On Tuesday, August 14th Microsoft released a download service called the Microsoft Update (MU) Catalog (jump to site). You can read all about it on the official Microsoft Update Team Blog. The MU Catalog is a central location for Microsoft updates and 3rd party Windows drivers. You can search the site for updates, add them to a 'basket', and then download the updates for later distribution using your favorite ESD tool. Additionally, you can link the MU Catalog with products like WSUS, SCE, and SCCM to import updates that might not otherwise be available.
Main User Interface - Search or... Search
I know the team spent a lot of time building 'plumbing' and connectivity to various products... so I don't want to rain on their ship party. However, this service leaves quite a bit to be desired. For starters there's the UI - or should I say the lack thereof. Check out the following screen shot or just head on over to the MU Catalog yourself.
Maybe the team is taking a page from Google and emphasizing the importance of search... but I'm left wanting a hierarchical browse interface to drill down to the appropriate updates. Anyone else feel the same way?
Private Hotfixes, Anyone?
One of the most compelling features that didn't make it in v1 is the ability to download private and/or limited release hotfixes. Readers with access to Premier Support know how handy it is to download private hotfixes through the PSS web site. Here's a screen shot of Microsoft Premier Online's listing for KB 940046 - a hotfix for Windows Server 2003. Notice the link to download the hotfix right at the top of the page.
Now imagine if you could sign on to the MU Catalog with your Passport (er, Windows Live) credentials and import this same hotfix right into WSUS, SCE, or SCCM. That would simplify deployment and improve the usefulness of WSUS, SCE, and SCCM in one fell swoop. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this feature makes it into MU Catalog v2.
On the Topic of Importing
To end on a positive note, there is at least one very useful scenario for the MU Catalog v1 when paired with WSUS 3.0. Let's say you configure WSUS to synchronize all products and classifications -EXCEPT- drivers (this is common among WSUS admins). However, one day you find out a critical update is published by your network card manufacturer. Instead of synchronizing the entire driver catalog to WSUS simply head on over to the MU Catalog and search for the critical driver. Add it to your basket and then import it into WSUS. Now you can deploy this one driver without 'polluting' the WSUS UI with drivers for every product ever released.
What are your thoughts on the MU Catalog v1? Post a comment below and we'll discuss this release in more detail.