Software Update Services Synchronization

SUS administrators for your enterprise need to synchronize updates manually so that the SUS server is consistent with the content available on the Windows Update site, or you need to set up the system to do it automatically. As new software updates are released and posted to the Windows Update download servers, they need to be downloaded to the local SUS server.

With automatic updates enabled on your SUS server, the administrator can review the available updates and then determine whether to approve them. After the administrator approves the updates, they are available at the next scheduled time for clients using Automatic Update. If the administrator decides that an update is not needed (for example, a fix for Exchange Server when Exchange is not in use), the update is not approved and is not made available to clients using Automatic Update.

With manual updates enabled, administrators must manually synchronize updates because they remain on the Windows Update site until administrators review them. You can synchronize the content on your SUS server from the Windows Update site, from another SUS server (often used when synchronizing from a remote location to a main location), or from a manually configured content distribution point on your network. To synchronize content from the Windows Update servers, select the Synchronize Directly from the Windows Update Servers option.

For a manual update, go to the SUS Web site, click Synchronize Server in the navigation bar, and click Synchronize Now. To synchronize content from another SUS server or a manually configured content distribution point, select the Synchronize from a Local Software Update Services Server option and enter the name of the synchronization server. This server can be another system you designate in your enterprise or a Windows Update server available at Microsoft.

During synchronization, existing content that is updated is marked on the Approve Updates page as "Updated." Administrators can customize the behavior for approved updates as follows :

• An approved item continues to be approved, even if it is updated during synchronization, as might be the case when a security update is being released again. This option is configured in the Set Options page by selecting the Automatically Approve New Versions of Previously Approved Updates option.

• An approved item is automatically unapproved if it's updated during synchronization. This setting is configured in the Set Options page by selecting the Do Not Automatically Approve New Versions of Previously Approved Updates. I Will Manually Approve These Later option. This setting is usually the safest bet because administrators can test the new update package before client computers download and install it.

After content from the Windows Update site is synchronized to the SUS servers in your environment, you can view the synchronization information on the SUS Web site. Each SUS server also maintains a synchronization log listing when the last synchronization was performed, any relevant success and failure notifications, and when the next synchronization is scheduled, if this option is enabled. The log also lists update packages that have been downloaded or updated since the last synchronization and denotes any update packages that failed synchronization. You can view the log in the administrator's Software Update Services window or by using any text editor.

Each SUS server also maintains an approval log to keep track of content that has been approved or not approved. The log has entries for times when the list of approved packages was changed, a list of items that changed, and a new list of approved items. You can view this log in the administrator's Software Update Services window or by using any text editor.