WSUS 3.0 SP2 & Windows Home Server 2011

I’ll admit that it can be difficult to distinguish Windows Home Server 2011 and a regular NAS. But after I installed WSUS 3.0 SP2 the advantages — especially for a Windows environment — are clear.

Why WSUS?

WSUS (or Windows Server Update Services) allows client computers to connect and download Windows updates from a local server instead of from Microsoft itself.

• Save on internet bandwidth by downloading updates once and then distributing it to all the Windows clients that connect to WSUS server
• Monitor patch levels for all clients connecting to the WSUS server

Steps Taken

I used this Windows Home Server 2003 WSUS 3.0 SP1 guide and modified it for Windows Home Server 2011 and WSUS 3.0 SP2.  Here’s the condensed and revised version of the aforementioned steps that I took:

1. Install Microsoft Report Viewer 2008
2. Install Windows Server Updates Services role
   • On “Database Options” page, choose to install “Windows Internal Database”
   • On “Web Site Selection” page, choose “Create a Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 Website” & choose port 8530
3. Start “Configuring Updates and Set Up Synchronization“
4. Connect client computers to WSUS server by executing  the following registry file on each client PC:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
;Register client with WSUS on HOMESERVER

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate]

“WUServer”=”http://homeserver:8530/”
“WUStatusServer”=”http://homeserver:8530/”
“ElevateNonAdmins”=dword:00000001
DisableWindowsUpdateAccess=dword:00000001

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU] “NoAutoUpdate”=dword:00000000
“AUOptions”=dword:00000005
“UseWUServer”=dword:00000001

And that’s essentially it. There’s an optional step where you can limit the amount of memory the WSUS internal database consumes, but I’ll touch on that later. For now, enjoy the magic of WSUS & WHS 2011.