News

New Name, Release Candidate for WUS

• By Scott Bekker
• 03/22/2005

Windows Update Services is the 2.0 version of Software Update Services, a free add-on for managing security updates in multi-user environments. For the last few years, Microsoft has referred to the next version of SUS as Windows Update Services. Now the official long name is Windows Server Update Services, and the official short name is Update Services.

The release candidate marks a key product development milestone and should mean that Microsoft will make good on a promise to deliver the technology in the first half of this year. The public download of Update Services is available at www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/updateservices/evaluation/trial/default.mspx.

Update Services gives IT administrators a toolset for assessing, controlling and automating deployment of Microsoft software updates. Among Microsoft patching tools, Update Services is a step above having systems and users handle their own patching process through Windows Update or Automatic Updates and a step below the enterprise patch management functionality available in Systems Management Server.

The initial version of Update Services will handle patches for Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Office XP, Office 2003, SQL Server 2000, MSDE 2000 and Exchange 2003. Microsoft plans to support additional Microsoft software later.