Step by Step WSUS

Server

Hussain Shakir

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrhussain

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hshakir_ms

Blog: http://mstechguru.blogspot.com/

Table of Contents

About Author ..................................................................................................................................................................2

Product Overview ........................................................................................................................................................... 3

What you need ............................................................................................................................................................... 4

Installation of Required Role......................................................................................................................................... 4

Destination Directory to Downloaded Updates ........................................................................................................... 11

Windows Server Update Services Management Console............................................................................................ 13

Update Source Selection............................................................................................................................................... 15

Internet Proxy Selection ............................................................................................................................................... 16

Scheduling for Updates ................................................................................................................................................ 18

About Author

Shakir is IT Consultant with over 13 years of extensive experience working with Microsoft Technologies

AD, Exchange, O365, Windows Azure, PowerShell, Skype for Business, SQL, SharePoint and Microsoft

public clouds, and providing solutions to different local & international Enterprise customers.

Shakir has been involved in Infrastructure Designing and Implementation, Virtualization, and Disaster

Recovery. Extensive hands-on experience in Core Server Infrastructure, Cloud Computing,

Virtualization/ Management and Information Protection. Analysis and Support of Microsoft Windows

Server based Client / Server network, AD, Messaging, Skype for Business, SQL Always ON, Virtualization

and System Center Infrastructure Products. Shakir has various industry certifications: MCT, MCTS,

MCITP, MCSA, MCSE: Messaging, MCPS, MCSE: Cloud Platform and Infrastructure and also providing

trainings on Microsoft Based Technologies.

Product Overview

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) enables information technology administrators to deploy the

latest Microsoft product updates. WSUS is a Windows Server, server role that can be installed to manage

and distribute updates. A WSUS server can be the update source for other WSUS servers within the

organization. The WSUS server that acts as an update source is called an upstream server. In a WSUS

implementation, at least one WSUS server in the network must connect to Microsoft Update to get

available update information. The administrator can determine, based on network security and

configuration, how many other servers connect directly to Microsoft Update.

This document provides conceptual and step by step information for planning and installation of

Windows Server Update Service in Windows Server 2012 and subsequent releases of the Windows Server

operating system. It also provides step-by-step procedures for installing WSUS in the organization.

In Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2, WSUS is integrated with the operating system as a server role. In

previous versions of Windows Server (2003, 2008, 2008 R2), you had to separately install WSUS 3.0.

What you need

A machine with Windows Server 2012 R2 installed

Internet connection

Domain Controller

I started with a fresh install of Windows Server 2012 R2 on a VM and connected it to my domain.

Installation of Required Role

On your Windows Server 2012 R2 machine, launch Server Manager as shown below.

You can either launch it using the icon in the taskbar or you can click the Start button and just search for

“server manager”.

Once Server Manager is open, select Add roles and features.

In the Add Roles and Features Wizard, click next on the Before You Begin page. You can optionally select

to Skip this page by default for the future.

Select Role-based or feature-based installation

Select your server from the server pool. If you’re not using Hyper-V, you will see only one server, i.e., your

soon-to-be WSUS server.

In the Server Roles list, scroll down and select Windows Server Update Services

A window will pop up showing you the features that are required for WSUS which will be enabled. Click

Add Features

You will notice that IIS has been automatically selected. Leave everything as default and click Next

On the Features screen, leave the default selections and click Next

On the Web Server Role (IIS) page, click Next

Leave all selections as default on the Role Services page and click Next

Click Next on this screen

On the Role Services page, make sure WID Database and WSUS Services are selected (They should be

selected by default). Click Next

Destination Directory to Downloaded Updates

This page will allow you to set the destination directory for the downloaded updates. Tick the checkbox

for Store updates in the following location.

Enter the path here. It can either be a local or a remote path.

Keep in mind that WSUS will take up considerable amount of storage as time goes on. It is not unusual

to find update folders of sizes greater than 100 GB.

Choose your destination accordingly.

On the Confirmation screen, check the Restart the destination server automatically if required option if

you wish to do so, otherwise you can leave it unchecked.

Click Install

Once its installed, Click Close

Windows Server Update Services Management Console

Since it’s the first time you’re opening it, it’ll take a while to set up. Wait for it to complete and then hit

Close

Before starting, make sure of the following:

Confirm whether the PCs on your network can communicate with this server.

Your WSUS server should be able to communicate with Microsoft Update (Make sure your firewall isn’t

blocking it)

If your environment uses a proxy, make sure you have the proxy server credentials before continuing.

If you would like to join the Microsoft Update Improvement Program, check the box. Otherwise uncheck

it. Click Next

Update Source Selection

If you want to sync updates directly from Microsoft Update enable the first option and click Next.

If you have already have a WSUS server in your environment and want your new WSUS to synch updates

from that instead of Microsoft Update, enable the second option.

Enter the server name and port number for WSUS on Windows Servere 2012 R2, the default port is 8530.

Enable/disable SSL based on your environment

Decide whether it is going to be a replica server or not and click Next

Internet Proxy Selection

If you use a proxy server, enter the details here, otherwise leave the checkbox unchecked and click Next

Click Start Connecting. This might take upto 20 to 25 minutes or more depending upon your

connection speed. Once it’s done, Click Next

Choose which all languages do you need updates for and click Next. You can always modify this later.

The Choose Products screen will allow you to subscribe for updates for different Microsoft products.

After selecting your products, click Next

Now you can choose what type of updates you want to subscribe to. Do you want just critical & security

updates? Or do you want everything? This is where you can specify that.

Scheduling for Updates

Configure your sync schedule for updates here. The synchronization process involves downloading

updates from Microsoft Update or another WSUS server. WSUS determines if any new updates have been

made available since the last time you synchronized. If this is the first time you are synchronizing the

WSUS server, all of the updates are made available for approval.

You can choose to automatically sync my server with Microsoft Update daily at 2 AM.

Select Begin initial synchronization to sync with Microsoft Update and click Next and then Finish

The main Console of WSUS

This completes the installation and initial configuration of our WSUS server.

You have to configure your domain GPO for your workstation to get updates from WSUS server.

Hope this will help you to start building your WSUS server