Windows Update Services 3.0 RC
On February 12th Microsoft released a public release candidate version of Windows Update Services 3.0, and today I decided to do an in place upgrade of the existing live WSUS 2.0 install in our network. The upgrade took a fair amount of time, as it had to remove the old WSUS, upgrade the MSDE/SQL Server Express installation we had as well as convert the database we had built up over a considerable timeframe. I'm sure a fresh installation of WSUS 3.0 would be much quicker.
Everything installed without a single problem, and the upgrade seems to be working as intended. I'll let it simmer a few days, over easter, before I return with a more detailed report on specific usage and any problems we might encounter.
So far it looks really good though, and the new MMC 3.0 based management console is grouped logically in an easy to understand way. I liked the old web interface for WSUS 2.0 but the new management tool is clearly an improvement.
My initial thought is that this looks like it'll be a great update for an already great service, have a look at the TechNet article for detailed information on whats new in 3.0.
One interesting thing I did note while looking around was that it's now possible to identify hardware directly from the WSUS console. It even reports virtual hardware from my VMware machines: 
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I'm sure you can use the new reporting services in WSUS 3.0 to build custom reports that identify the virtualized hardware in your environment, as well as the physical devices. Screenshots here, as usual.
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Published March 30, 2007 13:39
3 comments
Tagged with active directory, computing, microsoft, technet, windows, windows management, windows services, windows update and wsus
3 Responses to Windows Update Services 3.0 RC:
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May 1, 2007 12:10am[…] has released Windows Update Services 3.0. I have been running the Release Candidate for a while now, and it’s been performing really well. I’ll be sure to update to the […]
March 30, 2007 1:52pm
My impression is that the RC is a lot more stable than Beta 3 was. I’ve used WSUS 3 successfully to keep our test environment very well patched with a multi-homed VM. I really like how MMC 3.0 interface, and while i haven’t looked at it closely, the real selling point will be the reporting for our distributed IT support staff. Looking forward to hearing more thoughts on it!
May 1, 2007 12:10am
[…] has released Windows Update Services 3.0. I have been running the Release Candidate for a while now, and it’s been performing really well. I’ll be sure to update to the […]
May 7, 2007 9:53am
I used WSUS 3.0. It provides improvements in the following areas:
The WSUS 3.0 administration console can be installed on other computers in the network to manage the WSUS 3.0 server remotely.
A configuration wizard guides new users through the process of post-setup server configuration.
WSUS 3.0 now logs detailed server health information in the event log. A Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) pack is now available to monitor events generated by the WSUS server.
The server has built-in support for e-mail notification for new updates and for update compliance summaries.
Manage multiple servers from a single console
The WSUS 3.0 administration console will allow you to inspect and manage all the WSUS servers in your hierarchy.
It’s more better now