Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
required update and then stores them in the local cache. If you configure the deploy-
ment type as Available, the updates download when the user invokes the installation.
6.
The client sends a state message to the management point that reports that the soft-
ware update was downloaded. The management point forwards the state message to
the site server, which then enters the message into the database.
7.
When the installation deadline for the software update arrives or you initiate the
update installation manually, the client scans for each software update to verify that it
still is required. The client then installs the software update, performs another scan on
the client to verify that the update is no longer required, and then sends a state mes-
sage to the management point that indicates the update has been installed. If a restart
is necessary, the state message indicates that the client computer is pending a restart.
After the restart, a scan begins to verify that the software update is complete and no
longer required and creates a state message to indicate that the update has installed.
For each software update that fails to install, an error-status message is sent to the
management point, which forwards the messages to the site server. The site server
then inserts status messages into the database.
Client computers initiate a deployment reevaluation cycle every seven days by default.
During this evaluation cycle, the client computer scans for previously deployed and installed
software updates. If any are missing, the software updates are reinstalled on the client.
You can use several methods to monitor and troubleshoot the client compliance and deploy-
ment of software updates, including the All Software Updates results pane, alerts, status mes-
sages, reports, WSUS logs, server-side logs, and client logs.
Monitoring software update processes
You need to monitor three basic activities when using Configuration Manager to manage
software updates. These are synchronization, distribution, and client deployment.
To verify that the software update point has the most recent list of available updates, it
needs to be able to perform synchronization successfully. You can use the following methods
to monitor software update point synchronization:
Software Update Point Synchronization Status
Located in the Monitoring
workspace, the Software Update Point Synchronization Status node provides detailed
information related to the synchronization status for all software update points in the
hierarchy. Details include the synchronization source, last synchronization date and
time, synchronization status, and error codes for failures.
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Alerts
When you configure the synchronization schedule for the software update
point, you can configure an alert to generate if synchronization fails on any site in the
hierarchy. You also can modify this setting from the Sync Schedule tab of the Software
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