Question:

How do you manage monthly Cumulative Updates from Microsoft for Windows OS and .NET Framework?

– Do you install them every month for Windows Server, regardless of criticality?

– If not, how do you determine the criticality and applicability of the updates?

– If yes, what is your schedule for installing them on your Windows Servers?

– Do you install them every month for Windows 10/11, regardless of criticality?

– If not, how do you assess the need and timing of the updates?

– If yes, what is your schedule for testing and deploying them on your Windows 10/11 devices?

– How do you organize your test groups for Windows 10/11 devices? Do you use dedicated devices or test users?

– Do you test the preview updates before Patch Tuesday? If so, on which servers and clients?

Answer:

Monthly Cumulative Updates (CUs) from Microsoft are essential for keeping your Windows OS and .NET Framework secure and up to date. However, managing them can be a challenging task, especially for large and complex IT environments. In this article, we will share some best practices and tips on how to handle CUs for Windows Server and Windows 10/11 devices.

Windows Server

• Do you install them every month, regardless of criticality? We recommend installing CUs every month for Windows Server, as they contain important security fixes and improvements that can protect your servers from vulnerabilities and performance issues. However, you should always test the updates before applying them to your production servers, as some updates may cause compatibility or stability problems with your applications or hardware.
• If not, how do you determine the criticality and applicability of the updates? If you decide not to install CUs every month, you should at least install the ones that are marked as critical or important by Microsoft, as they address the most severe and widespread issues. You should also check the release notes and the known issues of each update, to see if they apply to your server configuration and environment. You can use tools like Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to filter and approve the updates that you want to install.
• If yes, what is your schedule for installing them on your Windows Servers? You should have a predefined schedule for installing CUs on your Windows Servers, that minimizes the downtime and the impact on your business operations. A common practice is to divide your servers into groups based on their roles, functions, and dependencies, and to apply the updates in a phased manner, starting from the least critical to the most critical ones. For example, you can follow a schedule like this:
• Week 1: Install CUs on your test servers and verify their functionality and compatibility.
• Week 2: Install CUs on your development and staging servers and perform further testing and validation.
• Week 3: Install CUs on your non-critical production servers, such as web servers, file servers, or print servers.
• Week 4: Install CUs on your critical production servers, such as database servers, domain controllers, or application servers.

Windows

10/11

– Do you install them every month, regardless of criticality? We also recommend installing CUs every month for Windows 10/11 devices, as they provide security enhancements and bug fixes that can improve the user experience and productivity. However, you should also test the updates before deploying them to your end users, as some updates may cause issues with your devices or applications.

– If not, how do you assess the need and timing of the updates? If you choose not to install CUs every month, you should follow the same criteria as for Windows Server, and install the ones that are critical or important, and that are relevant to your device configuration and environment. You should also monitor the feedback and reports from other users and organizations, to see if there are any known issues or problems with the updates. You can use tools like WSUS or SCCM to manage and control the updates that you want to deploy.

– If yes, what is your schedule for testing and deploying them on your Windows 10/11 devices? You should also have a predefined schedule for testing and deploying CUs on your Windows 10/11 devices, that balances the security and performance benefits with the user convenience and satisfaction. A common practice is to divide your devices into groups based on their usage, location, and importance, and to deploy the updates in a staggered manner, starting from the least impactful to the most impactful ones. For example, you can follow a schedule like this:

– Week 1: Deploy CUs to your test devices and verify their functionality and compatibility.

– Week 2: Deploy CUs to your pilot group of users, who are willing and able to provide feedback and report issues.

– Week 3: Deploy CUs to your standard group of users, who are the majority of your workforce and use typical applications and settings.

– Week 4: Deploy CUs to your critical group of users, who are the most sensitive and demanding ones and use specialized applications and settings.

– How do you organize your test groups for Windows 10/11 devices? Do you use dedicated devices or test users? You should have a representative sample of devices and users for testing CUs, that covers the diversity and complexity of your IT environment. You can use dedicated devices that are configured and maintained for testing purposes, or you can use test users who are willing to participate in the testing process and provide feedback. You should also have a mechanism for collecting and analyzing the feedback and the issues from your test groups, and for resolving them before deploying the updates to the rest of your users.

– Do you test the preview updates before Patch Tuesday? If so, on which servers and clients? Preview updates are optional updates that Microsoft releases before Patch Tuesday, to give users and organizations a chance to test and evaluate the upcoming CUs. They are not recommended for production use, as they may contain bugs or errors that are not yet fixed. However, if you want to test the preview updates, you should do so on a separate and isolated environment, such as a virtual machine or a sandbox, and only on a small number of servers and clients. You should also be prepared to uninstall or rollback the preview updates, in case they cause any problems or conflicts with the final CUs.