WSUS RC1 is shipping

As of 16:00 today GMT, Microsoft is shipping the latest beta of it's free update service now known as Windows Server Update Services (aka WSUS). WSUS represents a big improvement over SUS and WUS Beta 2. Although the name is still a curiosity, it's an important step on the road on the path to a better patch experience for users. I'll post more details, and comments as soon as I've finished the installation!

See the now updated WSUS site at http://www.microsoft.com/wsus or go to the WSUS Wiki.

[update - 3 April]

The comments to this entry (below) relate to an error I made in posting this article. When I first installed WSUS, there were no updates listed for Exchange or SQL (hence the earlier comment - done before the very long synch process). But after the first synch, they did in fact appear. This is possibly confusing to new admins, but understandable. Thus far, I've not seen any actual updates offered for these products, but I've been away a bit and have not had much testing time to put in. I would be very pleased to see Microsoft come out with more details on precisely how the applications (Exchange, etc) are to be handled.