Jeff's Connected Corner

April 2007 - Posts

• WSUS 3.0 RTM Available (Updated*)

  * See end of post for updated content Congratulations to the WSUS team on shipping version 3.0 to the world.  This is an important release for several reasons: WSUS 3.0 is the update management engine for two System Center products (SCOM 2007 and SCE 2007) WSUS 3.0 offers significant performance and usability improvements over its predecessor, WSUS (or WSUS 2.0 if you prefer) WSUS 3.0 integrates with the new Microsoft Update Catalog site, allowing you to import additional Microsoft updates Head over to the Microsoft download site and grab a copy of WSUS 3.0 and the associated documentation.  Also check out the new WSUS Home Page.  Very nice redesign, guys! Other Useful WSUS 3.0 Information In-place upgrades from WSUS 2.0 and WSUS 3.0 RC1 are supported as long as the host OS is Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later.  WSUS 3.0 will not install on Windows 2000 Server - although Windows 2000 Server and Professional are still supported as WSUS clients. A clean install is required for anyone still running SUS, or WSUS 3.0 Beta 2.  Beta 2 was retired quite a while ago - so very few users will be impacted by this caveat.  Check Add/Remove programs if you're not sure what version of WSUS 3.0 is installed.  Build numbers below 3.0.6000.318 (RC1) must be uninstalled. I feel fortunate to have been involved with WSUS 3.0 throughout the development process... from early UI prototypes all the way to a TAP deployment.  The product has come a long way, and I'm confident it will be well-received by WSUS administrators. Next Steps The best way to appreciate WSUS 3.0 is to see it in action... so I'll post a video overview soon.  Until then you can check out my RC1 post for product information and the new RTM Photo Gallery for screen shots. Updates (5/6/07) My first WSUS 3.0 whitepaper just went live on the main WSUS page (www.microsoft.com/wsus).  Check it out for an overview of the UI and some new/improved features.  I'm working on a second whitepaper (Distributed WSUS Deployments) that should go live at the end of May.  Stay tuned. Posted Apr 30 2007, 11:18 AM by Jeff with 19 comment(s) Filed under: WSUS

• Exchange 2007 Rollup 1 Released (Updated)

  UPDATED 4/19/07 In some 'Better Late Than Never' news, Microsoft finally released Exchange 2007 Rollup 1 to the download site.  When they originally announced this new servicing model, the Exchange team said Rollups would appear every 6 to 8 weeks.  I have a feeling it will end up being quarterly... but that's just me.  Anyway, Rollup 1 isn't published to Microsoft Update/WSUS yet... but I imagine that will occur sometime in the next 24 hours. Exchange 2007 Rollup 1 isn't quite a Service Pack - meaning it doesn't include any new functionality*.  However, the quality and amount of testing is far superior to traditional hotfixes.  I wonder if this new servicing model will cause traditionally cautious organizations to deploy Exchange 2007 before SP1?  Drop me a comment with your thoughts, and your feedback on Rollup 1. * Note:  Anyone been around long enough to remember the days when Service Packs didn't include new functionality?  And what about the promise of a new SP every quarter?  I digress ;) 4/19/07 Update: To reinforce the fact that Exchange 2007 is 64-bit only, Rollup 1 is 64-bit only.  A 32-bit download was accidentally posted for a couple hours; however, that link has since been removed.  And if if you have the 64-bit Rollup 1 and are thinking of trying it out on a 32-bit test system... don't.  There's no hard-blocking in the code... so you can proceed through the install and break your 32-bit test system. Posted Apr 18 2007, 02:08 PM by Jeff with no comments Filed under: Exchange, WSUS