service packs
might also contain a limited number of
customer-requested design changes or
features.

Tools Utilities or features that aid in accomplishing a

task or set of tasks.

Update rollups Cumulative set of hotfixes, security updates,

critical updates, and updates packaged together
for easy deployment. A rollup generally targets
a specific area, such as security, or a specific
component, such as Internet Information
Services (IIS).

Updates Broadly released fixes for specific problems

addressing non-critical, non-security related
bugs.

20
Viewing the Updates
On the Updates page, you can do the following:
• View updates. The update overview displays updates that have been synchronized from
the update source to your WSUS server and are available for approval.
• Filter updates. In the default view you can filter updates by approval status and
installation status. The default setting is for unapproved updates that are needed by some
clients or that have had installation failures on some clients. You can change this view by
changing the approval status and installation status filters, and then clicking Refresh.
• Create new update views. In the Actions pane, click New Update View. You can filter
updates by classification, product, the group for which they have been approved, and
synchronization date. You can sort the list by clicking the appropriate column heading in the
title bar.
• Search for updates. You can search for an individual update or set of updates by title,
description, Knowledge Base article, or the Microsoft Security Response Center number for
the update.
• View details, status, and revision history for each update.
• Approve updates.
• Decline updates.

To view updates

1. In the WSUS administration console, expand the Updates node, and then click All
Updates.
2. By default, updates are displayed with their title, classification, installed/not applicable
percentage, and approval status. If you wish to display more or different update
properties, right-click the column heading bar and select the appropriate columns.
3. To sort by different criteria, such as download status, title, classification, release date,
or approval status, click the appropriate column heading.

To filter the list of updates displayed on the Updates page

1. In the WSUS administration console, expand the Updates node, and then click All
Updates.
2. In the center pane next to Approval, select the desired approval status, and next to
Status select the desired installation status. Click Refresh.

To create a new update view

1. In the WSUS administration console, expand the Updates node, and then click All
Updates.
2. In the Actions pane, click New Update View.

21
 3. In the Add Update View window, under Step 1: Select properties, select the
properties you need to filter the update view:
• Select Updates are in a specific classification to filter on updates belonging to
one or more update classifications.
• Select Updates are for a specific product to filter on updates for one or more
products or product families.
• Select Updates are approved for a specific group to filter on updates
approved for one or more computer groups.
• Select Updates were synchronized within a specific time period to filter on
updates synchronized at a specific time.
• Select Updates are WSUS updates to filter on WSUS updates.
4. Under Step 2: Edit the properties, click the underlined words to pick the values you
want.
5. Under Step 3: Specify a name, give your new view a name.
6. Click OK.
7. Your new view will appear in the tree view pane under Updates. It will be displayed,
like the standard views, in the center pane when you select it.

To search for an update

1. Select the Updates node (or any node under it).

2. In the Actions pane, click Search.
3. In the Search window, on the Updates tab, enter your search criteria. You can use
text from the Title, Description, and Microsoft Knowledge Base (KB) article number
fields. Each of these items is a property listed on the Details tab in the update properties.

To view the properties for an update

1. In the WSUS administration console, expand the Updates node, and then click All
Updates.
2. In the list of updates, click the update you want to view.
3. In the lower pane, you will see the different property sections:
• The title bar displays the title of the update; for example, Security Update for
Windows Media Player 9 (KB911565).
• The Status section displays the installation status of the update (the computers
on which it needs to be installed, computers on which it was installed with errors,
computers on which it has been installed or is not applicable, and computers that
have not reported status for the update), as well as general information (KB and
MSRC numbers release date, etc.).
• The Description section displays a brief description of the update.
• The Additional Details section displays the following information:

22
 a. The installation behavior of the update (whether or not it is removable, requests a
restart, requires user input, or must be installed exclusively)
b. Whether or not the update has Microsoft Software License Terms
c. The products to which the update applies
d. The updates that supersede this update
e. The updates that are superseded by this update
f. The languages supported by the update
g. The update ID

Note
You can perform this procedure on only one update at a time. If you select multiple
updates, the first update in the list will be displayed in the Properties pane.

WSUS 3.0 SP2 and the Catalog Site

The catalog site is the Microsoft location from which you can import hotfixes and hardware
drivers.

Importing hotfixes from the Microsoft Update

catalog site
In order to import hotfixes into WSUS, you must access the Microsoft Update catalog site from a
WSUS computer.

Note
Any computer that has the WSUS administrative console installed, whether or not it is a
WSUS server, can be used to import hotfixes from the catalog site. You must be logged
on to the computer as an administrator to import the hotfixes.

To access the Microsoft Update catalog site

1. In the WSUS administrative console, select either the top server node or the
Updates node, and in the Actions pane click Import Updates.
2. A browser window will open at the Microsoft Update Catalog Web site.
3. In order to access the updates at this site, you must install the Microsoft Update
Catalog ActiveX control.
4. You can browse this site for Windows hotfixes and hardware drivers. When you have
found the ones you want, add them to your basket.
5. When you have finished browsing, go to the basket and click Import to import your
updates. To download the updates without importing them, clear the Import directly into
Windows Server Update Services checkbox.

23
Restricting access to hotfixes
WSUS administrators should use the following steps to restrict access to the hotfixes they have
downloaded from the Microsoft Update catalog site.

To restrict access to hotfixes

1. Enable Windows authentication on the IIS Content vroot.

• Start IIS Manager (click Start, then Administrative Tools, and then Internet
Information Services (IIS) Manager).
• Navigate to the Content node of the WSUS Web site.
• Click Properties and open the Directory Security tab.
• Under Authentication and access control, click Edit.
• In the Authentication Methods screen, clear the Enable anonymous access
checkbox and select the Integrated Windows authentication check box.
2. Create a WSUS target group for the computers that need the hotfix, and add them to
the group. For more information about computers and groups, see Managing the Client
Computers and Computer Groups.
3. Download the files for the hotfix.
4. Set the permissions of these files so that only machine accounts of those machines
can read them. You will also need to allow the Network Service account full access to the
files
5. Approve the hotfix for the WSUS target group created in Step 2.

Importing updates in different languages

The Microsoft Update Catalog Web site includes updates that support multiple languages. It is
very important to match the languages supported by the WSUS server with the languages
supported by these updates. If the WSUS server does not support all the languages included in
the update, the update will not be deployed to client computers. Likewise, if an update supporting
multiple languages has been downloaded to the WSUS server but not yet deployed to client
computers, and an administrator deselects one of the languages included the update, the update
will not be deployed to the clients.

Approving the Updates

After updates have been synchronized to your WSUS server, they will be scanned automatically
for relevance to the server's client computers. However, you must approve the updates before
they are deployed to the computers on your network. When you approve an update, you are
essentially telling WSUS what to do with it (your choices are Install or Decline for a new update).
You can approve updates for the All Computers group or for subgroups. If you do not approve

24
an update, its approval status remains Not approved, and your WSUS server allows clients to
evaluate whether or not they need the update.
If your WSUS server is running in replica mode, you will not be able to approve updates on your
WSUS server. For more information about replica mode, see Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica
Mode.

Approving Updates
You can approve the installation of updates for all the computers in your WSUS network or for
different computer groups. After approving an update, you can do one (or more) of the following:
• Apply this approval to child groups, if any.
• Set a deadline for automatic installation. When you select this option, you set specific
times and dates to install updates, overriding any settings on the client computers. In
addition, you can specify a past date for the deadline if you want to approve an update
immediately (to be installed the next time client computers contact the WSUS server).
• Remove an installed update if that update supports removal.

Important
You cannot set a deadline for automatic installation for an update if user input is required
(for example, specifying a setting relevant to the update). To determine whether an
update will require user input, look at the May request user input field in the update
properties for an update displayed on the Updates page. Also check for a message in the
Approve Updates box that says, "The selected update requires user input and does
not support an installation deadline."

Important
If there are updates to the WSUS server component, you cannot approve other updates
to client systems until the WSUS update is approved. You will see this warning message
in the Approve Updates dialog box: "There are WSUS updates that have not been
approved. You should approve the WSUS updates before approving this update." In this
case, you should click the WSUS Updates node and make sure that all of the updates in
that view have been approved before returning to the general updates.

To approve updates

1. In the WSUS administrative console, click Updates.

2. In the list of updates, select the update that you want to approve and right-click (or go
to the Actions pane).
3. In the Approve Updates dialog box, select the computer group for which you want to
approve the update, and click the arrow next to it.
4. Select Approved for Install, and then click Approve.
5. The Approval Progress window will display the progress toward completing the
approval. When the process is complete, the Close button will be available. Click Close.

25
 6. You may select a deadline by right-clicking the update, selecting the appropriate
computer group, clicking the arrow next to it, and then clicking Deadline.
• You may select one of the standard deadlines (one week, two weeks, one
month), or you may click Custom to specify a date and time.
• If you want an update to be installed as soon as the client computers contact the
server, click Custom, and set a date and time to the current date and time or to one
in the past.

To approve multiple updates

1. In the WSUS administrative console, click Updates.

2. To select multiple contiguous updates, press SHIFT while clicking updates. To select
multiple noncontiguous updates, press and hold down CTRL while clicking updates.
3. Right-click the selection and click Approve. The Approve Updates dialog box opens
with the Approval status set to Keep existing approvals and the OK button disabled .
4. You can change the approvals for the individual groups, but doing so will not affect
child approvals. Select the group for which you want to change the approval, and click
the arrow to its left. In the shortcut menu, click Approved for Install.
5. The approval for the selected group changes to Install. If there are any child groups,
their approval remains Keep existing approval. To change the approval for the child
groups, click the group and click the arrow to its left. In the shortcut menu, click Apply to
Children
6. To set a specific child to inherit all its approval from the parent, click the child and
click the arrow to its left. In the shortcut menu, click Same as Parent. If you set a child to
inherit approvals, but are not changing the parent approvals, the child will inherit the
existing approvals of the parent.
7. If you want the approval behavior to change for all children, approve All Computers,
and then choose Apply to Children.
8. Click OK after setting all your approvals. The Approval Progress window will display
the progress toward completing the approval. When the process is complete, the Close
button will be available. Click Close.

Note
For more information about downloading and installing updates, see Best Practices with
Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2.

Declining Updates
If you select this option, the update is removed from the default list of available updates and the
WSUS server will not offer the update to clients, either for evaluation or installation. You can
reach this option by selecting an update or group of updates and right-clicking or going to the
Actions pane. Declined updates will appear in the updates list only if you select Declined in the
Approval list when specifying the filter for the update list under View.
26
 To decline updates

1. In the WSUS administrative console, click Updates.

2. In the list of updates, select one or more updates that you want to decline.
3. Select Decline.
4. Click Yes on the confirmation message.

Change an Approved Update to Not Approved

If an update has been approved and you decide not to install it at this time, and instead want to
save it for a future time, you can change the update to a status of Not Approved. This means that
the update will remain in the default list of available updates and will report client compliance, but
will not be installed on clients.

To change an approved update to Not Approved

1. In the WSUS administrative console, click Updates.

2. In the list of updates, select one or more approved updates that you want to change
to Not Approved.
3. In the shortcut menu or the Actions pane, select Not Approved.
4. Click Yes on the confirmation message.

Approving Updates for Removal

You can approve an update for removal (that is, to uninstall an already-installed update). This
option is available only if the update is already installed and supports removal. You can specify a
deadline for the update to be uninstalled, or specify a past date for the deadline if you want to
remove the update immediately (the next time client computers contact the WSUS server).

Note
Not all updates support removal. You can see whether an update supports removal by
selecting an individual update and looking at the Details pane. Under Additional
Details, you will see the Removable category. If the update cannot be removed through
WSUS, in many cases it can be removed with Add or Remove Programs from Control
Panel.

To approve updates for removal

1. In the WSUS administrative console, click Updates.

2. In the list of updates, select one or more updates that you want to approve for
removal and right-click them (or go to the Actions pane).
3. In the Approve Updates dialog box, select the computer group from which you want
to remove the update, and click the arrow next to it.

27
 4. Select Approved for Removal, and then click the Remove button.
5. After the remove approval has completed, you may select a deadline by right-clicking
the update once more, selecting the appropriate computer group, and clicking the arrow
next to it. Then select Deadline.
• You may select one of the standard deadlines (one week, two weeks, one
month), or you may click Custom to select a specific date and time.
6. If you want an update to be removed as soon as the client computers contact the
server, click Custom, and set a date in the past.

Approving Updates Automatically

You can configure your WSUS server for automatic approval of certain updates. You can also
specify automatic approval of revisions to existing updates as they become available. This option
is selected by default. A revision is a version of an update that has had changes made to it (for
example, it might have expired, or its applicability rules might have changed). If you do not
choose to approve the revised version of an update automatically, WSUS will use the older
version, and you must manually approve the update revision.
You can create rules that your WSUS server will automatically apply during synchronization. You
specify what updates you want to automatically approve for installation, by update classification,
by product, and by computer group. This applies only to new updates, as opposed to revised
updates. You can also specify an update approval deadline, which sets a number of days and a
specific time of offering before the approved update is deadline-installed. These settings are
available in the Options pane, under Automatic Approvals.

To automatically approve updates

1. In the WSUS administration console, click Options, and then click Automatic
Approvals.
2. In Update Rules, click New Rule.
3. In the Add Rule dialog box, under Step 1: Select properties, select whether to use
When an update is in a specific classification or When an update is in a specific
product (or both) as criteria. Optionally, select whether to Set a deadline for the
approval.
4. In Step 2: Edit the properties click the underlined properties to select the
Classifications, Products, and Computer groups for which you want automatic
approvals, as applicable. Optionally, choose the update approval deadline Day and Time.
5. In Step 3: Specify a name box, type a unique name for the rule.
6. Click OK.

Note
Automatic approval rules will not apply to updates requiring an End User License
Agreement (EULA) that has not yet been accepted on the server. If you find that applying

28
 an automatic approval rule does not cause all the relevant updates to be approved, you
should approve these updates manually.

Automatically Approving Revisions to Updates

and Declining Expired Updates
The Automatic Approvals section of the Options pane contains a default option to automatically
approve revisions to approved updates. You can also set your WSUS server to automatically
decline expired updates. If you choose not to approve the revised version of an update
automatically, your WSUS server will use the older revision, and you must manually approve the
update revision.

Note
A revision is a version of an update that has changed (for example, it might have expired
or have updated applicability rules).

To automatically approve revisions to updates and decline expired updates

1. In the WSUS administration console, click Options, and then click Automatic
Approvals.
2. On the Advanced tab, make sure that both Automatically approve new revisions
of approved updates and Automatically decline updates when a new revision
causes them to expire check boxes are selected.
3. Click OK.

Important
Keeping the default values for these options allows you maintain good performance on
your WSUS network. If you do not want expired updates to be declined automatically, you
should make sure to decline them manually on a periodic basis.

Approving Superseding or Superseded Updates

Typically, an update that supersedes other updates does one or more of the following:
• Enhances, improves, or adds to the fix provided by one or more previously released
updates.
• Improves the efficiency of its update file package, which is installed on client computers if
the update is approved for installation. For example, the superseded update might contain
files that are no longer relevant to the fix or to the operating systems now supported by the
new update, so those files are not included in the superseding update's file package.
• Updates newer versions of operating systems. It is also important to note that the
superseding update might not support earlier versions of operating systems.
Conversely, an update that is superseded by another update does the following:

29
 • Fixes a problem similar to that of the update that supersedes it. However, the update that
supersedes it might enhance the fix that the superseded update provides.
• Updates earlier versions of operating systems. In some cases, these versions of
operating systems are no longer updated by the superseding update.
In an individual update's detail pane, an informational icon and a message at the top indicates
that it either supersedes or is superseded by another update. In addition, you can determine
which updates supersede or are superseded by the update by looking at the Updates
superseding this update and Updates superseded by this update entries in the Additional
Details section of the Properties. An update's detail pane is displayed below the list of updates.
WSUS does not automatically decline superseded updates, and it is recommended that you do
not assume that superseded updates should be declined in favor of the new, superseding update.
Before declining a superseded update, make sure that it is no longer needed by any of your client
computers. The following are examples of scenarios in which you might need to install a
superseded update:
• If a superseding update supports only newer versions of an operating system, and some
of your client computers run earlier versions of the operating system.
• If a superseding update has more restricted applicability than the update it supersedes,
which would make it inappropriate for some client computers.
• If an update no longer supersedes a previously released update because of new
changes. It is possible that through changes at each release, an update no longer
supersedes an update it previously superseded in an earlier version. In this scenario, you will
still see a message about the superseded update, even though the update that supersedes it
has been replaced by an update that does not.

Best Practices for Approving a Superseding Update

Because a superseding update typically enhances a fix provided by a previously released update,
it is recommended that you first see how many client computers will be compliant with the new
update and work backward from there. Use the following process.

To approve a superseding update

1. Check the status of the update on client computers. Note which computers show
status as Not applicable for the update, and then compare the properties of those
computers with the properties of the update.
2. Use the information available in the update properties to help you determine which
previously released versions are available. You can look under Updates superseded by
this update in the update's properties, and check the Description and KB article
number entries if appropriate.
3. Look at the properties of the superseded versions of the updates.
4. When you find a superseded update that seems appropriate for the remaining client
computers, approve the update for installation.

30
Office Update Approval
If you use WSUS to update Microsoft Office on your network computers, consider the following:
• You must use an original baseline source for Microsoft Office Administrative Install Points
(AIP) to use WSUS to update Office XP and Office 2003 on client computers. If you are
applying updates to the AIP, you cannot use WSUS. The two methods of applying updates
are mutually exclusive. If you have applied an update to an AIP and want to roll back the AIP
to an original baseline source, use the instructions found at the Microsoft Support Web site
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=63962).

Important
Administrative Install Points are relevant only to Office XP and Office 2003. They are not
used with Office 2007.
• If you have purchased a "per user" license agreement for Office or have installed Office
per user, WSUS will not update Office.
• Users can access the public Microsoft Office Online Web site to look for updates to their
Office installation through the Microsoft Office Update wizard. Using Group Policy, you might
want to create policies that prevent users from getting their own Office updates from Microsoft
Office Online.
For more information and troubleshooting advice, see the following Knowledge Base articles.
• Office 2003 updates are offered to a user even if that user has installed those updates
when you use WSUS to deploy software updates and hotfixes to computers that are in your
organization (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=78874)
• No appropriate Microsoft Office updates are displayed when you use Microsoft Update or
Windows Server Update Services (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=78871)
• How to change the source for a client computer from an updated administrative
installation point to an Office 2003 original baseline source or Service Pack 2
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=78872)

SQL Server and Exchange Server Updates

Approval

Updating Microsoft SQL Server instances

SQL Server installations can become quite complex, with multiple instances or even versions of
SQL Server on a single computer. You will need to make sure that when you specify your
synchronization options, you account for all the versions of the SQL Server you have on the
computer. For more information about configuring synchronization options, see Setting Up
Synchronizations.

31
Updating Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft
Exchange Servers that are part of a cluster
Both Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft Exchange Server can be installed in a clustered
environment. If there is an update available for clustered servers, each server in the cluster must
be updated individually. Microsoft recommends that you update passive cluster nodes individually.
You will need to stop the cluster service for each server while you update it, and then restart the
service.

Note
You can have both a stand-alone instance and a clustered instance of SQL Server on the
same server. If you are updating a server that is running both a stand-alone instance and
a clustered instance of SQL server, both SQL Server instances will be updated if you
have specified the correct synchronization options.

Testing the Updates

Until you install an update, you cannot be certain about the impact it will have on other programs
running on your systems. By installing an update in a test environment, you can assess its impact
before you decide whether or not to deploy it to your production systems. This approach can
prevent unplanned downtime and lost productivity.
WSUS enables you to create custom computer groups that you can use to test updates. For
example, the following figure depicts three computer groups: two custom groups created by the
administrator (Test and Accounting), as well as the built-in All Computers group.
In this example, the Test group contains a small number of computers representative of the
computers in the Accounting group. The administrator can first approve updates for the Test
group. If the testing goes well, the administrator can roll out the updates to the Accounting group.

32
You can create multiple test computer groups with different configurations that resemble the
computers in different departments in your organization.

Storing the Updates

In this section
• Specifying Where to Store the Updates
• Managing the Database

Specifying Where to Store the Updates

You can specify whether to store update files on your local WSUS server or on Microsoft Update.
If you store updates locally, you can limit the updates downloaded by language. If you store the
update files on Microsoft Update, then your WSUS server will download only update metadata.
Update files are downloaded to the client computers at the time of installation. If you choose this
option, you will need to make sure all your client computers have direct access to Microsoft
Update.

Local Storage Considerations

If you decide to store update files on your server, the recommended minimum disk size is 30 GB.
However, depending on your synchronization options (in particular, multiple update languages or
express installation files), you might need more disk space. If you download updates in five
languages, you will need approximately double the size of the content directory you would need
for just one language.
If your disk gets full, you can move the update files to a different location. To do this you will need
to run the WSUSutil.exe tool. For this procedure, see Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the
Command Line.

About Express Installation Files

Express installation files are usually many times larger than a regular update package. An
express installation file package containing all the versions of the update for different computer
configurations is downloaded to your WSUS server. However, when your client computers
connect to the server, they will download only the changes in the update files that the update
needs. You should select the express installation file option only in situations where you are less
concerned with external bandwidth than internal bandwidth usage.
Besides bandwidth, another consideration when choosing to download express installation files,
as mentioned earlier, is disk space. If you choose to download express installation files, they will
take more disk space. Therefore, use a larger disk (more than 30 GB) if you select this option.

33
 To specify where to store downloaded update files

1. In the WSUS administrative console, click Options, and then click Update Files and
Languages.
2. Click the Update Files tab.
3. Select whether to store update files locally or on Microsoft Update. If you decide to
store update files on your server, you can also choose to download update files only
when they are approved, or to download express installation files.
4. If you decide to store the files on the WSUS server, click the Update Languages tab,
and then select whether to limit the updates downloaded to your WSUS server by
language. You should limit the languages you download if you are going to store update
files on your WSUS server.
5. Click OK.

Note
If your WSUS server is running in replica mode, you will not be able to perform this task.
For more information about replica mode, see Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica Mode.

Updates, Update Files, and Languages

If you are storing updates locally, and you have set up a WSUS server to download updates in a
limited number of languages, you may notice that there are updates in languages other than the
ones you specified. This is because many updates are in fact bundles of update files for different
languages, and the update in question includes at least one of the language settings on the
server

Changing the Location Where You Store Update

Files Locally
You might need to change your local update storage location if the disk becomes full or fails and
the replacement disk uses a new drive letter.
You accomplish this move with the movecontent command of WSUSutil.exe, a command-line
tool that can be found in the WSUSInstallationDirectory \Tools\ directory (where
WSUSInstallationDirectory is the directory to which you installed WSUS.
WSUSUtil.exe can be run only on the WSUS server itself. Only members of the local
Administrators group on the WSUS server can run WSUSutil.exe
You create the new path for local WSUS update storage before moving the content. The
movecontent command takes an optional -skipcopy parameter, which enables you to change
the storage location without copying any files. For more information about WSUSutil.exe, see
Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command Line.

34
 To change the location of local WSUS update storage

1. Open a command shell.

2. Navigate to the directory that contains WSUSutil.exe:
cd WSUSInstallationDirectory\Tools.
3. Type the following command:
wsusutil.exe movecontent contentpath logfile [-skipcopy]
For example, type:
wsusutil.exe movecontent D:\WSUS1\ D:\move.log
where D:\WSUS1 is the new path for local WSUS update storage, and D:\move.log is the
path to the log file.

Note
If you do not want to use WSUSutil.exe to change the location of local WSUS update
storage, you can also use NTFS functionality to add a partition to the current location of
local WSUS update storage. For more information about NTFS, see NTFS technical
documentation (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=79488).

Managing the Database

The WSUS database is configured during setup to store the following types of information:
• WSUS server configuration information
• Information about client computers, updates, and client interaction with updates
• Update metadata
Update metadata (the information about the update) is part of every update available on
Microsoft Update. The update files are stored separately from the metadata, either on
Microsoft Update or on your WSUS server. For more information, see Specifying Where to
Store the Updates.
Depending on your server and network configurations, you use a Windows® Internal Database or
SQL Server database for your WSUS installation. For more information about your database
options when installing WSUS, see the WSUS Deployment Guide
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).
You may have to perform one or two special database tasks as part of regular operations. You
should regularly back up the WSUS database. For more information, see Backing Up Windows
Server Update Services 3.0 SP2. You should also re-index the database to improve its
performance. For more information, see Appendix I: Database Maintenance. In addition, you may
want to move WSUS data from a Windows Internal Database installation to a SQL Server
installation.

35
Additional resources
• Migrating from Windows Internal Database to SQL Server

Migrating from Windows Internal Database to

SQL Server
This topic explains how to migrate the Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) database from
a Windows Internal Database instance (installed by default during WSUS setup) to a full version
of Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2.

Why Migrate the WSUS Database to SQL Server

If you chose to use Windows Internal Database as the WSUS database when you set up your
WSUS server, you may want to upgrade the database engine to a full installation of SQL
Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2. SQL Server lets you administer the WSUS database
through the SQL Server Management Studio.

SQL Server Database Requirements

• WSUS requires SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2. If you use the full version of
SQL Server, the database administrator should first verify that the nested triggers option is
turned on before setting up the WSUS database.
• You cannot use SQL authentication. WSUS supports Windows authentication only.

Scenarios
The topic presents the following scenarios:
• Migrating the Windows Internal Database database to an instance of SQL Server 2008 or
SQL Server 2005 SP2 that is running on the WSUS server
• Migrating the Windows Internal Database database to an instance of SQL Server 2008 or
SQL Server 2005 SP2 that is running on another server (remote SQL)

Warning
The procedures in this document use Registry Editor. Serious problems might occur if
you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method.
These problems might require you to reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot
guarantee that these problems can be resolved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
Before you edit the registry, export the keys in the registry that you plan to edit, or back
up the whole registry. If a problem occurs, you can then restore the registry to its previous
state.

36
Migrating the WSUS Database
Use the following steps to migrate the WSUS database from a Windows Internal Database
instance to an instance of SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2.

To migrate the WSUS database

1. Install SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2 with the Server and Client Tools
option on your WSUS server.
2. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click
Services.
3. Right-click IIS Admin Service, and then click Stop.
4. Right-click Update Services, and then click Stop.
5. Run the following SQL command to detach the WSUS database (SUSDB) from the
Windows Internal Database instance, by using the sqlcmd utility. For more information
about the sqlcmd utility, see sqlcmd Utility (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=81183).
sqlcmd -S np:\\.\pipe\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##SSEE\sql\query

use master

alter database SUSDB set single_user with rollback immediate

go

sp_detach_db SUSDB

go

6. In SQL Server Management Studio, under the instance node, right-click Databases,
select Properties, and then click Attach.
7. In this step, you will verify that NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE has login
permissions to the instance of SQL Server and to the WSUS database. If it does not, you
will have to add it to both locations. This account should also be a member of the
webService role on the WSUS database.
• To verify permissions on the instance of SQL Server, in SQL Server Management
Studio, open the instance and select Security, and then Logins. The NT
AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE account should be listed as a login. If it is not, it
should be added.
• To verify permissions on the database, right-click the database, select
Properties and then click Permissions. The NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE
account should be listed as a login. If it is not, it should be added.
• To verify members of the webService role, under the WSUS database, select
Roles, right-click webService, and then select Properties. The NT
AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE account should be listed as a member of this
role. If it is not, it should be added.
8. In the Attach Databases box, under Databases to attach, locate the susdb.mdf file

37
 (by default, this is C:\WSUS\UpdateServicesDbFiles if you installed Windows Internal
Database), and then click OK.
9. In this step, you will edit the registry to both point WSUS to the instance of SQL
server that now holds the WSUS database and recognize the new database for future
WSUS updates. If you have not already done this, export the keys in the registry that you
plan to edit, or back up the whole registry.
a. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
b. Find the following key:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\UpdateServices\Server\Setup\SqlServerName, and
in the Value box, type [ServerName]\[InstanceName], and then click OK. If the
instance name is the default instance, type [ServerName].
c. Find the following key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Update
Services\Server\Setup\wYukonInstalled. In the Value box, type 0, and then click
OK.
10. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click
Services.
11. Right-click IIS Admin Service, and then click Start.
12. Right-click Update Services, and then click Start.
13. Verify that the database migration was successful by opening the WSUS
administrative console. (Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Microsoft
Windows Server Update Services 3.0.)

Note
You might have to restart the server for these settings to take effect.

Migrating the WSUS Database and Moving to a Remote SQL

Server
The goal of this scenario is to take the WSUS database running in a Windows Internal Database
instance on the WSUS server and move and upgrade it to an instance of SQL Server 2008 or
SQL Server 2005 SP2 that is running on a remote server. Only a full SQL Server 2008 or SQL
Server 2005 SP2 database may be used in a remote SQL installation. Each step, where
appropriate, indicates the server on which you perform the procedure.

Remote SQL Scenario Limitations

• You cannot use a server configured as a domain controller for either the front end or the
back end of the remote SQL server pair.
• You cannot use a server that is running as a Terminal Services server for the front end of
the remote SQL server pair.
• You cannot use Windows Internal Database for database software on the back-end
server.

38
 • Both the front-end and the back-end servers must be joined to an Active Directory
directory service domain.

Prerequisites
Front end server starting configuration:
• Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or Windows Server 2008 operating system
• WSUS with Windows Internal Database
Back end server starting configuration:
• Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 or Windows Server 2008 operating system
• SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2

To migrate the WSUS database from a Windows Internal Database instance to an instance
of SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2 on a remote server
1. On the front end server: Install Microsoft SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2005 SP2 with
the Server and Client Tools option. This step will enable you to use the SQL Server
Enterprise Manager on the front end server.
2. On the front end server:
a. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click
Services.
b. Right-click IIS Admin Service, and then click Stop.
c. Right-click Update Services, and then click Stop.
3. On the front end server: Run the following SQL command to detach the WSUS database
by using the sqlcmd utility. For more information about the sqlcmd utility, see sqlcmd Utility
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81183).
sqlcmd -S np:\\.\pipe\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##SSEE\sql\query

use master

alter database SUSDB set single_user with rollback immediate

go

sp_detach_db ‘SUSDB’

go

4. On the front end server: copy the SUSDB.mdf and SUSDB_log.ldf files from the front end
server to the back end server.
5. On the back end server:
a. To attach SUSDB to the destination instance of SQL server, under the instance node,
right-click Databases, select Properties, and then click Attach.
b. In the Attach Databases box, under Databases to attach, locate the susdb.mdf file
(by default this is C:\WSUS\UpdateServicesDbFiles if you installed Windows Internal
Database), and then click OK.
6. On the back end server:

39
 • To verify permissions on the instance of SQL Server, in SQL Server Management
Studio, open the instance ,select Security, and then Logins. The front end server
machine account should be listed as a login. If it is not, it should be added.
• To verify permissions on the database, right-click the database, select Properties,
and then click Permissions. The front end server machine account should be listed as a
login. If the server account is not listed, it should be added.
• To verify members of the webService role, under the WSUS database, select Roles,
right-click webService, and then select Properties. The front end server machine
account should be listed as a member of this role. If the server account is not listed, it
should be added.
7. On the front end server: In this step, you will edit the registry to point WSUS to the
destination instance of SQL and to recognize the new database for future WSUS updates. If
you have not already done so, export the keys in the registry that you plan to edit, or back up
the whole registry.
a. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
b. Find the following key:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\UpdateServices\Server\Setup\SqlServerName. In the
Value data box, type [BEName]\[InstanceName], and then click OK. If the instance
name is the default instance, type [BEName].

Note
When typing [BEName], do not add the domain name before the name.
c. Find the following key: HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Update
Services\Server\Setup\wYukonInstalled. In the Value box, type 0, and then click OK.
This indicates that Windows Internal Database is not used.
d. Find the following key:
HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\UpdateServices\Server\Setup\SqlInstanceIsRemote.
In the Value box, change the value to 1, and then click OK.
8. On the front end server:
a. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click
Services.
b. Right-click IIS Admin Service, and then click Start.
c. Right-click Update Services, and then click Start.
9. On the front end server: Verify that the database migration was successful by opening the
WSUS administrative console. (Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click
Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0).

Note
You might have to restart the front end server in order for these settings to take
effect.
For more information about the databases that you can use with WSUS, see the following:
• In this guide, see Managing the Databases.

40
 • In Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services, see "Choose the Database
Used for WSUS 3.0."
• In Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services, see "Appendix B:
Configure Remote SQL" for general information about how to set up WSUS by using a
remote SQL server to host the WSUS database.

Using the Server Cleanup Wizard

The Server Cleanup Wizard is integrated into the user interface of WSUS 3.0, WSUS 3.0 with
SP1, and WSUS with SP2e, and can be used to help you manage your disk space. This wizard
can do the following things:
1. Remove unused updates and update revisions
The wizard will remove all older updates and update revisions that have not been approved.
2. Delete computers not contacting the server
The wizard will delete all client computers that have not contacted the server in thirty days or
more.
3. Delete unneeded update files
The wizard will delete all update files that are not needed by updates or by downstream
servers.
4. Decline expired updates
The wizard will decline all updates that have been expired by Microsoft.
5. Decline superseded updates
The wizard will decline all updates that meet all the following criteria:
• The superseded update is not mandatory
• The superseded update has been on the server for thirty days or more
• The superseded update is not currently reported as needed by any client
• The superseded update has not been explicitly deployed to a computer group for
ninety days or more
• The superseding update must be approved for install to a computer group

Important
If you choose to remove unneeded content with the Server Cleanup Wizard, all the
private update files that you have downloaded from the Catalog Site will be removed as
well. You will need to re-import these files after running the Server Cleanup Wizard.

Running the Server Cleanup Wizard

41
 To run the Server Cleanup Wizard

1. In the WSUS administration console, select Options, and then Server Cleanup
Wizard.
2. By default this wizard will remove unneeded content and computers that have not
contacted the server for 30 days or more. Select all possible options, and then click Next.
3. The wizard will begin the cleanup process, and will present a summary of its work
when it is finished. Click Finish to complete the process.

In some cases, particularly if you run the Server Cleanup Wizard on a WSUS 3.0, WSUS 3.0 with
SP1, or WSUS 3.0 with SP2 server that has WSUS 2.0 downstream servers, you may see
discrepancies in update metadata on upstream and downstream servers. If this is the case, you
may solve your problem by running iisreset on the upstream server to refresh the Web cache.

Running WSUS 3.0 SP2 in Replica Mode

A WSUS server running in replica mode inherits the update approvals and computer groups
created on its parent WSUS administration server. You will typically have a single parent server
with one or more downstream replica WSUS servers. You approve updates and create computer
groups on the parent server, which the replica servers will then mirror.

To designate any WSUS server as a downstream replica

1. In the WSUS administration console, select Options, then select Update Source
and Proxy Server.
2. On the Update Source tab, select the Synchronize from another Windows Server
Update Services server and This server is a replica of the upstream server check
boxes.

You will be able to perform only limited administration capabilities on a WSUS replica server,
which will primarily consist of:
• Adding and removing computers from computer groups
A replica server inherits the computer groups that were created on the administration server.
You must assign the replica server's client computers to the computer groups.
• Viewing available updates
• Monitoring update, synchronization, and computer status, and monitoring WSUS settings
on the server
All standard WSUS reports are available on replica mode servers.
For more information about setting up and running in replica mode, see the WSUS Deployment
Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).

42
Replica server synchronization
If you are setting up many replica servers to connect to a single upstream WSUS server, you
should not schedule synchronization to run at the same time on each replica server. This practice
will avoid sudden surges in bandwidth utilization.
If a replica server tries and fails to synchronize with the upstream server, it will retry the
synchronization twice at approximately fifteen-minute intervals. If both retries fail, the replica
server will run synchronization at the next scheduled time.

Backing Up Windows Server Update

Services 3.0 SP2
As a best practice, back up WSUS data and update content in order not to lose information about
the state of your WSUS network. Update content can always be synchronized from Microsoft
Update, but all WSUS information (administrative settings, computer groups and group
membership, and the installation status of updates) is kept in the WSUS database. Moreover, re-
synchronization can take a considerable amount of time.
Backing up WSUS involves backing up the following:
• The WSUS database, which contains:
• Update metadata.
• WSUS server configuration information.
• Information about client computers, updates, and client interaction with updates.
• The folder where the update files are stored, if you are storing updates locally and not on
Microsoft Update. By default, update files are stored in the \WSUS\WSUSContent folder on
the largest partition of your WSUS server.
• The folder containing the WSUS repair path (by default, \WSUS\UpdateServicesPackage
on the largest partition of your WSUS server). The repair path is the location of any .msi files
used to repair locally published packages.
Although WSUS does not provide a built-in backup tool, you can use the Backup Utility that is
available on all servers running Windows Server to back up and restore both the WSUS database
and update file storage folder. The Backup Utility is also known as Ntbackup.exe. If you are
using a full version of Microsoft SQL Server for your database, you should use SQL Server
Enterprise Manager as an alternative to the Backup Utility. For more information about SQL
Server Enterprise Manager, refer to your SQL Server documentation. For more information about
database options and configurations for WSUS, see the WSUS Deployment Guide
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).

To back up content and data

1. On your WSUS server, click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type %windir%\system32\ntbackup.exe, and then click OK.

43
 3. In the Backup or Restore Wizard, click Next.
4. Verify that Back up files and settings is selected, and then click Next.
5. Click Let me choose what to back up, and then click Next.
6. Under Items to back up, select the WSUS folder (typically %systemdrive%\WSUS\),
and then click Next.
7. Click the Browse button to choose a place to save your backup, type a name for the
backup, and then click Next.
8. If you want to set additional specifications for your backup, including whether it will be
an incremental backup, whether you want to verify the backup, set a recurring schedule
for the backup, or other options, click Advanced, and then follow the instructions in the
wizard.
9. When the wizard is finished, click Finish.
10. When the message appears that informs you that the backup is complete, click
Close.

To restore content and data

1. On your WSUS server, click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type %windir%\system32\ntbackup.exe, and then click OK.
3. In the Backup or Restore Wizard, click Next.
4. Click Restore files and settings, and then click Next.
5. In the What to restore dialog box, under Items to restore, expand the file that
contains the WSUS folder (typically %systemdrive%\WSUS\), and then click Next.
6. If you want to set additional specifications for your restore, including whether you
want to restore the files or folders to a different location, replace existing files, restore
security settings, or specify other options, click Advanced, and then follow the
instructions in the wizard.
7. When the wizard is finished, click Finish.
8. When the message appears that informs you that restoring is complete, click Close.

Important
You should restore the backup file to only one WSUS server. The backed-up information
includes the Server ID, so if you restore the same backup file to two or more WSUS
servers there will be two or more WSUS servers with the same ID. If you attempt to roll
up information from downstream servers with duplicate IDs to an upstream server, you
will get information from only one of these downstream servers.

After restoring the WSUS database you must recycle the WSUS Application Pool in IIS, as
described in the next procedure. This will ensure that the restored database will sync up correctly
with IIS, through which you manage the WSUS Web site and Web services. For more information
about application pools, see IIS Help.

44
 To recycle the WSUS Application Pool in IIS

1. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information
Services (IIS) Manager.
2. In the tree view, expand the tree under the WSUS server name, and then expand
Application Pools.
3. Right-click WSUSPool, and then click Recycle.
4. Close IIS Manager.

If you store updates locally on the WSUS server, after restoring the WSUS database reset it with
the wsusutil.exe command-line utility, which ensures that every row of update metadata in the
database is matched by the corresponding update files in the local storage location. If the utility
does not find matching data, it will download the update files from Microsoft Update. For more
information about the WSUS command-line utility, see Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the
Command Line.

To reset update content

1. Open a Command Prompt window.

2. Navigate to the WSUS tools directory at WSUSInstallDir\Tools.
3. Type the following command: wsusutil reset
4. Wait until the command completes and then close the Command Prompt window.

Best Practices with Windows Server Update

Services 3.0 SP2
This section provides a list of best practices for managing updates with WSUS. There are four
main sections: one on security practices, one on resource usage, one on setting up a WSUS
network, and the last on miscellaneous best practices.

Best practices for security

The following practices can help you secure your WSUS network.
1. Use the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for WSUS connections (server to server, server to
client) on all computers that download updates via the Internet. For information about
configuring SSL, see the WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=139832).
2. If you do not want to use SSL, you can deploy Internet Protocol security (IPsec) on your
network to secure network traffic. The Overview of IPsec Deployment

45
 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=45154) topic offers guidance about how to deploy
IPsec in your environment.
3. Make sure that the WSUS server that downloads updates from Microsoft Update is
secured behind a firewall, and allows access only to the domains needed by WSUS. For a
description of these domains, see the WSUS Deployment Guide
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).
4. Make sure that WSUS servers have only the file and folder permissions that are needed
by WSUS. For a description of the necessary file and folder permissions, see the WSUS
Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).
5. If a WSUS server is Internet-facing, its database should be located on a different
computer that is not reachable from the Internet. For remote SQL Server installation
information, see the WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=139832).
6. There are two security groups that are set up for WSUS: WSUS Administrators and
WSUS Reporters. WSUS Administrators can perform any WSUS task, while WSUS
Reporters have read-only access (view server settings, get reports, and so on). Make sure
that the only people in the WSUS Administrators group are the ones who need to perform
administrative tasks.

Best practices for resource usage

Disk space
The following practices can help you conserve resources on your WSUS server.
1. Make sure that your WSUS server is configured to download only approved updates.
When the server synchronizes updates, it downloads only the update metadata and will
download the update files only after the update has been approved.
2. Use the Cleanup Wizard on a regular basis. This will keep the number of unneeded
updates and revisions to a minimum.
3. If a WSUS server has a small number of clients, or if most of the clients are "roaming"
clients with Internet access, you may wish to host update content on Microsoft Update rather
than on the local WSUS server. Clients will get update approvals from the server, but can pull
the upload files directly from the Internet.
4. If you are storing update content locally on your WSUS server, make sure you have
enough disk space on the storage partition. Monitor disk usage on this partition carefully. One
way to do this is to configure the WSUS health monitoring thread to warn you with an event if
disk usage exceeds a specified percentage. For more information about configuring the
health monitoring thread, see the explanation of the healthmonitoring parameter of the
wsusutil utility in Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command Line.
5. Approve only the updates that are really needed on your network. Limit the product
updates to the products that are installed on the network. You can also set up separate
WSUS servers for computers with different sets of Microsoft products.

46
 6. Synchronize only the update languages needed on your network. If you need to
synchronize more than one language and you are storing updates locally, you should
estimate your needed disk space by multiplying the recommended space times the number of
update languages. For more information about recommended disk space, see the WSUS
Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).
7. Make sure that your WSUS server is configured to synchronize all the needed languages,
because you will not be notified of needed updates in the unsynchronized languages. These
updates will appear as “Not Needed” on clients who require the language. To help avoid that
problem, make sure to include all operating system languages in your WSUS server's
synchronization options. You can see all the operating system languages by going to the
Computers view of the WSUS administration console and sorting the computers by operating
system language. However, you may need to include more languages if there are Microsoft
applications in more than one language (for example, if Microsoft Word in French is installed
on some computers with Windows XP in English).
8. You should allow WSUS to decline expired updates automatically (click Options, click
Automatic Approvals, click the Advanced tab, and then click Automatically decline
updates when a new revision causes them to expire). If you do not wish to decline expired
updates automatically, you should decline them manually on a periodic basis.
9. You should not choose to synchronize express installation files unless you have a
pressing need to minimize downloads between the WSUS server and its clients. Typically,
using express installation files reduces downloads from WSUS servers to clients by a factor
of two but increases downloads from Microsoft Update (or an upstream server) to the WSUS
server by a factor of four. You should decide which criteria are more important to your
network: local network bandwidth or server disk space and Internet bandwidth.

Network bandwidth
The following practices will help you improve the way WSUS uses network bandwidth.
1. When deploying large updates (such as service packs), you can avoid saturating the
network by doing the following:
a. Use BITS throttling. BITS bandwidth limitations can be controlled by time of day, but
apply to all applications using BITS. For more information about BITS throttling, see
Appendix E: Configuring BITS 2.0 and 3.0 for Download Performance.
b. Use IIS throttling, which limits throttling to one or more Web services. For more
information about IIS throttling, see Appendix F: Configuring IIS for Download
Performance.
c. Use targeting to control the rollout. You can set up multiple computer groups, then
approve large service pack downloads for a subset of these groups at one time.
2. Use peer caching (available only on Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 operating
systems) to minimize downloads from WSUS servers to clients and maximize the "sharing" of
downloads among peer computers on a subnet of the network. This will reduce network load
and in particular load on the WSUS server. For more information about peer caching, see
Appendix E: Configuring BITS 2.0 and 3.0 for Download Performance.

47
 3. Consider configuring WSUS clients to synchronize more frequently from the WSUS
server and configuring downstream WSUS servers to synchronize more frequently from their
upstream servers. This will allow updates to be deployed to clients faster, which could be
important if you need to deploy an “emergency update” that must be installed as quickly as
possible. This will result in smaller downloads from server to client, but will add additional
load to the WSUS server. It will also add additional load to the network when updates are
deployed, because clients start downloading updates as soon as they synchronize with the
server.

Best practices for setting up WSUS networks

The following practices will help you configure WSUS networks.
1. If possible, set up WSUS networks with a hub-and-spoke topology rather than a
hierarchical one. The greater the number of tiers in the network, the greater the latency in
downloading updates.
2. Consider using DNS netmask ordering for roaming clients. For more information about
setting up this configuration, see the WSUS Deployment Guide
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).
3. Configure roaming clients, so they get their updates from the Internet-facing WSUS
server, if they do not usually connect to your local intranet.

Best practices for maintaining WSUS databases

The following practices will help you get the best performance from your WSUS network.
1. Have a maintenance plan for your WSUS database that includes regular backups and
periodic re-indexing.
2. Make sure to re-index the WSUS database at least once a month. See Appendix I:
Database Maintenance for more information.

Other best practices

Manage restarts
The following practices will help you manage computer restarts.
1. Client computers (and most servers) often need restarts after an update is installed.
Deferring the restarts will put machines in an unsupported and unstable state, which may
include mismatched client and server binaries. These computers should be set up to get
automatic downloads and scheduled installs. You can pick a time for scheduled installations
when there is little chance for lost productivity (for example, on Sunday at 3:00 A.M). For
information about setting up client computers for a scheduled installation, see the WSUS
Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).
2. Critical servers cannot generally be restarted daily. If this is the case, you can either
configure them for installations at longer intervals (weekly), or configure them to get

48
 automatic downloads but manual installations at a time when the servers can be restarted if
necessary.
3. Configure e-mail notification to tell you when updates become available, so you can plan
the deployment of these updates in advance.
4. If you need to deploy an “emergency update” and can’t wait for the next scheduled
installation, approve the update with a deadline in the past. This will cause the update to be
installed the next time the clients synchronize from the server. If you can’t wait for the next
synchronization, create a script to automate installing the updates and then restarting your
server. For more information about creating scripts to automate Automatic Updates tasks, see
the Windows Update Agent Software Developer's Kit (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkID=43101).
5. Configure client computers or WSUS servers to immediately install updates that do not
require a restart. For information about setting up client computers for a scheduled
installation, see the WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=139832).

Ensure WSUS availability

The following practices will help you ensure that WSUS servers are always available to their
clients.
1. There are typically two different backup strategies. The first is a standard backup and
restore strategy. For information about backing up and restoring WSUS, see Backing Up
Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2. This strategy requires more work to maintain and
requires extra storage for the backup files, but makes it possible to restore the system to a
known state without needing to download the update files once more. The other strategy is to
rebuild the server. This is a fairly fast operation and is preferred by many customers, because
it requires less work and less disk space.
2. Consider using network load balancing if you have a requirement for high availability.
Load balancing involves a more complex configuration and is not typically considered
necessary, because new updates are not released very frequently. For more information
about setting up network load balancing, see the WSUS Deployment Guide
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).

Test service packs carefully

You should thoroughly test large bundles of updates such as service packs to ensure that they do
not break line-of-business applications. A typical test strategy is to set up test computer groups in
which the test computers are configured with the same applications as the production groups,
approve installation only to these groups, and then verify that the applications continue to function
correctly.

Check overall system health

The following practices will help you monitor the general health of your WSUS network.
1. You should check the WSUS administration console home page at least once a day to
view overall update compliance and network health.

49
 2. Check application logs frequently, if you suspect problems such as download failures or
clients that are failing to report to the WSUS server.
3. Install the WSUS MOM Pack to monitor overall service health.

Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command

Line
The wsusutil command-line utility is used in managing WSUS servers and is located in the
WSUSInstallDir\Tools folder of WSUS servers. The table below summarizes the different
parameters that can be used with this utility, and later sections explain the syntax and usage of
each parameter.

Note
You can also use Windows® PowerShell® to access the WSUS 3.0 APIs from the
command line.

Using the wsusutil utility

You must be an administrator to run the wsusutil utility. This utility is installed only on WSUS
server machines, not on console-only installations.

Tip
To see all wsusutil parameters, type wsusutil help on the command line. To see usage
for each of the parameters, type wsusutil help parameterName.

Summary of wsusutil Commands

Command Description

configuressl Updates the WSUS server registry key after the

IIS configuration has changed.

healthmonitoring Configures health monitoring values in the

database. If new values are not specified, the
current values are displayed.

export Part of the export/import process used to

synchronize a downstream WSUS without using
a network connection.
Exports update metadata to an export package
file. You cannot use this parameter to export
update files, update approvals, or server
settings.

import The second part of the export/import process.

50
Command Description

Imports update metadata to a server from an

export package file created on another WSUS
server. This synchronizes the destination
WSUS server without using a network
connection.

movecontent Changes the file system location where the

WSUS server stores update files, and optionally
copies any update files from the old location to
the new location

listfrontendservers Lists the front-end servers related to this WSUS

server.

deletefrontendserver Deletes the specified front-end server from the

WSUS database.

checkhealth Checks the health of the WSUS serve. Results

will appear in the Application Event log.

reset Checks that every update metadata row in the

database has corresponding update files stored
in the file system. If update files are missing or
have been corrupted, downloads the update
files again.

listinactiveapprovals Returns a list of update titles with approvals that

are in a permanently inactive state because of a
change in server language settings.

removeinactiveapprovals Removes approvals for updates that are in a

permanently inactive state because of a change
in WSUS server language settings.

usecustomwebsite Changes the port number used by the WSUS

Web services from 80 to 8530 or vice versa.

configuressl
Updates the WSUS server registry key after the IIS configuration has changed. If this command is
run with the optional parameter ServerCertificateName, it updates the certificate name. If it is run
without the optional parameter, it updates the setting for host headers, if there are any. For more
information about configuring SSL for WSUS, see the Securing WSUS with the Secure Sockets
Layer Protocol section in the Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 Deployment Guide.

51
Syntax
The following command updates the host headers, if any:
wsusutil configuressl
The following command updates the server certificateName:
wsusutil configuressl ServerCertificateName//sets the server certificate name

Parameter Description

ServerCertificateName An optional parameter. When present, it

provides the name in the Issued to field of the
server certificate.

Output
The output from the wsusutil configuressl command is the address of the WSUS Web site
(including the port number), for example https://serverName:443.

healthmonitoring
This command sets and gets the different parameters for WSUS health monitoring.

Syntax
Wsusutil healthmonitoring parameterName

Note
You may set or get only one parameter at a time.

Parameter Description

IntervalsInMinutes [DetectInterval] [RefreshInterval] Sets the values for detect and

refresh intervals. If the detect
interval is 0, the detect cycle will
not run. If the refresh interval is 0,
the refresh cycle will not run. For
more information about the detect
and refresh cycles, see Health
Monitoring in WSUS 3.0 SP2.

DiskSpaceInMegabytes [ErrorLevel] [WarningLevel] Sets the amount of available disk

space (in megabytes) at which a
low disk space warning or error
event should be logged.

CatalogSyncIntervalInDays [Days] Sets the number of days that

should have passed after

52
Parameter Description

synchronization before a warning

event should be logged..

InstallUpdatesInPercent [WarningPercent][ErrorPercent] Sets the percentage of update

installation failures at which a
warning or error event should be
given.

InventoryInPercen[WarningPercent][ErrorPercent] Sets the percentage of inventory

reporting failures at which a
warning or error should be given.

SilentClientsInPercent [WarningPercent][ErrorPercent] Sets the percentage of clients not

reporting to the server at which a
warning or error should be given.

SilentClientsInDays [Days] Sets the number of days clients

can fail to report before an error
should be given.

TargetComputersInPercent[WarningPercent][ErrorPercent] Sets the maximum percentage of

target computers reporting to this
server below which a warning or
error event should be given. For
example, if you set values of 80
and 60, a warning event will be
logged if only 80 percent of
computers have reported, and an
error event will be logged if only 60
percent of computers have
reported.

CheckAcls on|off If on, health monitoring should

check ACLs on the relevant
directories.

CheckForLowDiskSpace on|off If on, health monitoring should

check for low disk space.

CheckForCatalogSyncFailures on|off If on, health monitoring should

check for catalog synchronization
failures.

CheckForContentSyncFailures on|off If on, health monitoring should

check for content synchronization
failures.

CheckForEmailNotificationFailures on|off If on, health monitoring should

53
Parameter Description

check for e-mail notification

failures.

CheckSelfUpdate on|off If on, health monitoring should

check for client self-update
failures.

CheckClientsExist on|off If on, health monitoring should

check whether this server has any
clients.

CheckForUpdateInstallFailures on|off If on, health monitoring should

check for update installation
failures.

CheckForInventoryFailures on|off If on, health monitoring should

check for clients failing to report
inventory..

CheckForSilentClients on|off If on, health monitoring should

check for clients that have failed to
report to the server.

CheckForTooManyClients on|off If on, health monitoring should

check whether the number of
clients is approaching the
maximum number allowed.

CheckReportingWebService on|off If on, health monitoring should

check the Reporting Web service.

CheckApiRemotingWebService on|off If on, health monitoring should

check the API Remoting Web
service.

CheckServerSyncWebService on|off If on, health monitoring should

check the Server Synchronization
Web service.

CheckClientWebService on|off If on, health monitoring should

check the client Web service.

CheckSimpleAuthWebService on|off If on, health monitoring should

check the Simple Authentication
Web service.

CheckDssAuthWebService on|off If on, health monitoring should

check the Downstream Server
Authentication Web service.

54
Output
The output from wsusutil paramName is usually the current state of the given parameter. Some
examples are given below:
wsusutil healthmonitoring IntervalsInMinutes
Output:
Detect interval: 10 min, Refresh interval: 360 min
wsusutil healthmonitoring DiskSpaceInMegabytes
Output:
Error level: 200 MB, Warning level: 500 MB
However, with the parameters setting on or off the different health monitoring checks (for
example, wsusutil healthmonitoring CheckAcls), the output will simply be a warning that the
WSUS Service must be stopped and restarted for the change to take effect.

export
For more information about exporting and importing updates, see the Set Up a Disconnected
Network (Import and Export the Updates) section in the Windows Server Update Services 3.0
SP2 Deployment Guide.

Syntax
wsusutil export package logfile

Parameter Description

package The path and file name of the package .cab to

create.

logfile The path and file name of the log file to create.

Note
Exporting from a WSUS 2.0 server to a WSUS 3.0, WSUS 3.0 SP1, or WSUS 3.0 SP2
server (or from a WSUS 3.0, WSUS 3.0 SP1, or WSUS 3.0 SP2 server to a WSUS 2.0
server) is not supported.

Import
For background and procedural information about exporting and importing updates, see the
WSUS Deployment Guide at WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=139832).

55
Syntax
wsusutil import package logfile

Parameter Description

package The path and file name of the package .cab to

import.

logfile The path and file name of the log file to import.

Note
Importing from a WSUS 2.0 server to a WSUS 3.0, WSUS 3.0 SP1, or WSUS 3.0 SP2
server (or from a WSUS 3.0, WSUS 3.0 SP1, or WSUS 3.0 SP2 server to a WSUS 2.0
server) is not supported.

Movecontent
When you run this command, wsusutil does the following:
• Copies the update files from the old location to the new location. The old location is not
deleted.
• Updates the WSUS database to refer to the new location of the update files.
• Ensures that the content and metadata are synchronized. This check is always run, even
if the –skipcopy parameter is used.
The destination folder to which update files are moved must be on an NTFS partition. The utility
will not try to copy update files if they already exist in the destination folder. The destination folder
will have the same permissions that were set on the original folder.

Note
You can use xcopy, the Backup utility, or other methods to copy update files from the old
location to the new one. If you copy the files by using a method other than wsusutil, you
still need to run wsusutil to perform the second part of the move, using the -skipcopy
parameter. See the "Syntax" section for more information.
There are two scenarios in which you might move update files from one WSUS drive to another:
• If the drive is full
• If the hard disk fails

If the drive is full

If the drive where WSUS stores update files is full, you can do one of the following:
• Add more space to your current drive by using NTFS functionality. This operation can be
done without using wsusutil, because it does not affect WSUS configuration or operation.
• Install a new drive, and then move the update files from the old drive to the new location
by using wsusutil.

56
If the hard disk fails
If the hard disk fails, you must do the following:
1. Install the new disk on your computer, and then restore the update files from your backup
files. Note: If you have not backed up your update files, WSUSutil.exe downloads the missing
files at the end of the content move operation.
2. Run wsusutil movecontent newLocation, specifying the location for the new disk. In
addition, you specify the -skipcopy parameter, because you are either putting the files in the
new folder through the backup utility or the source folder does not exist; the update files will
be downloaded at the end of this process.
3. When the move operation is complete, all the missing files are downloaded.

Syntax
wsusutil movecontent contentpath logfile -skipcopy

Parameter Description

contentpath The new root for content files. The path must
exist.

logfile The path and file name of the log file to create.

-skipcopy Indicates that only the server configuration

should be changed, and that the content files
should not be copied.

listfrontendservers
This command lists the different front-end servers in a network load balancing configuration. It
can be useful in troubleshooting a NLB (network load balancing) configuration and after setting up
a new front-end server to make sure that it is configured properly.

deletefrontendserver
This command deletes the given front-end server.

Syntax
wsusutil deletefrontendserver serverName

Parameter Description

serverName The name of the front-end server to be deleted.

57
 Important
This command removes the front-end server from the database only. You will need to run
wsussetup /u on the front-end server to uninstall WSUS.

checkhealth
This command checks the health of the WSUS server. The health check is configured by
wsusutil healthmonitoring). The results are written to the event logs.

Syntax
wsusutil checkhealth

reset
You use this command if you store updates locally on your WSUS server and want to ensure that
the metadata information stored in your WSUS database is accurate. With this command, you
verify that every update metadata row in the WSUS database corresponds to update files stored
in the local update file storage location on your WSUS server. If update files are missing or have
been corrupted, WSUS downloads the update files again. This command might be useful to run
after you restore your database, or as a first step when troubleshooting update approvals.

Syntax
wsusutil reset

listinactiveapprovals
If you change language options on an upstream WSUS server, the number of approved updates
on the upstream server may not match the number of approved updates on a replica server. For
example, consider the following scenario. You configure your upstream server to synchronize all
languages, then synchronize and approve 300 updates, of which 50 are non-English language
updates. Afterward, you change the language setting on the server to English only. Later, a
replica server synchronizes from the upstream server and downloads the "active" approvals,
which now are only the English language ones (replica servers synchronize only active
approvals). At this point, you will see 300 updates approved on the upstream server, but only 250
approved on the replica server. You can use listinactiveapprovals to see a list of the updates on
the parent upstream server that are permanently inactive—in this case, the 50 updates that are
not English. You do not have to run this command before running the removeinactiveapprovals
command.

Syntax
wsusutil listinactiveapprovals

58
removeinactiveapprovals
See the explanation above for a description of situations in which you might need to use
removeinactiveapprovals. You do not have to run the listinactiveapprovals command before
running this command.

Syntax
wsusutil removeinactiveapprovals

usecustomwebsite
If you set this value to true, WSUS Setup will use port 8530 for its Default Web site. If you set it to
false, WSUS will use port 80.

Important
You must use this command before you configure SSL.

Important
If you are installing SharePoint on the same machine as WSUS, the value of
usecustomwebsite should be set to true before the install.

Important
Using this command after running WSUS Setup will fail if the index of the default Web
site is set to a value other than 1.

Syntax
wsusutil usecustomwebsite true

Reports in Windows Server Update Services

3.0 SP2
Reports are an important part of managing WSUS. You can keep track of nearly every aspect of
the WSUS network by means of reports. The following types of reports are provided:
• Summary compliance reports (the number of computers that need to install updates and
the number of updates missing from computers).You can generate these reports from the root
node of the WSUS administration console.
• Individual computer reports. You can generate these reports by right-clicking the
computer in the Details pane.
• Individual update reports. You can generate these reports by right-clicking the update in
the Details pane.
• Downstream server summary compliance reports. You can generate these reports by
right-clicking the server in the Details pane.

59
 • Synchronization reports. You can generate these reports by right-clicking the
synchronization in the Details pane.

In this section
Terminology for Update Status
Creating Reports

Terminology for Update Status

You can access update status from various locations in the WSUS console. The following table
defines each possible status that can be reported by WSUS for an update. Typically, WSUS
presents update status for a particular computer (for example, the status of an update on one
computer) or computer group (for example, status for the five computers in Computer Group X on
which the update has been installed). You can filter the default views of computers or updates by
update status, and in some cases by combinations of statuses (Failed or Needed, Installed/Not
Applicable or No Status, and so on).

Update Status Definitions

Status Description

Installed The update is installed on the computer.

Needed When referring to the status of one computer,

Needed means the update is compatible with
(and should be installed on) the computer.
When referring to status for a computer group,
the Needed column displays the number of
computers in the group to which the update is
applicable. A positive Needed result means that
the update was determined to be applicable, but
has not been installed the last time client
computers contacted the WSUS server,. Any of
the following could be true when the status for
an update is Needed:
• You have approved the update for
installation, but the client computers have
not yet contacted the WSUS server since
you made this change.
• The update has already been
downloaded and installed, but the client
computer has not contacted the WSUS
server since the update was installed.

60
Status Description

• The update has already been

downloaded and installed, but the client
computer must be restarted before changes
go into effect, and the client computer has
not yet been restarted.
• The update has been downloaded to
the computer but not installed.
• The update has been neither
downloaded nor installed on the computer.

Installed/Not Applicable When referring to the status of one computer,

Installed/Not Applicable means the update is
not applicable to or required by that computer.
When referring to the status for a computer
group, the Installed/Not Applicable column
displays the number of computers in the group
for which the update is not applicable or not
required.

No status This usually means that since the time that the
update was synchronized to the WSUS server,
the computer has not contacted the WSUS
server.

Failed An error occurred when either a detection or an

installation was attempted on the computer for
the update.

Last contacted This is the date on which the computer last

contacted the WSUS server.

Creating Reports
Reports enable you to monitor different aspects of the WSUS network: updates, client computers,
and downstream servers. If a WSUS server has replica servers, you can choose to roll up the
replica servers' client status to the upstream server. For information about creating a replica
server and status rollup, see the WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=139832).
You can generate different kinds of update reports from different places in the WSUS
administration console.
1. General reports on the Reports page.

61
 2. Reports on specific updates: right-click the update (or go to the Actions pane) and
choose Status Report.
3. Reports on specific computers: right-click the computer (or go to the Actions pane) and
choose Status Report.

Note
Generating detailed reports for large numbers of computers and/or updates can be very
memory-intensive. Detailed reports are most effective for smaller subsets of your
computers or updates. If you need to create a very large report and are concerned about
using CPU and memory resources on the WSUS server, you may generate the report
from a remote WSUS Administration console.

Using the Reports Page

You can generate three kinds of reports as described in the following table.

Report name Function

Update Reports View update status.

Computer Reports View computer status.

Synchronization Reports View the results of the last synchronization.

Update Reports
Update reports show you the status of your updates. You can run update reports in four ways:
summary, detailed, tabular, and tabular for approved updates. You can also filter an update report
by update classification, product, target computer group, and update installation status.
The report displays information from the most recent contact between client computers and the
WSUS server. The frequency with which client computers contact the WSUS server is configured
through Group Policy. By default, this is every 22 hours. Unless you want to change the contact
frequency for your client computers, generate this report the day after you approve updates, so
that it reflects your latest approvals.

Note
You can run wuauclt /detectnow from the command prompt on computers that are
running WSUS client software (Automatic Updates) in order to start contact between the
client computer and WSUS server. This is used primarily to update status for a particular
computer. There will be a few minutes delay between running the command and seeing
the results on the WSUS server. After forcing the client to contact the server, you can get
its status with an update status report. For more information about wuauclt, see Appendix
H: The wuauclt Utility.

62
 To run an update report

1. In the WSUS Administration console, select the Reports node

2. In the Reports pane, click one of the options in the Update Reports section: Update
Status Summary, Update Detailed Status, Update Tabular Status, or Update Tabular
Status for Approved Updates.
3. In the Updates Report window you can select the updates you want to see by
classification, product, computer group, and update installation status.
4. Click Run Report. See the Terminology for Update Status section for information
about the Status values shown on the report.
5. You can change the view of an Update report to a detail, summary, or tabular view by
clicking Report View in the Updates Report toolbar.

Update Status Summary View

The Update Status Summary view contains the elements listed in the following table.

Description of elements displayed in the Update Status Summary view

Column name Description

Updates Report tree view The tree listing all the updates in the report.

Title The title of the update.

Description The description of the update.

Classification The classification of the update.

Products The products to which the update applies.

MSRC Severity Rating Microsoft Security Response Center rating.

MSRC Number Microsoft Security Response Center

identification number.

More information Redirection to the relevant Web site.

Approval Summary for Computer Group The listing of groups and approvals.

Group The computer group.

Approval Approval status (Approved, Not approved,

Declined).

Deadline The date by which the update must be installed.

Administrator The administrative action.

63
Computer Reports
Computer reports show you the status of computers. You can run computer reports in four ways:
summary, detailed, tabular, and tabular for approved updates. You can also filter a computer
report by update classification, product, target computer group, and update installation status.

To run a status report for computers

1. In the WSUS administrative console, select the Reports node.

2. In the Reports pane, click one of the options in the Computer Reports section:
Computer Status Summary, Computer Detailed Status, Computer Tabular Status, or
Computer Tabular Status for Approved Updates.
3. In the Computers Report window, you can select the updates you want to see by
classification, product, computer group, and update installation status.
Note that for the Computer Tabular Status for Approved Updates report both the
update approvals and the set of computers considered by the report are scoped based
on the selected target group.
• The updates considered by the report are those for which the selected target
group has a direct or inherited approval for install.
• The computers considered by the report are those that are direct members of the
selected target group, and optionally its child target groups.
4. Click Run Report.
5. You can change the view of a Computer report to a detail, summary, or tabular view
by clicking Report View in the Updates Report toolbar.

Synchronization Results Report

The Synchronization Results report enables you to see synchronization information for the WSUS
server for a given time period, including errors that occurred during synchronization and a list of
new updates. In addition, you can get general, status, and revision information for each new
update.

To run a Synchronization Results report

1. In the WSUS administrative console, click Reports.

2. On the Reports pane, click Synchronization Results. By default, the report shows
any synchronization done today.
3. To change the synchronization period for the report, in the Synchronization Report
window, click Between these dates and specify the dates you want included in the
report.
4. Click Run Report.

The report has four components, which are described in the following table.

64
Components of the Synchronization Results Report

Component name Purpose

Report Options Shows the start and end dates of the period
shown in the report, as well as the date of the
report and the server for which the report was
made.

Synchronization Summary Displays summary information of the numbers

of new, revised, and expired updates in each
synchronization.

New Updates Displays the new updates that have been

synchronized to the WSUS server during the
report's time period.
You can view the properties for each update by
clicking the update. An update status report will
be generated for that individual report.

Revised Updates Displays the revised updates that have been

synchronized to the WSUS server during the
report's time period.
You can view the properties for each update by
clicking the update. An update status report will
be generated for that individual report.

Expired Updates Displays the updates that have been expired

during the report's time period.

Printing a Report
You can print the report in update summary, detailed, or tabular views, depending on how you
have formatted the update status report.

To print a report

1. On the report toolbar, click the printer icon.

2. In the Print dialog, select your options and click Print.

Exporting a Report
You can print a report in its original format, or you can export it to Microsoft Excel or PDF formats.

Important
Exporting a large report can be extremely time-consuming and may exceed your
computer's memory resources. If you are planning to export a report, consider limiting the

65
 size of the report to 200 pages or fewer. You can use different filters to reduce the size of
the report, or you can choose the tabular format rather than the detailed format to reduce
the number of pages to export.

To export a report to Excel or PDF format

1. Run the report you want to export.

2. On the report toolbar, click the down arrow associated with the Save icon.
3. You will see two options: Excel and Acrobat (PDF) file. Click one of the options.

Extending Reports
You can customize WSUS reports in different ways:
1. Use the WSUS APIs to create a custom report
2. Use WSUS public views to create and extend custom reports

Use WSUS APIs to Create Custom Reports

For more information on WSUS APIs, see the Windows Server Update Services SDK
documentation on MSDN (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=85713). You can use these APIs
to create reports on updates, approvals, installation information, and the like.

Use WSUS Public Views to Create Custom Reports

For more information on public views, as well as sample queries, see the WSUS SDK conceptual
documentation on MSDN (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=85715.) If you are using SQL
Server as the WSUS database, you can use the SQL Server Report Builder to generate custom
reports using these views, or you can access the views from the command line. If you are using
Windows Internal Database as the WSUS database, you can access it via the command line if
you download the Microsoft SQL Server Command Line Query Utility and the SQL Native Client.
You can download the install packages from the Microsoft Download Center
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=70728).

Securing Windows Server Update Services

3.0 SP2
For synchronization with upstream WSUS servers, you can use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
protocol to secure the update metadata portion of the synchronization. WSUS can use SSL to:
• Enable client computers and downstream WSUS servers to authenticate an upstream
WSUS server.
• Encrypt metadata passed on to client computers and downstream WSUS servers.

66
For more information about configuring your WSUS server to use SSL, see the WSUS
Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).

Troubleshooting Windows Server Update

Services 3.0 SP2
This guide provides troubleshooting information for Windows Server Update Services. For
additional information about troubleshooting, see How to troubleshoot Windows Update, Microsoft
Update, and Windows Server Update Services installation issues (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=80711).
In this guide
• Health Monitoring in WSUS 3.0 SP2
• WSUS 3.0 SP2 Server Administration Issues
• WSUS 3.0 SP2 Client Computer Administration Issues

Health Monitoring in WSUS 3.0 SP2

WSUS monitors the health of the WSUS server and its components by means of a service that
runs at frequent intervals and logs the results as events in the event log. You can look at the
events with the Event Viewer, and you can get more information by downloading the WSUS 3.0
MOM Pack.

Health checks
The WSUS health monitoring service automatically checks the health of WSUS components as
long as WSUS server components are installed on the computer. (The service does not run on
computers where only the console or only the database is installed.) The health check service
has two cycles: detect and refresh. In the detect cycle, only changes are logged (for example, a
service was running but has stopped). In the refresh cycle, all errors and warnings are logged. By
default the detect cycle polls WSUS components every ten minutes and the refresh cycle polls
every six hours, but if you wish to run the health check at other times (for example, to verify a
configuration change to WSUS or to configure the service to run more or less often), you can use
the wsusutil utility. For instructions on running the utility, see Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the
Command Line under the "healthmonitoring" section.

Polling WSUS components

The following WSUS components are checked for potential problems:
• Core: issues with disk space, permissions, e-mail notifications, and catalog and content
synchronization

67
 • Database: issues with connectivity and availability
• Web Services: issues with permissions and Web service health
• Clients: issues with clients not reporting, client self-update, the update agent, client
inventory, and clients' ability to install updates

Viewing event logs

The events generated by the health monitoring service are logged in the Application event log.

To view WSUS events

1. Start the Event Viewer (click Start, click Run, and then type eventvwr).
2. In the left pane, click Application.
3. Find the events whose source is Windows Server Update Services.

WSUS logs error, warning, and informational events. Errors are problems that should be fixed
immediately (for example, that available local storage has dropped below a certain level),
warnings are notifications of situations that are tending to become problems (for example, that
WSUSService has stopped, or that synchronization has not taken place in the last 24 hours), and
informational events are notifications of situations that are probably not problems (for example,
that a service has stopped or started).

Resolving problems
In many cases the solution to an error or warning event will be obvious. For example, if disk
space is low, you would remove unneeded files. In other cases, you might need to do more
investigation before deciding on the right solution. You could read the troubleshooting sections of
this document, or search online for similar issues. If you are using the Microsoft Operations
Manager, you can also download the WSUS 3.0 (MOM) Pack.
WSUS 3.0 SP2 Server Administration Issues
WSUS 3.0 SP2 Client Computer Administration Issues

WSUS 3.0 SP2 Server Administration Issues

In this section
• Issues with Setup
• Issues with Upgrades
• Issues with the WSUS 3.0 SP2 Administration Console
• Issues with Update Storage
• Issues with Synchronization
• Issues with Update Approvals
• Issues with Backup and Restore

68
 • Issues with E-Mail Notifications
• Issues with the Database
• Issues with WSUS 3.0 Services

Issues with Setup

If you are having trouble installing WSUS, use the following information to troubleshoot the
problem.

Troubleshooting WSUS setup

Check for required software and hardware
WSUS has a number of requirements that need to be met before installation. For more
information, see Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=79983).

Check setup logs

WSUS setup creates the following four log files that can help you diagnose problems with setup.
These log files are located in the %temp% directory of the user who ran the installation process.
• WSUSSetup.log: The status of each of the component installations performed during
WSUS setup is logged to this file. You can check this log to see whether any of the
component installations failed. If you see a failure, you can check the corresponding log to
see what went wrong during the installation of that component.
• WSUSSetupMsi_timestamp.log: This log file is generated by MSI for WSUS component
setup. Windows installer, before invoking any of the custom actions and standard actions,
logs that information to this file. The return values from the custom actions are logged to this
file as well. This log file is useful if there are errors invoking any of the custom actions.
• WSUSCa_timestamp.log: This log file is used by custom actions. Errors that occurred
while executing any of the custom actions in WSUS component or BITS setup are logged to
this file.
• WSUSWyukonSetup_timestamp.log: This is the log file for Windows Internal Database
setup. All Windows Internal Database installation/uninstallation information is logged to this
file.

Check the .NET framework installation

If the .NET framework has not been installed correctly, WSUS setup may fail.
• One symptom of this is the failure to run HideConsoleApp.exe. Search
WSUSSetupMsi_timestamp.log file for "HideConsoleApp.exe" and look at the return value of
the corresponding custom action. If the return value is non-zero, the executable failed to run.

69
 Note that HideConsoleApp.exe may fail because of several other reasons. The
MSUSCa_timestamp.log file will give the specific reason it failed.
• Reinstalling .NET framework may solve this problem.

The WSUSService service is marked for deletion

WSUS installs the WSUSService service during setup and deletes it during uninstallation. During
uninstallation, if some other process is using the service, the service is not deleted completely but
is marked for deletion. It is deleted only after all processes have stopped using the service. If the
service is not deleted properly after uninstallation, then the next installation may fail, because
WSUSService cannot be installed while it is marked for deletion.
• Look at the WSUSSetupMsi_timestamp.log file for the return value of
HideConsoleApp.exe. If the return value is not zero, that means that the custom action
running HideConsoleApp.exe failed.
• Look at the WSUSCa_timestamp.log file to see whether the failure is due to the service
being marked for deletion.
• Reboot the machine and rerun setup. All the open handles to the service are closed when
the machine shuts down, and this should resolve the problem.

On a domain controller, the NetBiosDomainName is different from the DNS

domain name
Setup can fail because it uses the DNS domain name instead of the NetBiosDomainName when
setting database permissions to the IWAM account.
• Check the NetBiosDomainName and the DNS domain name on the machine. These
names must be identical for WSUS setup to succeed.

Duplicate ASP.Net entries in the IIS Web services list

The ASP.Net Web service extension may occasionally be listed twice in the IIS configuration. If
this is the case, WSUS setup will fail when it tries to install and configure its v-roots.
• Check WSUSSetup.log for the following entry:
Error IISCustomAction Command /Install FailedSystem.ArgumentException: Item has already
been added. Key in dictionary: "enableasp.net" Key being added: "enableasp.net"

• Disable and then reenable the ASP.NET V2.0.50727 Web service extension through the
IIS UI. Make sure that the final status of this Web service extension is “allowed.”

There is a SUSDB database from an earlier installation

Reinstallation of WSUS can fail if there is a SUSDB database from a previous WSUS installation.
You will need to remove this database before restarting WSUS setup.

70
UseCustomWebsite fails when the default Web site does not have a site ID
of 1
If the default Web site has been deleted and recreated, the default Web site will get assigned a
Web site ID other than 1 by IIS. Consequently, WSUS Setup at the default Web site will fail.
There are two ways you can work around this issue:
• Reinstall IIS in order to ensure the default Web site is created with a Web site index.
• WSUS Setup will still work if installed to port 8530. Check if the value of
usecustomwebsite value is set to on.

API compression may not be used after installing WSUS 3.0 SP2 on
Windows Server 2008
If you want to use API compression on Windows 2008 ensure that dynamic compression IIS role
service is installed. This feature is not installed in the default IIS installation on Windows Server
2008.

WSUS 3.0 SP2 setup fails to install to Windows Server 2008 when installing
to a case-sensitive SQL and the computer name is in lowercase
letters
SQL requires the computer name to be in uppercase letters. Rename the computer using all
uppercase letters.

Issues with Upgrades

Use the information below to troubleshoot WSUS upgrade issues.

Troubleshooting WSUS Upgrades

If a WSUS Upgrade Fails, WSUS May Be Uninstalled
You may lose your previous WSUS settings and data if an upgrade fails. Therefore, before
attempting an upgrade, back up the following:
• WSUS database
• Update file storage folder
For information about backing up and restoring your existing WSUS installation, see Backing Up
Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2.

Upgrading to WSUS 3.0 from WSUS 2 0

When upgrading to WSUS 3.0 from WSUS 2.0, the configuration points to the port 8530. This
causes a mismatch in the WSUS environment because other machines are configured to point to

71
the original port (80) of this WSUS server. In this case, the WSUS 3.0 port should be switched
back to 80 by using the following syntax.
WSUSUtil.exe useCustomWebsite false

Certificate Not Configured after WSUS 2.0 SP2 is Upgraded to WSUS 3.0
with Custom Web site
If WSUS 2.0 SP2 was configured to use SSL, you will need to reinstall the certificate after the
upgrade is complete by using the following syntax:
wsusutil configuressl ServerCertificateName

Issues with the WSUS 3.0 SP2 Administration

Console
If you get an error when using or trying to access the WSUS console, use the following
information to troubleshoot the problem.

Troubleshooting the WSUS administration

console
Cannot access the WSUS administration console and a timeout error
message appears
If you cannot access the WSUS console and a timeout error message appears, the CPU of the
WSUS server may be at, or very close to, maximum utilization, causing the database to time out.
If the database software times out, the WSUS console cannot be displayed.
One way of inadvertently overtaxing your WSUS server is to have antivirus software monitor the
WSUS content directory. During synchronization, the antivirus software can overload the CPU.
You can work around this situation by setting the antivirus software to ignore the directory where
WSUS content is stored.

Get an error looking at a network load balanced cluster if the "master" is

unavailable
If you are looking at a WSUS server on a network load balanced cluster from a remote
administration console, and the server that is currently the "master" server becomes unavailable,
you may see the following error:
System.Net.Sockets.SocketException Message:

No connection could be made because the target machine actively refused it

Source: System

Stack Trace:

72
 at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.DoConnect(EndPoint endPointSnapshot, SocketAddress
socketAddress)

at System.Net.Sockets.Socket.InternalConnect(EndPoint remoteEP)

at System.Net.ServicePoint.ConnectSocketInternal(Boolean connectFailure, Socket s4,

Socket s6, Socket& socket, IPAddress& address, ConnectSocketState state, IAsyncResult
asyncResult, Int32 timeout, Exception& exception)

You should wait at least 30 seconds before clicking Reset on the error message.

Cannot see client computers in the WSUS administration console

If client computers do not appear on the Computers page in the WSUS administration console,
there is probably a problem with client self-update, which is the mechanism that WSUS uses to
update Automatic Update software. For more information about client self-update, see Issues with
Client Self-Update.

Cannot see computers having 100 percent installed state on the Computers
page when the "Installed/NotApplicable or No Status" filter is
applied
If there are locally published updates on the server, you may not see accurate status or counts for
your computer because locally published updates interfere with the filtering mechanisms.

Cannot connect to remote WSUS 3.0 server in a saved MMC console

If you want to distribute an .msc file that connects to a server, you cannot create the .msc file on
that server. Instead use a console on another machine to connect to this server and then save
and distribute that .msc.

Get error accessing WSUS 3.0 servers from the WSUS administration
console because the WWW Publishing service is configured to
allow interaction with the desktop
If you attempt to access the WSUS administration console and fail to connect to the server, you
may have gotten the following error:
The WSUS administration console was unable to connect to the WSUS Server via the remote
API.

Verify that the Update Services service, IIS, and SQL are running on the server. If the
problem persists, try restarting IIS, SQL, and the Update Services Service.

The WSUS administration console has encountered an unexpected error. This may be a
transient error; try restarting the administration console. If this error persists, try
removing the persisted preferences for the console by deleting the wsus file under
%appdata%\Microsoft\MMC\.

System.IO.IOException -- The handshake failed due to an unexpected packet format.

73
…

This error is probably due to the WWW Publishing service being configured to allow interaction
with the desktop. To solve this problem, take the following steps:
1. Open the Services snap-in (click Start, click Run, and then type services.msc).
2. Right-click the World Wide Web Publishing service and select Properties.
3. On the LogOn tab, clear the Allow service to interact with desktop check box.
4. Click OK, and then dismiss the Services snap-in.
5. From a command shell, type iisreset.
6. At this point you should be able to access the WSUS server from the console again.
This error is caused by the issue described in KB919085 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=86366).

Get other errors accessing WSUS 3.0 servers from the WSUS
administration console
In many cases, when you have gotten a connection error, it may be helpful to run the iisreset
command.

Issues with Update Storage

Updates can be stored on the local WSUS server or on Microsoft Update. Use this section to
troubleshoot problems with update storage.

Troubleshooting update storage

The updates listed in the WSUS administrative console do not match the
updates listed in your local folder
This can happen under different circumstances. For example, if updates are stored on a disk
separate from the one on which WSUS is installed, and that disk fails, when you replace the
failed disk with a new (empty) disk, the WSUS application will still show all of the updates as
downloaded.
To have WSUS resynchronize the updates in local storage with the updates in the database, you
must run the WSUSUtil utility reset command. For more information about WSUSUtil, see
Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command Line.

Note
Performing a reset causes the WSUS server to be unresponsive for up to five minutes.

To have WSUS verify locally stored updates

1. Open a command window.

74
 2. Navigate to the directory that contains WSUSutil.exe. (It can be found in the Tools
subdirectory of the WSUS installation directory.)
3. Type wsusutil reset

Downloads from a WSUS server are failing

There may be problems with the permissions on the WSUS server's local content directory.
Permissions are set correctly by WSUS setup when the directory is created, but subsequent
changes may have reset these permissions. One indication of this problem may be event ID
10012 in the Application log file.
The following permissions are necessary:
• The root folder of the local content directory must have at least Read permissions for the
Users security group and the NT Authority\Network Service account. In other words, if the
WSUS content directory is C:\Updates\WSUSContent, the Updates directory must have the
correct permissions. The BITS service will fail if these permissions are not set.
• The content directory itself (in the above example, the WSUSContent directory) must
have Full Control permissions for the NT Authority\Network Service account.
• The temporary ASP.NET directory (%windir
%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\Temporary ASP.NET Files) must have Full Control
permissions for the NT Authority\Network Service account.
• The %TEMP% directory (usually %windir%\TEMP) must have Full Control permissions
for the NT Authority\Network Service account.

The local content directory is running out of disk space

Synchronization may fail if the local WSUS content directory does not have sufficient disk space.
It is recommended that you monitor disk space carefully to keep this problem from arising. Low
disk space is indicated by event ID 10041 and event ID 10042.
The following procedures will help you overcome low disk space problems:
• Using Disk Cleanup to remove unneeded files on the drive.
• Using the Server Cleanup Wizard to remove unneeded content. For more information
about this wizard, see Using the Server Cleanup Wizard.
• Moving the content directory to another drive.
• Moving the SQL Server database to another drive.

To use Disk Cleanup to remove unneeded files on the drive

1. Click Start, click All Programs, click Accessories, click System Tools, and then
click Disk Cleanup.
2. Select the Windows components, applications, and files that can be removed, and
then click OK.

75
 To move the content directory to another drive

1. Create a new content directory on another drive.

2. Locate the WSUSUtil.exe utility in the Tools directory of your WSUS installation
(typically C:\Program Files\Update Services\Tools).
3. Open a command window, navigate to the Tools directory, and type the following:
wsusutil movecontent NewContentPath MoveLog
where NewContentPath is the new content directory, and MoveLog is the path and filename
of the log for this operation.

Note
For more information about using the WSUSUtil utility, see Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2
from the Command Line.
Before you move the SQL Server installation to another drive, you should make sure that the
WSUS administration console is not open. If you have problems with the move, make sure that
the WSUS Web services have been stopped. Occasionally, a move will fail if the clients are
communicating with the server.

To move the SQL Server installation to another drive

1. Open a command window.

2. Type net stop wsusservice
3. Detach the SUSDB database.
4. Copy SUSDB.mdf and SUSDB_log.ldf to the new location.
5. Attach the SUSDB database from the new location.
6. Type net start wsusservice
7. When the system is working properly, delete SUSDB.mdf and SUSDB_log.ldf from
the old location.

Note
Consult your SQL Server documentation to find out how to detach and reattach
databases.

Issues with Synchronization

Synchronization is the process in which the WSUS server connects to Microsoft Update or
another WSUS server and downloads updates. During synchronization, WSUS determines if any
new updates have been made available since the last time you synchronized. If it is your first time
synchronizing WSUS, all updates are made available for approval. If synchronizations are failing,
you can use the information below to troubleshoot the problem.

76
Troubleshooting synchronization
Check the error in the synchronization's Details pane
If a synchronization has failed, in the WSUS administration console, go to the Synchronizations
node, and in the middle pane select the failed synchronization. In the Synchronization Details
pane you will see Details, which links to the full error description.

Synchronization retries by downstream servers

If the upstream WSUS server is not available for synchronization from a downstream server at
the scheduled time, the downstream server will try to synchronize twice more, at approximately
15 minute intervals. If neither of the retries succeeds, the downstream server will try again the
next day at the scheduled synchronization time.

Check proxy server settings by using the WSUS console

If your WSUS server is connected to Microsoft Update via a proxy server, you must use the
WSUS console to configure WSUS so that it can access the Internet. For basic instructions about
setting up a proxy server, see Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=79983). If your proxy server supports authentication, make
sure you have the correct user name, password, and domain. Note that if you use the WSUS
console option for Allow basic authentication (password in cleartext), the password for the
account is sent over the network in unencrypted text.
One major cause of synchronization failure is an expired password on the proxy server. Make
sure the user name and password for the proxy server are always up to date.

Check the firewall settings

If your network has a firewall between the WSUS server and the Internet, make sure that all the
necessary ports are open and the necessary domains are allowed. For more information, see the
WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).

Check the name of the upstream WSUS server

If your WSUS uses another WSUS server as its update source, make sure you are using the
correct name for the upstream WSUS server and that you have spelled it correctly. For basic
instruction about synchronizing two WSUS servers, see the WSUS Deployment Guide
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832). The name that you enter in the WSUS console
on the downstream WSUS server must match the name of the upstream WSUS server.
To determine if there is a problem with network name resolution services, use the ping command
from the downstream WSUS server that cannot synchronize. You should use the same naming
convention that is used in the WSUS console. For example, if you used a NetBIOS name in
WSUS console, use the NetBIOS name of the upstream server with the ping command. If you
cannot ping the upstream server, you might have a problem with network name resolution

77
services. To work around this type of issue, you could use a different name resolution service or
the IP address of the upstream server.

To contact an upstream WSUS server by using the ping command

1. Click Start, and then click Run.

2. In the Open box, type cmd, and then click OK.
3. Type the following, and then press ENTER:
ping WSUSServerName
where WSUSServerName is the name of the upstream WSUS server with which you are
trying to synchronize.

Verify that users and the network service have Read permissions to the
local update storage directory
If you store update files on your WSUS server, you need to ensure that the folder to which you
download update files (by default C:\WSUS) has at least Read permissions for the network
service and for users. This is true for both upstream and downstream WSUS servers.

On a downstream WSUS server, check that the updates are available on the
upstream WSUS server
There are a number of situations where the updates on the upstream server no longer match the
updates being requested at synchronization by the downstream server. Some of the following are
examples of when this might occur:
• An upstream WSUS server is reinstalled and the set of classifications and products the
administrator selects is smaller than the set previously selected for the earlier installation. The
downstream servers might then attempt to synchronize updates that the newly rebuilt
upstream server has not downloaded. Synchronization will fail for updates that do not exist on
the upstream server.
• A downstream server is reconfigured to get updates from a different upstream server with
different products and classifications selected.
To troubleshoot this issue, make a note of the updates for which download failed on the
downstream server. These will be visible on the Updates page, and marked with a red "X." Check
if these updates exist on the upstream server (look at the Updates page). If they do not match, do
one of the following, depending on which updates you need:
• Specify the missing updates on the upstream server, and then synchronize from the
update source.
• If the failed updates are not needed, cancel and then decline the updates that are not on
the upstream server
• If the missing updates are actually available on the upstream server, then the error is
transient, meaning the update might have been downloaded to the upstream server after it

78
 was requested by the downstream server. This issue will resolve itself the next time the
downstream server synchronizes to the upstream server.

Restart the BITS service

If the BITS service was disabled during synchronization, synchronization will fail. To ensure that
the BITS services is properly enabled, restart both the BITS service and the WSUS service.

To restart the BITS service and the WSUS service

1. On the WSUS server, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click
Services.
2. Right-click Background Intelligent Transfer Service, click Properties, and make
sure that Startup Type is Manual. After that click Start.
3. Right-click Windows Update Service, and then click Restart.
4. Retry synchronization: In the WSUS console, click Options, click Synchronization
Options, and then under Tasks, click Synchronize now.

You should also ensure that both the BITS and the WSUS service are set to start automatically on
reboot.

The number of updates that are approved on a parent upstream server

does not match the number of approved updates on a replica server
This might occur if you have changed language settings on the parent upstream server after first
synchronizing with the old language settings. For more information see "Listinactiveapprovals" in
Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command Line.

The last catalog synchronization failed

If your last catalog synchronization failed and you see event ID 10021 or 10022, check your
upstream server and proxy settings in the WSUS administration console (Options, then Update
Source and Proxy Server).

A WSUS 2.0 replica times out when synchronizing

In some cases WSUS 2.0 replica servers time out during synchronization. This issue has been
fixed in WSUS 2.0 Service Pack 1 and in WSUS 3.0. See KB 910847, "Time-out error when
approving multiple updates on Microsoft WSUS Server" (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=86496) for more information.

Issues with Update Approvals

If you are having problems with approvals, use the following sections to troubleshoot the problem.

79
Troubleshooting update approvals
New approvals can take up to one minute to take effect
If you approve an update on the WSUS console and there are client computers running detection
at that exact moment, those computers might not get the approved update until they go through
another detection cycle. The WSUS server requires approximately one minute to begin offering
newly approved updates to client computers.

Remote computers accessed by using Terminal Services cannot be

restarted by non-administrators
Non-administrators using terminal services computers will not be able to restart their computers
remotely. Therefore, if a remote computer on which an update is installed needs to be restarted
for the update to take effect, users without administrative permissions will be unable to complete
the updating of their remote computer.

The number of updates that are approved on a parent upstream server

does not match the number of approved updates on a replica server
This might occur if you have changed language settings on the parent upstream server after first
synchronizing with the old language settings. For more information see "listinactiveapprovals" in
Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command Line.

Issues with Backup and Restore

Use the information in this section to troubleshoot issues around backing up and restoring WSUS.

Troubleshooting backup and restore issues

Cannot access WSUS data after restoring the database
If you restore a WSUS database but cannot access it from the WSUS administration console,
check for the following:
• If you have changed the WSUS server name since the backup, you must add the server
to the WSUS administration console.
• If you restore the backup to a WSUS server other than the one from which you backed up
the database, you must add the server to the WSUS administration console.
• Verify that your user permissions are still valid for the database.

Clients have download failures after restoring the database

If you are storing content locally, and the metadata in the database does not match the update
files in the content directory, clients could suffer download failures when attempting to install an
80
update listed in the database but not found in the content directory. You can resolve this problem,
or prevent it from occurring, by making sure to run wsusutil reset after every restore procedure.
For details, see the "wsusutil reset" section in Managing WSUS 3.0 SP2 from the Command Line.

Issues with E-Mail Notifications

If you are not receiving e-mail notifications after having set up your WSUS server to send them,
you should check both the WSUS server's e-mail setup and the SMTP configuration on the e-mail
server.

Troubleshooting the WSUS e-mail setup

In the WSUS administration console, click Options, and then click E-Mail Notifications. On the
E-Mail Server tab, check the SMTP server name and port, the sender name and address, and
the SMTP server authentication, if necessary. You can use the Test button to verify your settings.

Troubleshooting the SMTP server

You can refer to articles such as SMTP: Troubleshooting the TCP/IP Layer of the Mail Gateway
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81082) for more information about troubleshooting issues
with the SMTP server.

Issues with the Database

If you have problems with the SQL Server database or Windows Internal Database, make sure
that the WSUS database in question is in the correct SQL instance before starting to troubleshoot
SQL issues.

Note
You will need to use the sqlcmd utility. For more information about the sqlcmd utility, see
sqlcmd Utility (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81183).

Troubleshooting Database Issues

To ensure that the WSUS database is in the correct SQL instance

1. Verify the SQL server name by opening a Command Prompt window and typing the
following:
Reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Update
Services\Server\Setup" /v SqlServerName
The output contains the SQL server name to be used in the next step.

81
 2. Type the following:
sqlcmd -S SqlServerName -E -d SUSDB
Review any error messages and correct the problems.
If you are using Windows Internal Database as the WSUS database, use the following
string in place of SqlServerName in the command:
np:\\.\pipe\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##SSEE\sql\query

Issues with WSUS 3.0 Services

WSUS uses seven services. They are the Update Service (wsusservice.exe), the Reporting Web
Service, the API Remoting Web Service, the Client Web Service, the Simple Web Authentication
Web Service, the Server Synchronization Service, and the DSS Authentication Web Service. This
section explains how to troubleshoot these services in general.

Troubleshooting services
General service troubleshooting
You can use the following steps to restart services that are not functioning properly:
1. Locate the service (click Start, point to Administrative Tools, click Services, and then
look for the service).
2. Verify that the service is running. Click Start if it is stopped or Restart to refresh the
service.
You can also use the Event Viewer to check the Application, Security, and System event logs to
see if there are any events that indicate a problem. You should also check the
SoftwareDistribution.log to see if there are events that indicate a problem.

Reset IIS
You should reset IIS if you suspect that there are problems with Web services.
1. Open a command window.
2. Type iisreset

SQL service
The SQL service must be running for all the services except the self-update service. If any of the
log files indicate SQL connection problems, check the SQL service first. To access the SQL
service, click the Start button, point to Administrative Tools, click Services, and then look for
one of the following:

82
 • MSSQLSERVER (if you are using Windows Internal Database, or if you are using SQL
Server and are using the default instance name for the instance name).
• MSSQL$WSUS (if you are using a SQL Server database and have named your database
instance "WSUS").
Right-click the service, and then click Start if the service is not running or Restart to refresh the
service if it is running.

Access rights on Web service directories

Incorrectly set permissions on Web service directories can cause problems for WSUS Web
services. WSUS setup will create these directories and set the access rights correctly, but
subsequent developments, such as the installation of different applications or the operation of
security software, may have reduced the permissions. See Appendix D: Permissions on WSUS
Directories and Registry Keys for more information about the different Web service directories
and the correct access rights for them.

IIS settings for Web services

IIS must be configured correctly for WSUS Web services. WSUS setup will configure its Web
services correctly, but the subsequent addition of new Web services or reconfiguration of the
default Web site (if the default site is used by WSUS) may cause the configuration to change.
See Appendix C: IIS Settings for Web Services for an explanation of how to check IIS
configuration, as well as the correct settings on each of the Web services and for the WWW web
service.

WSUS 3.0 SP2 Client Computer

Administration Issues

In This Section
• Issues with Client Computer Groups
• Issues with Update Installation on Clients
• Issues with Clients Not Reporting
• Issues with Client Self-Update
• Issues with BITS
• Issues with High CPU Utilization

Issues with Client Computer Groups

Use the information in this section to troubleshoot issues with client computer groups.

83
Client computers appear in the wrong groups
Using Group Policy or registry settings to move computers into target groups is called client-side
targeting. For information about how to set up client-side targeting, see the WSUS Deployment
Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832). There are a number or reasons why
computers might not appear in groups when you are using client-side targeting. Use the following
information to try to resolve this problem.

Verify that the WSUS console is set to use client-side targeting

By default the WSUS server is set to use server-side targeting. If you are using client-side
targeting, you need to set an option on the WSUS server. For information about how to set up
client-side targeting, see the WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=139832).

Verify that target computer group names match groups on the WSUS
server
Make sure the name of the target computer group matches the name of the computer group on
the WSUS server. Check the Group Policy object (GPO) or the registry setting where you enabled
client-side targeting. Make sure that there are no discrepancies between the name of the
computer group used in Group Policy and the name of the group used on the server. If WSUS
cannot find a computer group on the server reported by a client computer, the computer will
appear in the Unassigned Computers group.

Reset the Automatic Update client

If you make a change to group membership by using client-side targeting, you can reset the
Automatic update client with the wuauclt utility. For more information about wuauclt, see
Appendix H: The wuauclt Utility.

To reset the Automatic Update client

1. Open a command window.

2. Type wuauclt.exe /resetauthorization /detectnow
3. Wait 10 minutes for the detection cycle to finish.

Issues with Update Installation on Clients

If WSUS clients are not installing updates, there may be issues with DCOM configuration. You will
see event ID 10311 or 10312 in the application log if this is the case.

84
Troubleshooting Update Installation Issues
Checking DCOM Configuration
The process of checking DCOM configuration is slightly different on different operating systems.

To check DCOM configuration on Windows Vista and Windows XP

1. Open a Command Prompt window.

2. Type the following command: dcomcnfg
(The Component Services window will appear.)
3. Right-click My Computer, click Properties.
4. Click the Default Properties tab.
5. Make sure that Enable Distributed COM on this computer is selected.
6. Make sure that Default Impersonation Level is set to Identify.
7. Click OK, and then close the Component Services window.

Default DCOM Permissions

Default DCOM permissions can also be a source of problems.

To remove default DCOM permissions

1. Open the Registry Editor.

2. Navigate to HKLM/SOFTWARE/Microsoft/Ole.
3. If there is a DefaultAccessPermission key, delete it.

Issues with Clients Not Reporting

If you have configured clients for a particular WSUS server, but they have not reported over a
period of days, use the following procedures to isolate and repair the problem.

Troubleshooting client not reporting issues

Check the HTTP hotfix
Some clients have been affected by a known issue with Windows Server 2003 http.sys and IIS. In
some cases this transient issue will prevent clients from checking in, because they receive
incorrect responses from the server after a number of attempts. Further information about the
issue can be found at FIX: IIS 6.0 may send an "HTTP 100 Continue" response in the middle of

85
the response stream when you send a POST request (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=80715).

Note
Failure of clients to contact the server is not related to compression. Administrators
should not disable IIS compression, because allowing noncompressed data can increase
network traffic and server load, while reducing the number of clients that can be served
effectively.

Troubleshoot client connectivity

Ensure that the client connection to the WSUS server is working properly.

To troubleshoot client connectivity

1. Open a command window.

2. Contact the WSUS server: ping WSUSServerName
3. Contact the WSUS HTTP server. Open Internet Explorer and in the Address bar type:
http://WSUSServerName:portNumber where WSUSServerName is the name of the
WSUS server, and portNumber is the port that has been configured for it (for example, 80
for HTTP, 443 for SSL, and 8530 for a custom port).
4. Verify the existence of the self-update tree. In an Internet Explorer Address bar type
http://WSUSServerName/selfupdate/wuident.cab
5. If the WSUS server is functioning properly, you should see a File Download window
asking you whether to open or save the file. Close the window.

Note
If you do not see the File Download window, make sure that the client self-update tree
has been configured properly. For more information, see Issues with Client Self-Update.

Troubleshoot the Automatic Update client

Ensure that the Automatic Update client has been configured correctly.

To troubleshoot the Automatic Update client

1. Open a command window.

2. Type:
reg query HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate
You should see output like the following if the client has been configured to get its
updates from a WSUS server:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

WUServer REG_SZ http://WSUSServerName

WUStatusServer REG_SZ http://WSUSServerName

86
 HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

You should see output similar to the following if Automatic Update is functioning, but the
client has not been configured to get its updates from a WSUS server:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

If the query returns the error, "The system was unable to find the specified registry key or
value," Automatic Update has not been configured on this computer.
If the output from step 2 above contains values for WUServer and WUStatusServer, try to
contact the WSUS server listed in these values.
3. Open Internet Explorer and in the Address bar type http://WUServer
where WUServer stands for the value in the output from step 2.
You should see an "Under Construction" page if the WUServer value is valid. If it is not,
you will get an HTTP error of some kind.

Reset the Automatic Update client

It can be a good idea to reset the Automatic Update client if you are experiencing difficulty with
contacting the WSUS server with the wuauclt utility. For more information about wuauclt, see
Appendix H: The wuauclt Utility.

To reset the Automatic Update client

1. Open a command window.

2. Type wuauclt.exe /resetauthorization /detectnow
3. Wait 10 minutes for the detection cycle to finish.

Issues with Client Self-Update

WSUS uses IIS to update most computers to the WSUS-compatible Automatic Update. This
process is called client self-update. To accomplish client self-update, WSUS Setup creates a
virtual directory under the WSUS Web site named Selfupdate. This virtual directory holds the
WSUS-compatible Automatic Updates. This is called the self-update tree.
Using Group Policy to point client computers to your WSUS server should eventually cause an
Automatic Updates detection and client self-update. For more information about this process, see
the WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832).

Troubleshooting client self-update issues

If the client self-update does not work automatically, use the following suggestions to troubleshoot
the problem.
87
How to differentiate between the SUS client and WSUS client
Use the Automatic Updates user interface to differentiate between the SUS and WSUS clients.
The following illustrations show the user interface of the SUS and WSUS clients.

SUS Client

88
WSUS Client (Windows XP)

89
WSUS Client (Windows Vista)

Verify that the client software in your organization can self-update

Some computers might already have the WSUS client installed. Other computers might have a
version of Automatic Updates that is incapable of performing self-update. For more information
see WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832). If the clients in
your organization are capable of and require self-update but are still not self-updating, see the
next section.

Verify that SUS clients are pointed to the WSUS server

If you have the WSUS client installed but the client computer is pointed to a SUS server,
Automatic Updates falls into legacy mode and the client computer uses the SUS client user
interface. In this case you need to redirect the computer away from the SUS server to get the
WSUS client to function. When you point Automatic Updates to a WSUS server, the WSUS client
user interface appears.
If your client computers are pointed to the WSUS server and you do not see the WSUS client
user interface shown above, see the next section.

Check for the self-update tree on the WSUS server

WSUS Setup creates a virtual directory named Selfupdate under the Web site running on port 80
of the computer where you install WSUS. This virtual directory, called the self-update tree, holds
90
the latest WSUS client. For this reason, you must have a Web site running on port 80, even if you
put the WSUS Web site on a custom port. The Web site on port 80 does not have to be dedicated
to WSUS. WSUS uses the site on port 80 only to host the self-update tree.
To ensure that the self-update tree is working properly, first make sure there is a Web site set up
on port 80 of the WSUS server. After that you should run the WSUS script that ensures a proper
configuration of self-update on port 80. Open a command window on the WSUS server and type
the following:
cscript WSUSInstallDirectory\setup\installselfupdateonport80.vbs
where WSUSInstallDirectory is the directory in which WSUS is installed. If the script is successful,
you should see the following output:
Microsoft (R) Windows Script Host Version 5.6

Copyright (C) Microsoft Corporation 1996-2001. All rights reserved.

SetupSelfupdateTree: Finding the index of the Web site on which WUS is installed...

SetupSelfupdateTree: Leaving GetWUSWebSiteIndex.

SetupSelfupdateTree: Finding the index of the web site bound to port 80...

SetupSelfupdateTree: iWebSiteIndex: 1 ServerBindings: :80:index: 0

SetupSelfupdateTree: Found the index of site on Port 80: 1

SetupSelfupdateTree: rootMetabasePath: IIS://LocalHost/W3SVC/1/ROOT

SetupSelfupdateTree: szPort80RootPath=c:\inetpub\wwwroot

SetupSelfupdateTree: iWusWebSiteIndex=1 iPort80WebSiteIndex=1

SetupSelfupdateTree: Warning: This is standalone WUS install. No need to do configuration

for SxS install.

Success: InstallSelfupdateOnPort80 succeeded.

If you have WSUS client self-update running on port 80 of the WSUS server, see the next section.

Check IIS logs on the WSUS Server

Check the IIS logs on the WSUS server. IIS logs are typically located in %windir
%\system32\LogFiles\W3SVC1 for the default Web site. Typical errors might be 404 (file not
found) 401/403 (authentication/access), and 500 (Internal server error). Use IIS Help to
troubleshoot any problems found in the IIS logs.

If you have installed Windows SharePoint Services on the default Web site
in IIS, configure it to coexist with Self-update
If you install Windows SharePoint Services on the same server that is running WSUS, you might
see the following issues:
• An "Access denied" message appears when Automatic Updates tries to update itself, and
the latest Automatic Updates will not be running.

91
 • A message appears warning you that the SelfUpdate service is not available.
If client computers are not running the WSUS-compatible version of Automatic Updates, they will
not be able to receive updates through WSUS.

To resolve this issue

1. Grant Anonymous access (Anonymous Auth) to the Default Web site,

ClientWebService and Selfupdate v-roots in IIS.
2. Exclude specific requests from being intercepted by the Windows SharePoint
Services ISAPI DLL by doing the following:
a. Open the Windows SharePoint Services Central Administration Site (click Start,
point to Administrative Tools, and then click Sharepoint Central Administration).
b. Click Virtual Server Configuration, and then click Configure Virtual Server
Settings.
c. Click Default Web Site.
d. Click Virtual Server Management, and then click Define managed paths.
e. In the Add a new path box, set the type to Excluded Path. Under Path, type the
following:
• /iuident.cab
• /clientwebservice
• /Selfupdate

For more information, see KB 828810 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81417), "How to

enable an ASP Net application to run on a SharePoint virtual server."

Check if the Content and Selfupdate Web sites have different

authentication levels
If the Content site is configured for Enable anonymous access and Selfupdate site is configured
for Authenticated access - Integrated Windows Authentication, then client will fail to
Selfupdate

To resolve this issue

1. On the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click
Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
2. Expand the local computer node.
3. Expand the WSUS Web site node.
4. Right-click Selfupdate, and then click Properties.
5. On the Directory Security tab, under Authentication and access control, click
Edit.
6. In the Authentication Methods dialog box, check the Enable anonymous access
check box, and then clear all the buttons below if checked. The user name and

92
 password box should be pre populated.
7. Click OK twice.

Check network connectivity on the WSUS client computer

Check network connectivity on the WSUS client computer. Use Internet Explorer to determine
whether self-update files on the WSUS server are accessible to the client computer. If you
perform the following procedure and are prompted to download or open the files, you have
verified network connectivity. If you do not have access to these files, there are problems with
network connectivity between the WSUS server and the client computer.

To check network connectivity on the WSUS client computer

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. In the Address bar, type:
http://WSUSServerName/selfupdate/wuident.cab
where WSUSServerName is the name of the WSUS server. You should be prompted to
download or open wuident.cab. This verifies network connectivity from the WSUS client
and the availability of the wuident.cab file on the WSUS server. If you do not have
connectivity or the Web site is not configured correctly, you will get an HTTP error. Check
the network settings of the WSUS server and any proxy servers.
3. If there are any boxes prompting you to download or save, click Cancel.

If you are prompted to save or download both of these files, see the next section.

Check logs on the WSUS client computer

Check the %windir%\WindowsUpdate.log on the client computer to see if there has been any
activity or any attempts to contact the server, such as cached server pingbacks. If you can find no
problem with the logs on the WSUS client, see the next section.

Manipulate registry settings on the WSUS client computer

If all else has failed, you can attempt to manually manipulate registry settings to get the client
computer to self-update to the WSUS client.

To manually manipulate registry settings on the SUS client computer

1. Click Start, then Run, and type regedit, and then click OK.
2. In Registry Editor, navigate to the WindowsUpdate key by expanding the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\
If the WindowsUpdate key does not exist, you need to add it.
3. On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click Key.
4. Type WindowsUpdate as the name for the new key.

93
 5. Double-click the WUServer setting, type the URL to your WSUS server, and then
press ENTER.
If the WUServer setting does not exist, you need to add it.
On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click String Value.
6. Type WUServer as the setting name.
7. Double-click the WUStatusServer setting, type the URL to your WSUS server, and
then press ENTER.
If the WUStatusServer setting does not exist, do the following:
On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click String Value.
8. Type WUStatusServer as the setting name.
9. Navigate to the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\A
U
If the AU key does not exist, do the following:
On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click Key.
10. Type AU as the name for the new key.
11. Verify that the UseWUServer setting has a value of 1 (0x1). If it does not, modify it by
double-clicking the setting and then changing the value.
If the UseWUServer setting does not exist, do the following:
On the menu, click Edit, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
12. Type UseWUServer for the setting name.
13. Navigate to the following:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUp
date\Auto Update
14. Enable and configure Automatic Updates through Control Panel:
Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Automatic Updates.
15. In the Automatic Updates dialog box, specify download and installation options, and
then click OK. Make sure that Turn off Automatic Updates is not selected.
16. Ensure that the AUState setting has a value of 2 (0x2). If it does not, modify it by
double-clicking and changing the value.
17. If the LastWaitTimeout setting exists, delete it.
18. If the DetectionStartTime setting exists, delete it.
19. Close the Registry Editor.

To force the WSUS client computer to check with the WSUS server

1. At the command prompt, stop the Automatic Updates service by typing the following,
and then pressing ENTER:
net stop wuauserv

94
 2. At the command prompt, restart the Automatic Updates service by typing the
following, and then pressing ENTER:
net start wuauserv
3. The self-update should occur in six to ten minutes.
4. Wait approximately one minute, and then refresh the registry. You should now see the
following settings and values:
• DetectionStartTime (REG_SZ) YYYY.MM.DD HH.MM.SS. The
DetectionStartTime value is written in local time, but the detection actually occurs 5
minutes after the time noted.
• LastWaitTimeout (REG_SZ) YYYY.MM.DD HH.MM.SS. The LastWaitTimeout
value is written in GMT or Universal Time, and represents the actual time that
detection occurs.
Although these values refer to the time that detection is going to start, the first phase of detection
is the process of checking whether a self-update is necessary. Therefore, these values actually
refer to the time that the self-update from SUS client to the WSUS client should occur.
If the client software has not self-updated after ten minutes, refresh the \Auto Update registry
key. If the LastWaitTimeout value has changed and is now 24 hours later than its previous value,
that indicates that Automatic Updates was not able to contact the server URL that you specified in
the WUServer value.
You should also check the functioning of the Client Web Service. See Issues with WSUS 3.0
Services for more information.

Issues with BITS

Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is the service used by WSUS to download
updates from Microsoft Update to the main WSUS server, as well as from WSUS servers to their
clients. BITS also supports the transfer of files between peer computers in a domain.
Some download issues may be caused by problems with running BITS on the server or client
computers. When you are troubleshooting download problems, after you have verified that all
WSUS settings are correct on both the server and its clients, you should ensure that BITS is
running properly on all affected computers.
BITS provides a downloadable tool called bitsadmin that allows you to verify and change BITS
settings. For more information about the bitsadmin utility, see BITSAdmin Tool
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=80934). This tool is available as part of the Windows Vista
operating system, and also as part of the Windows XP Service Pack 2 Support Tools.

Finding BITS
To find the BITS service, open a Command Prompt and type:
sc query bits

95
If BITS is running, you should see output like the following:
SERVICE_NAME: bits

TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS

STATE : 4 RUNNING

(STOPPABLE,NOT_PAUSABLE,ACCEPTS_SHUTDOWN)

WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)

SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)

CHECKPOINT : 0x0

WAIT_HINT : 0x0

If BITS is not running, you should see output like the following:
SERVICE_NAME: bits

TYPE : 20 WIN32_SHARE_PROCESS

STATE : 1 STOPPED

(NOT_STOPPABLE,NOT_PAUSABLE,IGNORES_SHUTDOWN)

WIN32_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)

SERVICE_EXIT_CODE : 0 (0x0)

CHECKPOINT : 0x0

WAIT_HINT : 0x0

Stopping and Restarting BITS

Often it is possible to resolve BITS issues simply by stopping the service and restarting it. The
following procedure shows how to stop and restart the service from a Command Prompt.

Note
To modify, stop, or restart BITS, log on as a local administrator.

To stop and restart BITS

1. Open a Command Prompt window.

2. Type sc stop bits
3. Type sc start bits

Troubleshooting BITS Download Issues

The following sections are an incomplete list of possible problems with BITS configuration. For
more information about BITS, refer to Background Intelligent Transfer Service
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81083).

96
The BITS service must run under the Local System user account
By default BITS runs under the LocalSystem account.

To configure the service to run under the correct account

1. Open a Command Prompt window.

Type:
sc config bits obj= LocalSystem

Note that a space must occur between obj= and LocalSystem.

2. Verify that output from the command is:
[SC] ChangeServiceConfig SUCCESS
3. Stop and restart BITS.

Proxy Servers Must Support HTTP 1.1 RANGE Requests

• BITS supports HTTP and HTTPS downloads and uploads and requires that the server
support the HTTP 1.1 protocol. For downloads, the HTTP server's HEAD method must return
the file size, and its GET method must support the Content-Range and Content-Length
headers. BITS can use an HTTP/1.0 server as long as it meets the HEAD and GET method
requirements (MIME headers must include the standard Content-Range and Content-Type
headers plus a maximum of 180 bytes of other headers, and a maximum of two CR/LF
characters may occur between the HTTP headers and the first boundary string).

There is a mismatch between the BITS per-user job limit and the per-
computer job limit

To detect or correct a mismatch between the per-user job limit and the per-computer job
limit specified through Group Policy

1. Run gpedit.msc, if the policy is specified locally; if the policy is a domain policy edit
the Group Policy object with GPMC.
2. In the Group Policy Object Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration\Administrative
Templates\Network\Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS).
3. Ensure that the setting "Maximum number of BITS jobs for each user" is set to a
lower value than the setting "Maximum number of BITS jobs for this computer"
4. Type gpupdate /force
5. Stop and restart BITS.
6. Verify that there are no errors in the event logs.

BITS Jobs are Failing

If BITS jobs fail, look in the event log to find errors. You can use the following table to diagnose
the cause of the errors.

97
Error name Error code Description

E_INVALIDARG 0x80070057 An incorrect proxy

server name was
specified in the user’s
Internet Explorer proxy
settings. This error is
also seen when
credentials are supplied
for authentication
schemes that are not
NTLM/Negotiate, but
the user name or
password is null.
Change the user’s IE
settings to be a valid
proxy server or Change
the credentials not to be
NULL user
name/password for
schemes other than
NTLM/Negotiate.

ERROR_WINHTTP_NAME_NOT_RESOLVED 0x80072ee7 The server/proxy could

not be resolved by
BITS. Internet Explorer
on the same machine in
the context of the job
owner would see the
same problem. Try
downloading the same
file via the web browser
using the context of the
job owner.

ERROR_HTTP_INVALID_SERVER_RESPONSE 0x80072f78 This is a transient error

and the job will continue
downloading.

BG_E_INSUFFICIENT_RANGE_SUPPORT 0x80200013 BITS uses range

headers in HTTP
requests to request
parts of a file. If the
server or proxy server
doesn’t understand
Range requests and

98
Error name Error code Description

returns the full file

instead of the
requested range, BITS
puts the job into the
ERROR state with this
error. Capture the
network traffic during
the error and examine if
HTTP GET requests
with “Range” header
are getting valid
responses. Check
proxy servers to ensure
that they are configured
correctly to support
Range requests.

BG_E_MISSING_FILE_SIZE 0x80200011 When BITS sends a

HEAD request and the
server/proxy does not
return Content-Length
header in the response,
BITS puts the job in
ERROR state with this
error. Check the proxy
server and WSUS
server to ensure that
they are configured
correctly. Some
versions of the Apache
2.0 proxy server are
known to exhibit this
behavior.

BG_E_HTTP_ERROR_403 0x80190193 When the server

returns HTTP 403
response in any of the
requests, BITS puts the
job in ERROR state
with this error code.
HTTP 403 corresponds
to “Forbidden: Access is
denied." Check access

99
Error name Error code Description

permissions for the

account running the job.

ERROR_NOT_LOGGED_ON 0x800704dd The SENS service is

not receiving user logon
notifications. BITS
(version 2.0 and up)
depends on logon
notifications from
Service Control
Manager, which in turn
depends on the SENS
service. Ensure that the
SENS service is started
and running correctly.

BITS Fails to Start

If the BITS service fails to start, use the following table to diagnose the cause of the error.

ERROR_SERVICE_DOES_NOT 0x80070 See the section on repairing the BITS configuration

_EXIST 424 below.

ERROR_SERVICE_NOT_IN_EX 0x80070 BITS is not listed as one of the services in the

E 43B netsvcs svchost group.

ERROR_SERVICE_DISABLED 0x80070 BITS has been disabled. Enable the BITS service.
422

ERROR_SERVICE_DEPENDEN 0x80070 A service appearing in the BITS service

CY_DELETED 433, dependency list cannot be started. Make sure the
ERROR_SERVICE_DEPENDEN 0x80070 dependency list for the BITS service is correct:
CY_FAIL 42c • Windows Vista: RpcSs, EventSystem (also
http.sys and LanManWorkstation when
peercaching is enabled)
• Windows Server 2003: Rpcss,
EventSystem
• Windows XP: Rpcss

ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND 0x80070 Pre-Windows Vista: %ALLUSERSPROFILE

003 %\Microsoft\Network doesn’t exist

ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND 0x80070 The “Parameters” key is missing. Ensure that the

002 following keys and values exist:

100
 HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\BITS\
Parameters\ServiceDll= %SystemRoot
%\System32\qmgr.dll

Repairing a Corrupted BITS Configuration

To repair corrupted BITS service configuration, you can enter the BITS service configuration
manually.

Important
This action should only be taken in circumstances where all other troubleshooting
attempts have failed. You must be an administrator to modify the BITS configuration.

To repair a corrupted BITS configuration

1. Open a Command Prompt window.

2. Type:
Sc config bits binpath=”%systemroot%\system32\svchost.exe –k netsvcs“ Sc config bits
depend = RpcSs EventSystem
Sc config bits start=delayed-auto
Sc config bits type=interact
Sc config bits error=normal
Sc config bits obj=LocalSystem
Sc privs bits
privileges=SeCreateGlobalPrivilege/SeImpersonatePrivilege/SeTcbPrivilege/SeAssignPri
maryTokenPrivilege/SeIncreateQuotaPrivilege
Sc sidtype bits type= unrestricted
Sc failure bits reset= 86400 actions=restart/60000/restart/120000
3. Stop and restart BITS.

Issues with High CPU Utilization

Clients may notice very high (approaching 100 percent) CPU utilization under the following
circumstances.

An access violation error message appears and the system may appear to become
unresponsive when you try to install an update from Windows Update or from
Microsoft Update

• There is an update for this issue described by Microsoft KB Article number 927891

101
 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=85649).

There are a large number of superseded updates approved on the WSUS server

• This problem occurs if you do not decline expired definition updates or expired
malicious software (also known as malware) updates on the WSUS server. There is an
update for this issue described by Microsoft KB article number 938947
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=148750).

Additional Resources for Windows Server

Update Services 3.0 SP2
For more information and support, see the following resources.

Windows Server Update Services communities

Microsoft communities are great places to exchange ideas with other users and discuss common
issues. You can read and write messages by using an NNTP-based newsreader such as
Microsoft Outlook Express. You can also use the Web-based newsreader provided by Microsoft
to access all of the newsgroups. To access the WSUS Communities, see the Windows Server
Update Services Communities Homepage (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=45215).

Additional references
For complete information about installing and using WSUS, see the following:
• WSUS Step by Step Installation Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139836)
• WSUS Deployment Guide (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139832)
• WSUS Release Notes (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=139840)
• WSUS Administration Console online Help
• For information that helps you automate tasks or customize WSUS, see the Microsoft
Windows Server Update Services Software Developer's Kit (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkID=43099) and Windows Update Agent Software Developer's Kit
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=43101). Note that the Windows Update Agent is the
Automatic Updates service. Both SDKs contain information about the application
programming interface (API), as well as sample scripts and ready-to-use tools for your WSUS
deployment and implementation.

102
Appendix A: Uninstalling Windows Internal
Database
It is not usually necessary to uninstall Windows Internal Database, which WSUS installs as the
default SQL Server version. It is not possible to remove this application with Add or Remove
Programs, and it will not be uninstalled automatically when WSUS is uninstalled. If you wish to
do so, you will need to call the msiexec executable with the correct key for the operating system
platform.

Important
Uninstalling Windows Internal Database is not recommended, because it may affect other
applications that may be using the same database instance (such as Windows
SharePoint Services).

To uninstall Windows Internal Database

1. Open a command shell.

2. Call msiexec with the correct key for the operating system platform.
• On 32-bit platforms: msiexec /x {CEB5780F-1A70-44A9-850F-
DE6C4F6AA8FB} callerid=ocsetup.exe
• On 64-bit platforms: msiexec /x {BDD79957-5801-4A2D-B09E-852E7FA64D01}
callerid=ocsetup.exe

Important
The removal of the application may not remove the default .mdb and .ldb files, which will
cause a subsequent WSUS 3.0 installation to fail. These files can be deleted from the
%windir%\SYSMSI\SSEE directory.

Appendix B: Uninstalling WSUS 3.0 SP2 from

SQL Server
Read the following information before uninstalling WSUS.

Uninstalling WSUS might leave some WSUS

accounts on computers running SQL Server
Local SQL Server accounts that are created by WSUS Setup are not removed by the WSUS
uninstall component. The WSUS uninstall component does not remove the Network Service and
ASP.NET accounts from the local computer running SQL Server. If some other application or
database is using these accounts, this ensures that these applications or databases do not fail. If

103
you are sure that no other application or database requires the Network Service or ASP.NET
accounts, you can manually remove them from the computer running SQL Server.
For information about how to manually remove Network Service or ASP.NET accounts from a
computer running SQL Server 2005 or Windows Internal Database, see SQL Server product
documentation. You can download product documentation for SQL Server at SQL Server Books
Online (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81092).

Appendix C: IIS Settings for Web Services

Troubleshooting WSUS Web services may be simplified if you compare your current IIS settings
for the different WSUS Web services with the ones given below, which are the ones set by WSUS
setup. A service may have stopped working correctly because one of these settings was changed
by another installation or application.
The values of these IIS settings are sometimes represented with variable names instead of actual
values. This is because the actual value may vary from one installation to another.
The variable names used in the settings, and in the instructions below, are:
• windir-: The standard environment variable for the Windows directory (on Windows
Server 2003, usually C:\WINDOWS).
• InetpubDir-: The IIS inetpub directory on Windows Server 2003 (usually C:\Inetpub).
• WSUSInstallDir-: The directory where WSUS is installed (usually C:\Program
Files\Update Services).
• WebSiteID-: The number IIS uses to identify Web sites (1 is the ID of the default Web
site, but other Web sites are assigned random numbers).

IIS vroots
The following virtual directories (vroots) are created in IIS (in the Default Web Site by default) for
client-to-server synchronization, server to server synchronization, reporting, and client self-
update.

Vroot in IIS Properties

ClientWebService Directory: %ProgramFiles%Update

Services\WebServices\ClientWebService
Application Pool: WsusPool
Security: Anonymous Access Enabled
Execute Permissions: Scripts Only

Content Directory[the location of the WSUS content

directory]
Security: Anonymous Access Enabled

104
Vroot in IIS Properties

Execute Permissions: None

DssAuthWebService Directory: %ProgramFiles%Update

Services\WebServices\DssAuthWebService
Application Pool: WsusPool
Security: Anonymous Access Enabled
Execute Permissions: Scripts Only

Inventory Directory: %ProgramFiles%Update Services\

Inventory
Application Pool: WsusPool
Security: Anonymous Access Enabled
Execute Permissions: Scripts Only

ReportingWebService Directory: %ProgramFiles%Update

Services\WebServices\ReportingWebService
Application Pool: WsusPool
Security: Anonymous Access Enabled
Execute Permissions: Scripts Only

ServerSyncWebService Directory: %ProgramFiles%Update

Services\WebServices\ServerSyncWebService
Application Pool: WsusPool
Security: Anonymous Access Enabled
Execute Permissions: Scripts Only

SimpleAuthWebService Directory: %ProgramFiles%Update

Services\WebServices\SimpleAuthWebService
Application Pool: WsusPool
Security: Anonymous Access Enabled
Execute Permissions: Scripts Only

ApiRemoting30 Directory: %ProgramFiles%Update

Services\Administration
Application Pool: WsusPool
Security: Integrated Windows Authentication,
Digest Authentication
Execute Permissions: Scripts Only

SelfUpdate Directory: %ProgramFiles%Update

Services\SelfUpdate
Security: Anonymous Access Enabled

105
Vroot in IIS Properties

Execute Permissions: Scripts Only

Using the adsutil IIS utility

The adsutil IIS utility can be found on your server in the Inetpub\AdminScripts directory. For more
information about using adsutil.vbs, see Using the Adsutil.vbs Administration Script
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=162432).

Finding Web service paths with adsutil

You can use adsutil to find the paths for different Web services on your computer with the
following procedure.

To find the paths of Web services

1. Open a command window.

2. Navigate to the directory where adsutil is located: cd %Inetpubdir%\AdminScripts
3. Type the following command: adsutil.vbs find path
4. If you have WSUS installed, you should see output like the following:
Property path found at:
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/ApiRemoting30
W3SVC/WebSiteID/D/ROOT/ClientWebService
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/Content
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/DssAuthWebService
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/Inventory
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/ReportingWebService
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/Selfupdate
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/ServerSyncWebService
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/SimpleAuthWebService

Note
If you have installed WSUS on the default Web site, WebSiteID will be 1, but if you have
installed it on another Web site, WebSiteID will be a random number.

Checking the properties of a Web service

You can also use adsutil to find the properties of a given Web service. You will use one of the
Web service paths listed above to specify the Web service you want to check. For example, if you

106
want to check the properties of the Reporting Web service, you use the path
W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/ReportingWebService, where WebSiteID stands for the number of
the WSUS Web site.

To check the properties of a Web service

1. Open a command window.

2. Navigate to the directory where adsutil is located: cd Inetpubdir\AdminScripts
3. Type the following command: adsutil.vbs enum WebServicePath
where WebServicePath stands for the path of the Web service you want to check.
4. Compare the output to the standard values given in the sections below.

Global properties
These global properties can be retrieved with the following adsutil command:
adsutil.vbs enum W3SVC
The properties listed below are a partial list.

Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebService"

MaxConnections (INTEGER) 4294967295

AnonymousUserName (STRING) "IUSR_<machinename>"

ConnectionTimeout (INTEGER) 120

AllowKeepAlive (BOOLEAN) True

DefaultDoc (STRING) "Default.htm,Default.asp,index.htm"

CacheISAPI (BOOLEAN) True

CGITimeout (INTEGER) 300

ContentIndexed (BOOLEAN) True

DownlevelAdminInstance (INTEGER) 1

AspBufferingOn (BOOLEAN) True

AspLogErrorRequests (BOOLEAN) True

AspScriptErrorSentToBrows (BOOLEAN) True

er

AspScriptErrorMessage (STRING) "An error occurred on the server when

processing the URL. Please contact the system administrator"

AspAllowOutOfProcCompon (BOOLEAN) True >

107
Property Value

ents

AspScriptFileCacheSize (INTEGER) 500

AspDiskTemplateCacheDire (EXPANDSZ) "%windir%\system32\inetsrv\ASP

ctory Compiled Templates"

AspMaxDiskTemplateCache (INTEGER) 2000

Files

AspScriptEngineCacheMax (INTEGER) 250

AspScriptTimeout (INTEGER) 90

AspSessionTimeout (INTEGER) 20

AspEnableParentPaths (BOOLEAN) False

AspAllowSessionState (BOOLEAN) True

AspScriptLanguage (STRING) "VBScript"

AspExceptionCatchEnable (BOOLEAN) True<br>

AspCodepage (INTEGER) 0

AspLCID (INTEGER) 2048

AspQueueTimeout (INTEGER) 4294967295

AspEnableAspHtmlFallback (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableChunkedEncodin (BOOLEAN) True

g

AspEnableTypelibCache (BOOLEAN) True

AspErrorsToNTLog (BOOLEAN) False

AspProcessorThreadMax (INTEGER) 25

AspTrackThreadingModel (BOOLEAN) False

AspRequestQueueMax (INTEGER) 3000

AspEnableApplicationResta (BOOLEAN) True

rt

AspQueueConnectionTestTi (INTEGER) 3
me

AspSessionMax (INTEGER) 4294967295

AppAllowDebugging (BOOLEAN) False

AppAllowClientDebug (BOOLEAN) False

108
Property Value

PasswordChangeFlags (INTEGER) 6

AuthChangeUnsecure (BOOLEAN) False

AuthChangeDisable (BOOLEAN) True

AuthAdvNotifyDisable (BOOLEAN) True

DirBrowseFlags (INTEGER) 1073741886

EnableDirBrowsing (BOOLEAN) False

DirBrowseShowDate (BOOLEAN) True

DirBrowseShowTime (BOOLEAN) True

DirBrowseShowSize (BOOLEAN) True

DirBrowseShowExtension (BOOLEAN) True

DirBrowseShowLongDate (BOOLEAN) True

EnableDefaultDoc (BOOLEAN) True

AuthFlags (INTEGER) 1

AuthBasic (BOOLEAN) False

AuthAnonymous (BOOLEAN) True

AuthNTLM (BOOLEAN) False

AuthMD5 (BOOLEAN) False

AuthPassport (BOOLEAN) False

InProcessIsapiApps (LIST) (6 Items)

"%windir%\system32\inetsrv\httpext.dll"
"%windir%\system32\inetsrv\httpodbc.dll"
"%windir%\system32\inetsrv\ssinc.dll"
"%windir%\system32\msw3prt.dll"
"%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_isapi.dll"

LogOdbcDataSource (STRING) "HTTPLOG">

LogOdbcTableName (STRING) "InternetLog"

LogOdbcUserName (STRING) "InternetAdmin"

WAMUserName (STRING) "IWAM_<machinename>">

AuthChangeURL (STRING) "/iisadmpwd/achg.asp"

109
Property Value

AuthExpiredURL (STRING) "/iisadmpwd/aexp.asp"

AuthNotifyPwdExpURL (STRING) "/iisadmpwd/anot.asp"

AuthExpiredUnsecureURL (STRING) "/iisadmpwd/aexp3.asp"

AuthNotifyPwdExpUnsecure (STRING) "/iisadmpwd/anot3.asp"

URL

AppPoolId (STRING) "DefaultAppPool"

IIs5IsolationModeEnabled (BOOLEAN) False

MaxGlobalBandwidth (INTEGER) 4294967295

MinFileBytesPerSec (INTEGER) 240

LogInUTF8 (BOOLEAN) False

AspAppServiceFlags (INTEGER) 0

AspEnableTracker (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableSxs (BOOLEAN) False

AspUsePartition (BOOLEAN) False

AspKeepSessionIDSecure (INTEGER) 0

AspExecuteInMTA (INTEGER) 0

CentralBinaryLoggingEnabl (BOOLEAN) False

ed

AspRunOnEndAnonymousl (BOOLEAN) True

y

AspBufferingLimit (INTEGER) 4194304

AspCalcLineNumber (BOOLEAN) True

ApplicationDependencies (LIST) (6 Items)

"Active Server Pages;ASP"
"Internet Data Connector;HTTPODBC"
"Server Side Includes;SSINC"
"WebDAV;WEBDAV"
"ASP.NET v1.1.4322;ASP.NET v1.1.4322"

WebSvcExtRestrictionList (LIST) (8 Items)

"0,*.dll"
"0,*.exe">

110
Property Value

"0,<windir>\system32\inetsrv\asp.dll,0,ASP,Active Server Pages">

"0,<windir>\system32\inetsrv\httpodbc.dll,0,HTTPODBC,Internet
Data
Connector"
"0,<windir>\system32\inetsrv\ssinc.dll,0,SSINC,Server Side
Includes"
"0,<windir>\system32\inetsrv\httpext.dll,0,WEBDAV,WebDAV">
"1,<windir>\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\aspnet_isapi.dll,
0,ASP.NET
v2.0.50727,ASP.NET v2.0.50727"

AspMaxRequestEntityAllow (INTEGER) 204800

ed

[/w3svc/1] n/a

[/w3svc/AppPools] n/a

[/w3svc/Filters] n/a

[/w3svc/Info] n/a

Global Properties of the WWW Web site

These properties can be retrieved with the following adsutil command:
adsutil.vbs enum W3SVC/WebSiteID
The properties listed below comprise a partial list.

Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebServer"

ServerState (INTEGER) 2

ServerComment (STRING) "Default Web site"

ServerSize (INTEGER) 1

ServerBindings (LIST) (1 Items) ":80:" (or 8530)

SecureBindings (LIST) (1 Items) ":443:" (or 8531)

ConnectionTimeout (INTEGER) 180

DefaultDoc (STRING)
"Default.htm,Default.asp,index.htm,iisstart.htm"

111
Property Value

AspBufferingOn (BOOLEAN) False

LogPluginClsid (STRING) "{FF160663-DE82-11CF-BC0A-

00AA006111E0}"

Win32Error (INTEGER) 0

AppPoolId (STRING) "DefaultAppPool"

Properties of the API Remoting Web service

Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebVirtualDir"

AppRoot (STRING)
"/LM/W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/ApiRemoting30"

AppFriendlyName (STRING) "ApiRemoting30"

AppIsolated (INTEGER) 2

Path (STRING)
"<WSUSInstallDir>\WebServices\ApiRemoting30"

AccessFlags (INTEGER) 513

AccessExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessSource (BOOLEAN) False

AccessRead (BOOLEAN) True

AccessWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessScript (BOOLEAN) True

AccessNoRemoteExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteRead (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteScript (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoPhysicalDir (BOOLEAN) False

AspScriptErrorSentToBrowser (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableParentPaths (BOOLEAN) False

AuthFlags (INTEGER) 21

112
Property Value

AuthBasic (BOOLEAN) False

AuthAnonymous (BOOLEAN) True

AuthNTLM (BOOLEAN) True

AuthMD5 (BOOLEAN) True

AuthPassport (BOOLEAN) False

AppPoolId (STRING) "WsusPool"

Properties of the Client Web service

Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebVirtualDir"

AppRoot (STRING)
"/LM/W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/ClientWebService"

AppFriendlyName (STRING) "ClientWebService"

AppIsolated (INTEGER) 2

Path (STRING)
"<WSUSInstallDir>\WebServices\ClientWebService"

AccessFlags (INTEGER) 513

AccessExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessSource (BOOLEAN) False

AccessRead (BOOLEAN) True

AccessWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessScript (BOOLEAN) True

AccessNoRemoteExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteRead (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteScript (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoPhysicalDir (BOOLEAN) False

AspScriptErrorSentToBrowser (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableParentPaths (BOOLEAN) False

113
Property Value

AuthFlags (INTEGER) 1

AuthBasic (BOOLEAN) False

AuthAnonymous (BOOLEAN) True

AuthNTLM (BOOLEAN) False

AuthMD5 (BOOLEAN) False

AuthPassport (BOOLEAN) False

AppPoolId (STRING) "WsusPool"

Properties of the Downstream Server

Authentication Web service
Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebVirtualDir"

AppRoot (STRING)
"/LM/W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/DssAuthWebService"

AppFriendlyName (STRING) " DssAuthWebService "

AppIsolated (INTEGER) 2

Path (STRING)
"<WSUSInstallDir>\WebServices\DssAuthWebService"

AccessFlags (INTEGER) 513

AccessExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessSource (BOOLEAN) False

AccessRead (BOOLEAN) True

AccessWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessScript (BOOLEAN) True

AccessNoRemoteExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteRead (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteScript (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoPhysicalDir (BOOLEAN) False

114
Property Value

AspScriptErrorSentToBrowser (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableParentPaths (BOOLEAN) False

AuthFlags (INTEGER) 1

AuthBasic (BOOLEAN) False

AuthAnonymous (BOOLEAN) True

AuthNTLM (BOOLEAN) False

AuthMD5 (BOOLEAN) False

AuthPassport (BOOLEAN) False

AppPoolId (STRING) "WsusPool"

Properties of the Inventory Collection Web service

Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebVirtualDir"

AppRoot (STRING)
"/LM/W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/Inventory"

AppFriendlyName (STRING) "Inventory"

AppIsolated (INTEGER) 2

Path (STRING)
"<WSUSInstallDir>\WebServices\Inventory"

AccessFlags (INTEGER) 513

AccessExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessSource (BOOLEAN) False

AccessRead (BOOLEAN) True

AccessWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessScript (BOOLEAN) True

AccessNoRemoteExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteRead (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteScript (BOOLEAN) False

115
Property Value

AccessNoPhysicalDir (BOOLEAN) False

AspScriptErrorSentToBrowser (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableParentPaths (BOOLEAN) False

AuthFlags (INTEGER) 1

AuthBasic (BOOLEAN) False

AuthAnonymous (BOOLEAN) True

AuthNTLM (BOOLEAN) False

AuthMD5 (BOOLEAN) False

AuthPassport (BOOLEAN) False

AppPoolId (STRING) "WsusPool"

Checking the properties of the Reporting Web

service
Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebVirtualDir"

AppRoot (STRING)
"/LM/W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/ReportingWebService"

AppFriendlyName (STRING) " ReportingWebService "

AppIsolated (INTEGER) 2

Path (STRING)
"<WSUSInstallDir>\WebServices\ReportingWebService"

AccessFlags (INTEGER) 513

AccessExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessSource (BOOLEAN) False

AccessRead (BOOLEAN) True

AccessWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessScript (BOOLEAN) True

AccessNoRemoteExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteRead (BOOLEAN) False

116
Property Value

AccessNoRemoteWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteScript (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoPhysicalDir (BOOLEAN) False

AspScriptErrorSentToBrowser (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableParentPaths (BOOLEAN) False

AuthFlags (INTEGER) 1

AuthBasic (BOOLEAN) False

AuthAnonymous (BOOLEAN) True

AuthNTLM (BOOLEAN) False

AuthMD5 (BOOLEAN) False

AuthPassport (BOOLEAN) False

AppPoolId (STRING) "WsusPool"

Properties of the Selfupdate Web service

Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebVirtualDir"

Path (STRING)
"<WSUSInstallDir>\WebServices\ServerSyncWebService"

AccessFlags (INTEGER) 513

AccessExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessSource (BOOLEAN) False

AccessRead (BOOLEAN) True

AccessWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessScript (BOOLEAN) True

AccessNoRemoteExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteRead (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteScript (BOOLEAN) False

117
Property Value

AccessNoPhysicalDir (BOOLEAN) False

Properties of the Server Synchronization Web

service
Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebVirtualDir"

AppRoot (STRING)
"/LM/W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/ServerSyncWebService"

AppFriendlyName (STRING) " ServerSyncWebService "

AppIsolated (INTEGER) 2

Path (STRING)
"<WSUSInstallDir>\WebServices\ServerSyncWebService"

AccessFlags (INTEGER) 513

AccessExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessSource (BOOLEAN) False

AccessRead (BOOLEAN) True

AccessWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessScript (BOOLEAN) True

AccessNoRemoteExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteRead (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteScript (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoPhysicalDir (BOOLEAN) False

AspScriptErrorSentToBrowser (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableParentPaths (BOOLEAN) False

AuthFlags (INTEGER) 1

AuthBasic (BOOLEAN) False

AuthAnonymous (BOOLEAN) True

AuthNTLM (BOOLEAN) False

118
Property Value

AuthMD5 (BOOLEAN) False

AuthPassport (BOOLEAN) False

AppPoolId (STRING) "WsusPool"

Properties of the Simple Authorization Web

service
Property Value

KeyType (STRING) "IIsWebVirtualDir"

AppRoot (STRING)
"/LM/W3SVC/WebSiteID/ROOT/SimpleAuthWebService"

AppFriendlyName (STRING) "SimpleAuthWebService"

AppIsolated (INTEGER) 2

Path (STRING)
"<WSUSInstallDir>\WebServices\SimpleAuthWebService"

AccessFlags (INTEGER) 513

AccessExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessSource (BOOLEAN) False

AccessRead (BOOLEAN) True

AccessWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessScript (BOOLEAN) True

AccessNoRemoteExecute (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteRead (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteWrite (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoRemoteScript (BOOLEAN) False

AccessNoPhysicalDir (BOOLEAN) False

AspScriptErrorSentToBrowser (BOOLEAN) False

AspEnableParentPaths (BOOLEAN) False

AuthFlags (INTEGER) 1

AuthBasic (BOOLEAN) False

119
Property Value

AuthAnonymous (BOOLEAN) True

AuthNTLM (BOOLEAN) False

AuthMD5 (BOOLEAN) False

AuthPassport (BOOLEAN) False

AppPoolId (STRING) "WsusPool"

Appendix D: Permissions on WSUS

Directories and Registry Keys
Troubleshooting Web services often involves checking permissions on related directories and
registry keys. The following sections will explain in detail how to check permissions on WSUS
Web services directories and registry keys.

The cacls system command

The cacls system command displays or modifies file or directory access control lists (ACLs). The
output of this command specifies the level of access (f=full control, w=write, r=read, n=none) and
whether or not the access is inherited by subdirectories (OI=this folder and files, CI=this folder
and subfolders, IO=does not apply). See the cacls command reference
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81084) for more information.
The WSUS installation creates several Web service directories.
• WSUSInstallDir\WebServices\apiremoting30 (where WSUSInstallDir is the directory
where WSUS has been installed)
• WSUSInstallDir\WebServices\clientwebservice
• WSUSInstallDir\WebServices\dssauthwebservice
• WSUSInstallDir\WebServices\reportingwebservice
• WSUSInstallDir\WebServices\serversyncwebservice
• WSUSInstallDir\WebServices\simpleauthwebservice
• WSUSInstallDir\Inventory
• WSUSInstallDir\Selfupdate
All of the directories above (except for the self-update directory) should have the following ACLs:
• NT AUTHORITY\NETWORK SERVICE:(OI)(CI)R
• BUILTIN\Users:(OI)(CI)R
• NT AUTHORITY\Authenticated Users:(OI)(CI)R
• BUILTIN\Administrators:(OI)(CI)F

120
 • NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)F
• The self-update directory should have the following ACLs:
• BUILTIN\Users:(OI)(CI)R
• BUILTIN\Administrators:(OI)(CI)F
• NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM:(OI)(CI)F

Permissions on WSUS registry keys

The following permissions are set for the registry during WSUS setup.
• The Users and WSUS Reporters group must have Read access to the
\HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Update Services\Server registry key.
• The following accounts must have Full Control permissions to the
\HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Update Services\Server\Setup registry key:
• Network Service
• WSUS Administrators
• Administrators
• System

Appendix E: Configuring BITS 2.0 and 3.0 for

Download Performance
BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service) is the service that Windows Update and Microsoft
Update use for downloads. BITS 2.0 is available for download on Windows XP and Windows
Server 2003 operating systems, and BITS 3.0 is part of the Windows Vista and Windows 2008
operating systems. You can optimize the performance of downloads by configuring BITS through
Group Policy. BITS 3.0 offers a number of configurable features that do not exist in earlier
versions of BITS.
For more information about BITS, see Background Intelligent Transfer Service
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=79389).

Throttling
Versions of BITs use the computer's network card to measure network traffic. BITS 3.0 can also
use the Internet gateway device to monitor traffic if the computer is correctly configured; see
Background Intelligent Transfer Service (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=79389) for details.
However, in some situations the network card in itself does not give an accurate measurement of
the actual state of network traffic. For example, if a computer has a fast network card but a slow
network connection (such as a dial-up connection), BITS will give an overly optimistic
measurement. It is possible to use Group Policy (in both BITS 2.0 and 3.0) to throttle or limit the
network bandwidth that BITS uses for downloads or uploads.

121
 Note
BITS bandwidth limitations are system wide, not application specific. You cannot use this
setting to limit only WSUS download bandwidth, because the BITS settings will affect
BITS in any application.

To set BITS bandwidth limitations

1. Start the Group Policy Object Editor (click Start, click Run, and then type
gpedit.msc).
2. Expand Computer Configuration, then Administrative Templates, then Network,
then Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
3. Open the Maximum network bandwidth that BITS uses (BITS 2.0) or Maximum
network bandwidth for BITS background transfers (BITS 3.0) setting.
4. Set the transfer rate in kilobits per second that you want BITS to use (the default is
10).
5. Set the times at which you want to limit the bandwidth (the default is 8:00 A.M. to
5:00 P.M.).
6. Set the limitations to be used outside of the designated time (the default is Use all
available unused bandwidth, but you may select another limitation).
7. Click OK.

Note
You must be an administrator to perform this procedure.

Peer caching
Peer caching is a new feature of BITS 3.0 that allows peers (computers within the same subnet of
a network that have the peer caching feature enabled) to share files. If peer caching is enabled
on a computer, the Automatic Update agent instructs BITS to make downloaded files available to
that computer's peers as well.
When the files have been downloaded, BITS caches them. When another (peer caching-enabled)
computer tries to download the same update, BITS on that computer sends a multicast request to
all of that computer's peers. If one or more of the peers responds to the request, BITS will
download the file from the first computer to respond. If the download from the peer fails or take
too long, BITS continues the download from the WSUS server or Microsoft Update.
This feature of BITS can optimize the bandwidth used by WSUS in several ways.
1. Peer caching decreases the amount of data transferred from the WSUS server to its
clients, because computers in the same subnet will usually download the updates from each
other.
2. Peer caching decreases the amount of data transferred across the WAN when some or
all of the clients of a WSUS server are located in different locations.

122
 3. Peer caching decreases the amount of data transferred across the Internet if WSUS
clients in the same subnet are configured to download updates from Microsoft Update.

Note
BITS peer caching requires computers to be running Windows Vista or Windows
Server 2008, and to be part of an Active Directory Domain.
For more information about peer caching and peer servers, see Peer Caching
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=79432).

To enable peer caching (on Windows Vista)

1. Start the Group Policy Object Editor (click Start, click Run, and then type
gpedit.msc).
2. Expand Computer Configuration, then Administrative Templates, then Network,
then Background Intelligent Transfer Service.
3. Enable the Allow BITS Peercaching setting.
4. Enable the Maximum network bandwidth used for Peercaching setting, and set
the maximum bandwidth in bits per second (the default is 104857), then click OK.
5. Enable the Limit the BITS Peercache size setting, and set the percentage of disk
space to be used for the peer cache (the default is 5 percent), and then click OK.
6. Enable the Limit age of items in the BITs Peercache setting, and set the number of
days (the default is 90), and then click OK.

Note
You must be an administrator to perform this procedure.

Appendix F: Configuring IIS for Download

Performance
You can limit the bandwidth for all Web sites or a specific Web site, such as the WSUS Web site,
using IIS Manager.

Limiting bandwidth on all Web sites

To limit bandwidth on all Web sites (on Windows Server 2003)

1. Open IIS Manager (click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Internet
Information (IIS) Manager).
2. Navigate to the Web Sites node under the local computer, right-click the node, and
then click Properties.
3. Select the Performance tab.

123
 4. Under Bandwidth throttling, select Limit the total network bandwidth available
for all Web sites on this server, and then specify the maximum bandwidth in kilobytes
per second (the default is 1024). You cannot specify a bandwidth lower than 1024
kilobytes per second.
5. Click OK.

Note
You must be logged on as an administrator or have run IIS as an administrator to perform
this procedure.

Limiting bandwidth on a specific Web site

To limit bandwidth on a specific Web site (on Windows Server 2003)

1. Open IIS Manager (click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Internet
Information (IIS) Manager).
2. Navigate to the Web Sites node under the local computer, select the specific Web
site, right-click the node, and then click Properties.
3. Select the Performance tab.
4. Under Bandwidth throttling, select Limit the total network bandwidth available
for all Web sites on this server, and then specify the maximum bandwidth in kilobytes
per second (the default is 1024). You cannot specify a bandwidth lower than 1024
kilobytes per second.
5. Click OK.

Note
You must be logged on as an administrator or have run IIS as an administrator to perform
this procedure.

Appendix G: Windows Update Agent Result

Codes
The Windows Update Agent uses the following set of result codes.

Windows Update Agent result codes

The tables in this section show the result code (hexadecimal value), the corresponding string, and
the description.
The following table shows WUA success codes.

124
Result Code Result String Description

0x240001 WU_S_SERVICE_STOP Windows Update Agent

was stopped successfully.

0x240002 WU_S_SELFUPDATE Windows Update Agent

updated itself.

0x240003 WU_S_UPDATE_ERROR Operation completed

successfully but there
were errors applying the
updates..

0x240004 WU_S_MARKED_FOR_DISCONNECT A callback was marked to

be disconnected later
because the request to
disconnect the operation
came while a callback was
executing.

0x240005 WU_S_REBOOT_REQUIRED The system must be

restarted to complete
installation of the update.

0x240006 WU_S_ALREADY_INSTALLED The update to be installed

is already installed on the
system.

0x240007 WU_S_ALREADY_UNINSTALLED The update to be removed

is not installed on the
system.

0x240008 WU_S_ALREADY_DOWNLOADED The update to be

downloaded has already
been downloaded.

The following table shows WUA error codes.

Result Result String Description

Code

0x802400 WU_E_NO_SERVICE Windows Update Agent was unable

01 to provide the service.

0x802400 WU_E_MAX_CAPACITY_REACHED The maximum capacity of the

02 service was exceeded.

0x802400 WU_E_UNKNOWN_ID An ID cannot be found.

03

125
Result Result String Description
Code

0x802400 WU_E_NOT_INITIALIZED The object could not be initialized.

04

0x802400 WU_E_RANGEOVERLAP The update handler requested a

05 byte range overlapping a previously
requested range.

0x802400 WU_E_TOOMANYRANGES The requested number of byte

06 ranges exceeds the maximum
number (2^31 - 1).

0x802400 WU_E_INVALIDINDEX The index to a collection was invalid.

07

0x802400 WU_E_ITEMNOTFOUND The key for the item queried could

08 not be found.

0x802400 WU_E_OPERATIONINPROGRESS Another conflicting operation was in

09 progress. Some operations such as
installation cannot be performed
twice simultaneously.

0x802400 WU_E_COULDNOTCANCEL Cancellation of the operation was

0A not allowed.

0x802400 WU_E_CALL_CANCELLED Operation was cancelled.

0B

0x802400 WU_E_NOOP No operation was required.

0C

0x802400 WU_E_XML_MISSINGDATA Windows Update Agent could not

0D find required information in the
update's XML data.

0x802400 WU_E_XML_INVALID Windows Update Agent found

0E invalid information in the update's
XML data.

0x802400 WU_E_CYCLE_DETECTED Circular update relationships were

0F detected in the metadata.

0x802400 WU_E_TOO_DEEP_RELATION Update relationships too deep to

10 evaluate were evaluated.

0x802400 WU_E_INVALID_RELATIONSHIP An invalid update relationship was

11 detected.

0x802400 WU_E_REG_VALUE_INVALID An invalid registry value was read.

126
Result Result String Description
Code

12

0x802400 WU_E_DUPLICATE_ITEM Operation tried to add a duplicate

13 item to a list.

0x802400 WU_E_INSTALL_NOT_ALLOWED Operation tried to install while

16 another installation was in progress
or the system was pending a
mandatory restart.

0x802400 WU_E_NOT_APPLICABLE Operation was not performed

17 because there are no applicable
updates.

0x802400 WU_E_NO_USERTOKEN Operation failed because a required

18 user token is missing.

0x802400 WU_E_EXCLUSIVE_INSTALL_CONFLICT An exclusive update cannot be

19 installed with other updates at the
same time.

0x802400 WU_E_POLICY_NOT_SET A policy value was not set.

1A

0x802400 WU_E_SELFUPDATE_IN_PROGRESS The operation could not be

1B performed because the Windows
Update Agent is self-updating.

0x802400 WU_E_INVALID_UPDATE An update contains invalid

1D metadata.

0x802400 WU_E_SERVICE_STOP Operation did not complete because

1E the service or system was being
shut down.

0x802400 WU_E_NO_CONNECTION Operation did not complete because

1F the network connection was
unavailable.

0x802400 WU_E_NO_INTERACTIVE_USER Operation did not complete because

20 there is no logged-on interactive
user.

0x802400 WU_E_TIME_OUT Operation did not complete because

21 it timed out.

0x802400 WU_E_ALL_UPDATES_FAILED Operation failed for all the updates.

22

127
Result Result String Description
Code

0x802400 WU_E_EULAS_DECLINED The license terms for all updates

23 were declined.

0x802400 WU_E_NO_UPDATE There are no updates.

24

0x802400 WU_E_USER_ACCESS_DISABLED Group Policy settings prevented

25 access to Windows Update.

0x802400 WU_E_INVALID_UPDATE_TYPE The type of update is invalid.

26

0x802400 WU_E_URL_TOO_LONG The URL exceeded the maximum

27 length.

0x802400 WU_E_UNINSTALL_NOT_ALLOWED The update could not be uninstalled

28 because the request did not
originate from a WSUS server.

0x802400 WU_E_INVALID_PRODUCT_LICENSE Search may have missed some

29 updates before there is an
unlicensed application on the
system.

0x802400 WU_E_MISSING_HANDLER A component required to detect

2A applicable updates was missing.

0x802400 WU_E_LEGACYSERVER An operation did not complete

2B because it requires a newer version
of server.

0x802400 WU_E_BIN_SOURCE_ABSENT A delta-compressed update could

2C not be installed because it required
the source.

0x802400 WU_E_SOURCE_ABSENT A full-file update could not be

2D installed because it required the
source.

0x802400 WU_E_WU_DISABLED Access to an unmanaged server is

2E not allowed.

0x802400 WU_E_CALL_CANCELLED_BY_POLICY Operation did not complete because

2F the DisableWindowsUpdateAccess
policy was set.

0x802400 WU_E_INVALID_PROXY_SERVER The format of the proxy list was

30 invalid.

128
Result Result String Description
Code

0x802400 WU_E_INVALID_FILE The file is in the wrong format.

31

0x802400 WU_E_INVALID_CRITERIA The search criteria string was

32 invalid.

0x802400 WU_E_EULA_UNAVAILABLE License terms could not be

33 downloaded.

0x802400 WU_E_DOWNLOAD_FAILED Update failed to download.

34

0x802400 WU_E_UPDATE_NOT_PROCESSED The update was not processed.

35

0x802400 WU_E_INVALID_OPERATION The object's current state did not

36 allow the operation.

0x802400 WU_E_NOT_SUPPORTED The functionality for the operation is

37 not supported.

0x802400 WU_E_WINHTTP_INVALID_FILE The downloaded file has an

38 unexpected content type.

0x802400 WU_E_TOO_MANY_RESYNC Agent is asked by server to resync

39 too many times.

0x802400 WU_E_NO_SERVER_CORE_SUPPORT WUA API method does not run on

40 Server Core installation.

0x802400 WU_E_SYSPREP_IN_PROGRESS Service is not available while

41 sysprep is running.

0x802400 WU_E_UNKNOWN_SERVICE The update service is no longer

42 registered with AU.

0x80240F WU_E_UNEXPECTED An operation failed due to reasons

FF not covered by another error code.

0x802410 WU_E_MSI_WRONG_VERSION Search may have missed some

01 updates because the Windows
Installer is less than version 3.1.

0x802410 WU_E_MSI_NOT_CONFIGURED Search may have missed some

02 updates because the Windows
Installer is not configured.

0x802410 WU_E_MSP_DISABLED Search may have missed some

03 updates because policy has

129
Result Result String Description
Code

disabled Windows Installer patching.

0x802410 WU_E_MSI_WRONG_APP_CONTEXT An update could not be applied

04 because the application is installed
per-user.

0x80241F WU_E_MSP_UNEXPECTED Search may have missed some

FF updates because there was a failure
of the Windows Installer.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_REMOTEUNAVAILABLE A request for a remote update

00 handler could not be completed
because no remote process is
available.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_LOCALONLY A request for a remote update

01 handler could not be completed
because the handler is local only.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_UNKNOWNHANDLER A request for an update handler

02 could not be completed because the
handler could not be recognized.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_REMOTEALREADYACTIVE A remote update handler could not

03 be created because one already
exists.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_DOESNOTSUPPORTACTION A request for the handler to install

04 (uninstall) an update could not be
completed because the update does
not support install (uninstall).

0x802420 WU_E_UH_WRONGHANDLER An operation did not complete

05 because the wrong handler was
specified.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_INVALIDMETADATA A handler operation could not be

06 completed because the update
contains invalid metadata.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_INSTALLERHUNG An operation could not be

07 completed because the installer
exceeded the time limit.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_OPERATIONCANCELLED An operation being done by the

08 update handler was cancelled.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_BADHANDLERXML An operation could not be

130
Result Result String Description
Code

09 completed because the handler-

specific metadata is invalid.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_CANREQUIREINPUT A request to the handler to install an

0A update could not be completed
because the update requires user
input.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_INSTALLERFAILURE The installer failed to install

0B (uninstall) one or more updates.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_FALLBACKTOSELFCONTAINED The update handler should

0C download self-contained content
rather than delta-compressed
content for the update.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_NEEDANOTHERDOWNLOAD The update handler did not install

0D the update because it needs to be
downloaded again.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_NOTIFYFAILURE The update handler failed to send

0E notification of the status of the install
(uninstall) operation.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_INCONSISTENT_FILE_NAMES The file names contained in the

0F update metadata and in the update
package are inconsistent.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_FALLBACKERROR The update handler failed to fall

10 back to the self-contained content.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_TOOMANYDOWNLOADREQUES The update handler has exceeded

11 TS the maximum number of download
requests.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_UNEXPECTEDCBSRESPONSE The update handler has received an

12 unexpected response from CBS.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_BADCBSPACKAGEID The update metadata contains an

13 invalid CBS package identifier.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_POSTREBOOTSTILLPENDING he post-reboot operation for the

14 update is still in progress.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_POSTREBOOTRESULTUNKNOW The result of the post-reboot

15 N operation for the update could not
be determined.

131
Result Result String Description
Code

0x802420 WU_E_UH_POSTREBOOTUNEXPECTEDST The state of the update after its

16 ATE post-reboot operation has
completed is unexpected.

0x802420 WU_E_UH_NEW_SERVICING_STACK_REQ The operating system servicing

17 UIRED stack must be updated before this
update is downloaded or installed.

0x80242F WU_E_UH_UNEXPECTED An update handler error not covered

FF by another WU_E_UH_* code.

0x802430 WU_E_INSTALLATION_RESULTS_UNKNOW The results of download and

01 N_VERSION installation could not be read from
the registry due to an unrecognized
data format version.

0x802430 WU_E_INSTALLATION_RESULTS_INVALID_ The results of download and

02 DATA installation could not be read from
the registry due to an invalid data
format.

0x802430 WU_E_INSTALLATION_RESULTS_NOT_FOU The results of download and

03 ND installation are not available; the
operation may have failed to start.

0x802430 WU_E_TRAYICON_FAILURE A failure occurred when trying to

04 create an icon in the taskbar
notification area.

0x80243F WU_E_NON_UI_MODE Unable to show UI when in non-UI

FD mode; WU client UI modules may
not be installed.

0x80243F WU_E_WUCLTUI_UNSUPPORTED_VERSIO Unsupported version of WU client UI

FE N exported functions.

0x80243F WU_E_AUCLIENT_UNEXPECTED There was a user interface error not

FF covered by another
WU_E_AUCLIENT_* error code.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_BASE WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_* error

00 codes map to the
SOAPCLIENT_ERROR enum of the
ATL Server Library.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_INITIALIZE SOAPCLIENT_INITIALIZE_ERROR

01 - initialization of the SOAP client

132
Result Result String Description
Code

failed, possibly because of an

MSXML installation failure.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_OUTOFMEMORY SOAPCLIENT_OUTOFMEMORY -

02 SOAP client failed because it ran
out of memory.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_GENERATE SOAPCLIENT_GENERATE_ERRO

03 R - SOAP client failed to generate
the request.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_CONNECT SOAPCLIENT_CONNECT_ERROR

04 - SOAP client failed to connect to
the server.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_SEND SOAPCLIENT_SEND_ERROR -

05 SOAP client failed to send a
message for reasons of
WU_E_WINHTTP_* error codes.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_SERVER SOAPCLIENT_SERVER_ERROR -

06 SOAP client failed because there
was a server error.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_SOAPFAULT SOAPCLIENT_SOAPFAULT -

07 SOAP client failed because there
was a SOAP fault for reasons of
WU_E_PT_SOAP_* error codes.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_PARSEFAULT SOAPCLIENT_PARSEFAULT_ERR

08 OR - SOAP client failed to parse a
SOAP fault.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_READ SOAPCLIENT_READ_ERROR -

09 SOAP client failed while reading the
response from the server.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAPCLIENT_PARSE SOAPCLIENT_PARSE_ERROR -

0A SOAP client failed to parse the
response from the server.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAP_VERSION SOAP_E_VERSION_MISMATCH -

0B SOAP client found an
unrecognizable namespace for the
SOAP envelope.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAP_MUST_UNDERSTAND SOAP_E_MUST_UNDERSTAND -

133
Result Result String Description
Code

0C SOAP client was unable to

understand a header.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAP_CLIENT SOAP_E_CLIENT - SOAP client

0D found the message was malformed;
fix before resending.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SOAP_SERVER SOAP_E_SERVER - The SOAP

0E message could not be processed
due to a server error; resend later.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_WMI_ERROR There was an unspecified Windows

0F Management Instrumentation (WMI)
error.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_EXCEEDED_MAX_SERVER_TRI The number of round trips to the

10 PS server exceeded the maximum limit.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_SUS_SERVER_NOT_SET WUServer policy value is missing in

11 the registry.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_DOUBLE_INITIALIZATION Initialization failed because the

12 object was already initialized.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_INVALID_COMPUTER_NAME The computer name could not be

13 determined.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_REFRESH_CACHE_REQUIRED The reply from the server indicates

15 that the server was changed or the
cookie was invalid; refresh the state
of the internal cache and retry.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_BAD_REQUEST HTTP 400 - the server could not

16 process the request due to invalid
syntax.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_DENIED HTTP 401 - the requested resource

17 requires user authentication.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_FORBIDDEN HTTP 403 - server understood the

18 request, but declined to fulfill it.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_NOT_FOUND HTTP 404 - the server cannot find

19 the requested URI (Uniform
Resource Identifier).

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_BAD_METHOD HTTP 405 - the HTTP method is not

1A allowed.

134
Result Result String Description
Code

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_PROXY_AUTH_R HTTP 407 - proxy authentication is

1B EQ required.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_REQUEST_TIME HTTP 408 - the server timed out

1C OUT waiting for the request.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_CONFLICT HTTP 409 - the request was not

1D completed due to a conflict with the
current state of the resource.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_GONE HTTP 410 - requested resource is

1E no longer available at the server.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_SERVER_ERRO HTTP 500 - an error internal to the

1F R server prevented fulfilling the
request.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_NOT_SUPPORT HTTP 501 - server does not support

20 ED the functionality required to fulfill the
request.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_BAD_GATEWAY HTTP 502 - the server, while acting

21 as a gateway or proxy, received an
invalid response from the upstream
server it accessed in attempting to
fulfill the request.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_SERVICE_UNAV HTTP 503 - the service is

22 AIL temporarily overloaded.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_GATEWAY_TIME HTTP 504 - the request was timed

23 OUT out waiting for a gateway.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_VERSION_NOT_ HTTP 505 - the server does not

24 SUP support the HTTP protocol version
used for the request.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_FILE_LOCATIONS_CHANGED Operation failed due to a changed

25 file location; refresh internal state
and resend.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_REGISTRATION_NOT_SUPPORT Operation failed because Windows

26 ED Update Agent does not support
registration with a non-WSUS
server.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_NO_AUTH_PLUGINS_REQUEST The server returned an empty

27 ED authentication information list.

135
Result Result String Description
Code

0x802440 WU_E_PT_NO_AUTH_COOKIES_CREATED Windows Update Agent was unable

28 to create any valid authentication
cookies.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_INVALID_CONFIG_PROP A configuration property value was

29 wrong.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_CONFIG_PROP_MISSING A configuration property value was

2A missing.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_HTTP_STATUS_NOT_MAPPED The HTTP request could not be

2B completed and the reason did not
correspond to any of the
WU_E_PT_HTTP_* error codes.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_WINHTTP_NAME_NOT_RESOLV ERROR_WINHTTP_NAME_NOT_R

2C ED ESOLVED - the proxy server or
target server name cannot be
resolved.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_ECP_SUCCEEDED_WITH_ERRO External cab file processing

2F RS completed with some errors.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_ECP_INIT_FAILED The external cab processor

30 initialization did not complete.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_ECP_INVALID_FILE_FORMAT The format of a metadata file was

31 invalid.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_ECP_INVALID_METADATA External cab processor found invalid

32 metadata.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_ECP_FAILURE_TO_EXTRACT_DI The file digest could not be

33 GEST extracted from an external cab file.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_ECP_FAILURE_TO_DECOMPRE An external cab file could not be

34 SS_CAB_FILE decompressed.

0x802440 WU_E_PT_ECP_FILE_LOCATION_ERROR External cab processor was unable

35 to get file locations.

0x80244F WU_E_PT_UNEXPECTED A communication error not covered

FF by another WU_E_PT_* error code

0x802450 WU_E_REDIRECTOR_LOAD_XML The redirector XML document could

01 not be loaded into the DOM class.

0x802450 WU_E_REDIRECTOR_S_FALSE The redirector XML document is

02 missing some required information.

136
Result Result String Description
Code

0x802450 WU_E_REDIRECTOR_ID_SMALLER The redirector ID in the downloaded

03 redirector cab is less than in the
cached cab.

0x802450 WU_E_PT_SAME_REDIR_ID Windows Update Agent failed to

2D download a redirector cabinet file
with a new redirector ID value from
the server during the recovery.

0x802450 WU_E_PT_NO_MANAGED_RECOVER A redirector recovery action did not

2E complete because the server is
managed.

0x80245F WU_E_REDIRECTOR_UNEXPECTED The redirector failed for reasons not

FF covered by another
WU_E_REDIRECTOR_* error code.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_URLNOTAVAILABLE A download manager operation

01 could not be completed because the
requested file does not have a URL.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_INCORRECTFILEHASH A download manager operation

02 could not be completed because the
file digest was not recognized.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_UNKNOWNALGORITHM A download manager operation

03 could not be completed because the
file metadata requested an
unrecognized hash algorithm.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_NEEDDOWNLOADREQUEST An operation could not be

04 completed because a download
request is required from the
download handler.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_NONETWORK A download manager operation

05 could not be completed because the
network connection was
unavailable.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_WRONGBITSVERSION A download manager operation

06 could not be completed because the
version of Background Intelligent
Transfer Service (BITS) is
incompatible.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_NOTDOWNLOADED The update has not been

137
Result Result String Description
Code

07 downloaded.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_FAILTOCONNECTTOBITS A download manager operation

08 failed because the download
manager was unable to connect the
Background Intelligent Transfer
Service (BITS).

0x802460 WU_E_DM_BITSTRANSFERERROR A download manager operation

09 failed because there was an
unspecified Background Intelligent
Transfer Service (BITS) transfer
error.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_DOWNLOADLOCATIONCHANGE A download must be restarted

0a D because the location of the source
of the download has changed.

0x802460 WU_E_DM_CONTENTCHANGED A download must be restarted

0B because the update content
changed in a new revision.

0x80246F WU_E_DM_UNEXPECTED There was a download manager

FF error not covered by another
WU_E_DM_* error code.

0x802470 WU_E_OL_INVALID_SCANFILE An operation could not be

01 completed because the scan
package was invalid.

0x802470 WU_E_OL_NEWCLIENT_REQUIRED An operation could not be

02 completed because the scan
package requires a greater version
of the Windows Update Agent.

0x80247F WU_E_OL_UNEXPECTED Search using the scan package

FF failed.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_SHUTDOWN An operation failed because

00 Windows Update Agent is shutting
down.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_INUSE An operation failed because the

01 data store was in use.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_INVALID The current and expected states of

02 the data store do not match.

138
Result Result String Description
Code

0x802480 WU_E_DS_TABLEMISSING The data store is missing a table.

03

0x802480 WU_E_DS_TABLEINCORRECT The data store contains a table with

04 unexpected columns.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_INVALIDTABLENAME A table could not be opened

05 because the table is not in the data
store.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_BADVERSION The current and expected versions

06 of the data store do not match.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_NODATA The information requested is not in

07 the data store.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_MISSINGDATA The data store is missing required

08 information or has a NULL in a table
column that requires a non-null
value.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_MISSINGREF The data store is missing required

09 information or has a reference to
missing license terms, file, localized
property or linked row.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_UNKNOWNHANDLER The update was not processed

0A because its update handler could
not be recognized.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_CANTDELETE The update was not deleted

0B because it is still referenced by one
or more services.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_LOCKTIMEOUTEXPIRED The data store section could not be

0C locked within the allotted time.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_NOCATEGORIES The category was not added

0D because it contains no parent
categories and is not a top-level
category itself.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_ROWEXISTS The row was not added because an

0E existing row has the same primary
key.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_STOREFILELOCKED The data store could not be

0F initialized because it was locked by

139
Result Result String Description
Code

another process.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_CANNOTREGISTER The data store is not allowed to be

10 registered with COM in the current
process.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_UNABLETOSTART Could not create a data store object

11 in another process.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_DUPLICATEUPDATEID The server sent the same update to

13 the client with two different revision
IDs.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_UNKNOWNSERVICE An operation did not complete

14 because the service is not in the
data store.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_SERVICEEXPIRED An operation did not complete

15 because the registration of the
service has expired.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_DECLINENOTALLOWED A request to hide an update was

16 declined because it is a mandatory
update or because it was deployed
with a deadline.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_TABLESESSIONMISMATCH A table was not closed because it is

17 not associated with the session.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_SESSIONLOCKMISMATCH A table was not closed because it is

18 not associated with the session.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_NEEDWINDOWSSERVICE A request to remove the Windows

19 Update service or to unregister it
with Automatic Updates was
declined because it is a built-in
service and/or Automatic Updates
cannot fall back to another service.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_INVALIDOPERATION A request was declined because the

1A operation is not allowed.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_SCHEMAMISMATCH The schema of the current data

1B store and the schema of a table in a
backup XML document do not
match.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_RESETREQUIRED The data store requires a session

140
Result Result String Description
Code

1C reset; release the session and retry

with a new session.

0x802480 WU_E_DS_IMPERSONATED A data store operation did not

1D complete because it was requested
with an impersonated identity.

0x80248F WU_E_DS_UNEXPECTED A data store error not covered by

FF another WU_E_DS_* code.

0x802490 WU_E_INVENTORY_PARSEFAILED Parsing of the rule file failed.

01

0x802490 WU_E_INVENTORY_GET_INVENTORY_TYP Failed to get the requested inventory

02 E_FAILED type from the server.

0x802490 WU_E_INVENTORY_RESULT_UPLOAD_FAI Failed to upload inventory result to

03 LED the server.

0x802490 WU_E_INVENTORY_UNEXPECTED There was an inventory error not

04 covered by another error code.

0x802490 WU_E_INVENTORY_WMI_ERROR A WMI error occurred when

05 enumerating the instances for a
particular class.

0x8024A0 WU_E_AU_NOSERVICE Automatic Updates was unable to

00 service incoming requests.

0x8024A0 WU_E_AU_NONLEGACYSERVER The old version of the Automatic

02 Updates client has stopped because
the WSUS server has been
upgraded.

0x8024A0 WU_E_AU_LEGACYCLIENTDISABLED The old version of the Automatic

03 Updates client was disabled.

0x8024A0 WU_E_AU_PAUSED Automatic Updates was unable to

04 process incoming requests because
it was paused.

0x8024A0 WU_E_AU_NO_REGISTERED_SERVICE No unmanaged service is registered

05 with AU.

0x8024A WU_E_AU_UNEXPECTED An Automatic Updates error not

FFF covered by another WU_E_AU *
code.

0x8024C WU_E_DRV_PRUNED A driver was skipped.

141
Result Result String Description
Code

001

0x8024C WU_E_DRV_NOPROP_OR_LEGACY A property for the driver could not be

002 found. It may not conform with
required specifications.

0x8024C WU_E_DRV_REG_MISMATCH The registry type read for the driver

003 does not match the expected type.

0x8024C WU_E_DRV_NO_METADATA The driver update is missing

004 metadata.

0x8024C WU_E_DRV_MISSING_ATTRIBUTE The driver update is missing a

005 required attribute.

0x8024C WU_E_DRV_SYNC_FAILED Driver synchronization failed.

006

0x8024C WU_E_DRV_NO_PRINTER_CONTENT Information required for the

007 synchronization of applicable
printers is missing.

0x8024C WU_E_DRV_UNEXPECTED A driver error not covered by

FFF another WU_E_DRV_* code.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_INVALID_INFDATA Windows Update Agent could not be

001 updated because an INF file
contains invalid information.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_INVALID_IDENTDATA Windows Update Agent could not be

002 updated because the wuident.cab
file contains invalid information.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_ALREADY_INITIALIZED Windows Update Agent could not be

003 updated because of an internal error
that caused setup initialization to be
performed twice.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_NOT_INITIALIZED Windows Update Agent could not be

004 updated because setup initialization
never completed successfully.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_SOURCE_VERSION_MISMA Windows Update Agent could not be

005 TCH updated because the versions
specified in the INF do not match
the actual source file versions.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_TARGET_VERSION_GREAT Windows Update Agent could not be

142
Result Result String Description
Code

006 ER updated because a WUA file on the

target system is newer than the
corresponding source file.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_REGISTRATION_FAILED Windows Update Agent could not be

007 updated because regsvr32.exe
returned an error.

0x8024D WU_E_SELFUPDATE_SKIP_ON_FAILURE An update to the Windows Update

008 Agent was skipped because
previous attempts to update have
failed.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_SKIP_UPDATE An update to the Windows Update

009 Agent was skipped due to a
directive in the wuident.cab file.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_UNSUPPORTED_CONFIGU Windows Update Agent could not be

00A RATION updated because the current system
configuration is not supported.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_BLOCKED_CONFIGURATIO Windows Update Agent could not be

00B N updated because the system is
configured to block the update.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_REBOOT_TO_FIX Windows Update Agent could not be

00C updated because a restart of the
system is required.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_ALREADYRUNNING Windows Update Agent setup is

00D already running.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_REBOOTREQUIRED Windows Update Agent setup

00E package requires a reboot to
complete installation.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_HANDLER_EXEC_FAILURE Windows Update Agent could not be

00F updated because the setup handler
failed during execution.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_INVALID_REGISTRY_DATA Windows Update Agent could not be

010 updated because the registry
contains invalid information.

0x8024D WU_E_SELFUPDATE_REQUIRED Windows Update Agent must be

011 updated before search can continue.

0x8024D WU_E_SELFUPDATE_REQUIRED_ADMIN Windows Update Agent must be

143
Result Result String Description
Code

012 updated before search can continue.

An administrator is required to
perform the operation.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_WRONG_SERVER_VERSIO Windows Update Agent could not be

013 N updated because the server does
not contain update information for
this version.

0x8024D WU_E_SETUP_UNEXPECTED Windows Update Agent could not be

FFF updated because of an error not
covered by another
WU_E_SETUP_* error code.

0x8024E0 WU_E_EE_UNKNOWN_EXPRESSION An expression evaluator operation

01 could not be completed because an
expression was unrecognized.

0x8024E0 WU_E_EE_INVALID_EXPRESSION An expression evaluator operation

02 could not be completed because an
expression was invalid.

0x8024E0 WU_E_EE_MISSING_METADATA An expression evaluator operation

03 could not be completed because an
expression contains an incorrect
number of metadata nodes.

0x8024E0 WU_E_EE_INVALID_VERSION An expression evaluator operation

04 could not be completed because the
version of the serialized expression
data is invalid.

0x8024E0 WU_E_EE_NOT_INITIALIZED The expression evaluator could not

05 be initialized.

0x8024E0 WU_E_EE_INVALID_ATTRIBUTEDATA An expression evaluator operation

06 could not be completed because
there was an invalid attribute.

0x8024E0 WU_E_EE_CLUSTER_ERROR An expression evaluator operation

07 could not be completed because the
cluster state of the computer could
not be determined.

0x8024E WU_E_EE_UNEXPECTED There was an expression evaluator

FFF error not covered by another
WU_E_EE_* error code.

144
Result Result String Description
Code

0x8024F0 WU_E_REPORTER_EVENTCACHECORRUP The event cache file was defective.

01 T

0x8024F0 WU_E_REPORTER_ The XML in the event namespace

02 EVENTNAMESPACEPARSEFAILED descriptor could not be parsed.

0x8024F0 WU_E_INVALID_EVENT The XML in the event namespace

03 descriptor could not be parsed.

0x8024F0 WU_E_SERVER_BUSY The server rejected an event

04 because the server was too busy.

0x8024FF WU_E_REPORTER_UNEXPECTED There was a reporter error not

FF covered by another error code.

Appendix H: The wuauclt Utility

The wuauclt utility allows you some control over the functioning of the Windows Update Agent. It
is updated as part of Windows Update.

Command line switches for wuauclt

The following are the command line for wuauclt.

Option Description

/a /ResetAuthorization Initiates an asynchronous background search

for applicable updates. If Automatic Updates is
disabled, this option has no effect.

/r /ReportNow Sends all queued reporting events to the server

asynchronously.

/? /h /help Shows this help information.

Appendix I: Database Maintenance

In order to keep your WSUS server functioning correctly, you should have a maintenance plan
that includes re-indexing the database on a regular basis, preferably at least once a month.

145
The WsusDBMaintenance script (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=87027) allows you to re-
index any version of the WSUS database, either SQL Server or Windows Internal Database.
If you are using Windows Internal Database, you will need to use the sqlcmd utility. For more
information about the sqlcmd utility, see sqlcmd Utility (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?
LinkId=81183).
To use this script with Windows Internal Database, you should run the following command:
sqlcmd -S np:\\.\pipe\MSSQL$MICROSOFT##SSEE\sql\query –i
<scriptLocation>\WsusDBMaintenance.sql

where <scriptLocation> is the directory where you have copied the WsusDBMaintenance script.

Appendix J: Setup Return Codes

Windows Server Update Services 3.0 uses the following return codes to determine the success or
the failure of its Setup.

Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Setup

Return Codes
The table in this section shows the return codes (hexadecimal values) returned by
wsussetup.exe, the return string, and the meaning. A return code of zero indicates success;
anything else indicates a failure.

Return Code Return String Meaning

0x001450 SUS_LAUNCH_ERROR Setup Launch Conditions

not satisfied.

0x001451 SUS_UNKNOWN_ERROR Unknown error.

0x001452 SUS_REBOOT_REQUIRED Reboot required to

complete the installation.
This most commonly
occurs when installing
wMSDE.

0x001453 SUS_INVALID_COMMANDLINE Invalid CommandLine

0x001454 SUS_LOWSQLVERSION Low SQL version. SQL

2005 or SQL 2008 is
required.

0x001455 SUS_TRIGGERSNOTSET SQL triggers are not set.

When installing on an
existing SQL instance,

146
Return Code Return String Meaning

that instance must

support nested triggers.

0x001456 SUS_INVALIDPATH Invalid content path

specified.

0x001457 SUS_NETWORKPATH Specified content path is

a network path.

0x001458 SUS_NONNTFS_PATH Specified content path is

not NTFS.

0x001459 SUS_NONFIXEDDRIVE Specified content path is

not on a fixed drive.

0x00145a SUS_NONTFS_DRIVES_PRESENT No NTFS drives present

on the system.

0x00145b SUS_INSUFFICIENT_SPACE Not enough space is

available at the given
path. At least 6 GB of
space is required.

0x00145c SUS_NEED_SERVER_AND_PORT Need both server name

and port for replica mode.

0x00145d SUS_MSCOM_SERVER Specified server name

ends in ".microsoft.com".

0x001460 SUS_ERROR_PREREQCHECK_FAIL Prerequisite check failed.

0x001461 SUS_LOWDBSCHEMAUPGRADE_VERSION This database schema is

too old to be upgraded.

0x001462 SUS_UPGRADE_REQUIRED Setup needs to upgrade

from a previous version.
Use the /G to avoid this
error.

147