Image: Song_about_summer/ Adobe Stock The initial factor for the name– delivering updates to Windows PCs and Windows Phone from the same service– may be long gone, however having a single update model for PCs, servers, IoT gadgets, HoloLens and Surface Hub that can deal with quality updates, function updates, optional functions, language packs, Windows Expert Builds and new releases like Windows 11 doesn’t just offer Microsoft one location to release all those updates. The Unified Update Platform is likewise the way Windows updates are getting smaller and requiring fewer client resources to download and install: Gadget can check for updates, download, install and apply the pertinent bundles in one step instead of multiple stages.
Windows Update and Windows Update for Business already use UUP, but plenty of organizations manage devices and OS updates themselves to get more control. Microsoft is working to incorporate UUP with Windows Server Update Provider and Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Supervisor to assist those companies keep that control.
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“The UUP on prem project is developed to bring the same terrific updating system and capabilities to WSUS and Configuration Supervisor connected PCs that gadgets directly connected to the Windows Update service have benefited from,” a Microsoft representative informs TechRepublic. “Specifically, this project addresses significant discomfort and workarounds that business have needed to make to release feature updates and manage optional Windows features or language packs in their environment.”
Existing update workarounds are time-intensive
Presently, the base media for a function update and the current Cumulative Updates that make up quality updates are delivered by WSUS and Configuration Manager, however any upgraded motorists and compatibility or bug repairs for Windows Setup and the Windows Healing Environment come through Dynamic Update, where you fetch content from a Microsoft URL while using the feature update. On the other hand language packs and optional functions on demand can originate from Dynamic Update or the Volume Licensing Service Center, however they’re not included in the basic OS bundle on VLSC, so they have to be downloaded separately.
If every PC downloads those separately from Microsoft, that uses more bandwidth– which adds an extra reboot to every upgrade– but keeping those plans on your own infrastructure or building a new image or job series for each release is a lot of work for IT admins.
Combination with UUP means less workarounds and less work for IT
Integration with UUP means organizations do not need to produce custom images or complex task series to handle the particular mix of those optional features and language pages they require on devices, and users can even get them offline from your facilities rather than having to download them online.
Whether you’re upgrading PCs from Windows 10 to Windows 11 22H2 or getting month-to-month quality updates for 22H2, UUP makes the procedure much faster. Microsoft has:
- Streamlined content management through maintenance, rather of media-based job series
- Updated the OS to the current security compliance level with one reboot
- Optional functions as needed and language packs that are already installed on a PC are retained during upgrades to Windows 11.
- If you need other customized actions as part of an update, you can still develop task sequences.
- Quality updates will be smaller sized downloads, and if there’s a problem, Windows Update will try to immediately fix any corruption.
UUP also enables express downloads for feature updates, which are enhanced to have Windows obtain the tiniest possible download.
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“This is achieved by generating differentials for each upgraded file based upon selected historical base modifications of the very same file,” Microsoft explains.
The content you need to generate these differential payloads for each client is substantial, and that’s not presently supported for gadgets that are linked to WSUS and Configuration Supervisor since of how much more content organizations would need to keep their servers.
Incorporating with UUP will imply saving some extra content on your WSUS and Setup Supervisor servers for automated corruption repair work, optional functions as needed and language packs for each Windows release. If you just deploy quality updates, Microsoft estimates that will come to about 10GB.
“This additional material will be immediately downloaded to the servers as part of the first quality update for that Windows release and will then be shown all subsequent quality updates,” Microsoft said.
If you release function updates along with quality updates, they’ll use that very same downloaded content.
Microsoft informed us clients more than happy with downloading and storing the extra content as a tradeoff to get the advantages of using UUP, “particularly as some customers were downloading and handling this content individually anyhow”.
Microsoft: Prepare for UUP combination
The personal preview of UUP on premises “has been working out” Microsoft tells us, and the general public sneak peek will be revealed “soon.” Microsoft has actually previously said this will be available in Q4 2022 (Figure A).
Figure A
Image: Microsoft. The timeline for UUP on properties, which Microsoft states is
advancing well. Once the integration with WSUS and Configuration Manager is offered, organizations that utilize the Software application Updates design for feature updates will automatically get UUP updates by picking them on the Products tab of the Software application Update Point dialog for your site in Configuration Supervisor.
“No additional work will be needed to release UUP feature and quality updates on supported WSUS and Setup Supervisor environments,” Microsoft informed us.
That suggests any supported variation of WSUS. For Configuration Supervisor, you need at least version 2111 with express setup and delta download enabled in the Client Agent settings, however variation 2203 is suggested.
IT admins can decrease redundancy with UUP
You will have the ability to eliminate any function upgrade actions you have to do today.
“For instance, consumers can remove Setup custom actions to move functions as needed, given that the UUP-based function update will now do this immediately,” Microsoft stated.
If you utilize a task series and OS media for function updates, you’ll need to change to using the Software application Updates technique to get the benefits of UUP. You can still utilize job sequences, but you won’t need to construct a custom-made OS image.
You may likewise need to customize the method you tidy up old upgrade content to conserve space on your WSUS and Config Supervisor servers, specifically if you handle PCs utilizing a variety of various variations of Windows, whether that’s for older PCs or as part of Windows Insider-style test and deployment rings.
“These new UUP features require customers to be able to access material for the variation of Windows they are operating on the WSUS/ Setup Supervisor environment, so to use these brand-new abilities customers should make sure Windows quality updates are not removed from their servers up until that update is no longer installed on their customer gadgets,” Microsoft said.
If you’re trying to find a way to keep an eye on upgrade releases while you await UUP combination with WSUS, the preview of using Azure Workbooks to check upgrade compliance will be developing into the live service of Windows Updates for Company reports in the first half of November.
This works for gadgets running Windows Pro, Enterprise or EDU SKUs that are registered in Azure AD, and you can sign up now through the Microsoft 365 admin center or wait up until the service is live and register in the Azure Monitor website. There are no extra charges for using the service unless you choose to retain data for longer than the default.
Set up and preserve compliance much faster via PowerShell with the TechRepublic Premium Windows administrator’s PowerShell script kit.
