Improved Patch Management

   

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Windows Server 2003 has greatly improved patch management by offering the following new features:

• No service interruption while installing patches.

  The new IIS 6.0 architecture includes worker process recycling, which means that an administrator can easily install most IIS hot fixes and most new worker process DLLs without any interruption of service.

• Auto Update.

  Auto Update version 1.0 provides three options:

  • Notify of patch availability the moment the patch is available

  • Download the patch and notify of its availability

  • Download the patch and install it at a time previously scheduled by the administrator

• Windows Update Corporate Edition.

  Many IT departments do not allow users to install security patches and other Windows Update packages unless they have been tested in a standard operating environment. Windows Update now lets users run quality assurance tests on patches required by the organization. Once patches have passed the specified tests, they can be placed on the corporate Windows Update server, behind the firewall, where all machines inside the firewall can then pick up the patch.

• Resource-free DLLs.

  Windows has now separated localization resources from the actual implementation. This has improved Microsoft's ability to quickly design fixes for 30 languages.

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