Can I push out an update to a domain?

I have a windows 2000 domain with about 70 client workstations. I would like to install a Microsoft update (Q835732) to all machines but don't particularly want to do it one at a time.

I don't have SMS, but is there any way I can get the machines to update from a central source automatically, maybe through group policy?

I have looked at assigining software but that requires an .msi file and only seems to work if the user requests the software. I also thought about setting up an autoupdate task in group policy but cannot see it listed anywhere.

Thanks

 

How about This?

 

Thanks for the replies.

I have looked at the Group policy article and as I understand it, I still need an .msi file to apply to the domain.

I have created one of those once for another application but cannot remember how i did it.

I do remember that it was a free download from Microsoft, but needed Visual Studio installing on the machine to validate the software. I dont use Visual Studo, but as luck would have it, we have a copy on our shelves here, so I used that.

I have had a brief look around the microsoft website but nothing has jogged my memory.

We dont use Languard Network Scanner, but if there is a free versionm, I may give it a go.

I have found a possible alternative in Microsoft Software Update Services - info Here, and download Here which seems to be a cut-down version of SMS. It says that it only pushes out O/S updates, but that is ok for what I need.

I have installed it on a server, but couldnt get it to work. I will have to read the 95 page manual first.

In general, if I could remember how to make the msi file, it would be a lot quicker for this one event, but getting SUS working would be a better long-term solution I suppose.

Any ideas gratefully received.

Thanks

 

OK, I have downloaded and installed Microsoft Software Update Services. It seems to work fine. It synchronised with the Windows Update site and I now have several hundred updates stored on a server ready for distribution.

Each workstation will be set to download updates from the server through group policy.

As a free utility for applying updates and patches domain-wide this seems to be a real time-saver.

 

I wanted to tell you to use SUS , but then I saw you already thought of that.
Let me tell you that I am working with it almost a year now, and it never failed me. Not Blaster and not Sasser effected any of my 200 stations in the domain.
The current version (1.1) is not as clever as I would hope: the statistics as of which station succesfully installed the updates and which not are not available (if some list like this is needed, one should install SQL server on the same machine) and it only deploys Windows updates (OS and IE).
The next version, that will have some other name, and which is to be released some time in the Fall (according to experts that spoke at TechEd I attended last week) and will be much better: will deploy all major updates, including Windows, Office, SQL Server and Exchange server.
Well, that remains to be seen.
Good luck to us all.

 

Thanks for the info on the updated version of SUS, I will keep an eye out for it.

We dont use Excahnge, but I have yet to update our SQL server and we use Office extensively. This product is going to save me a great deal of time I think.

 

SUS is a cracking piece of kit

I dontt understand why MS dont push it more with users - they (maybe deservedly) have such a bad rep about updates etc that you would think that they would advertise something that helps them fight back

I dont know about the App support coming up - thats going to make it even more worth while

A word of caution though - it can be a very busy server when things like Sasser hit so its worth thinking carefully about how you deploy it on your network

 

GFI LANguard only pushes updates to Win2000 and/or XP machines. If you have a mixed mode environment with Win9x machines, LANguard is basically useless on those boxes.

One other alternative for your Grunty...
ALTIRIS will also take care of deployment of patches, etc. The online demo looks very impressive, but I've never seen the actual product in action. Anyone else have experience with Altiris?

 

Altiris is an excellent product but is not the aesiest to configure and manage

Its also not free - unlike SUS

 

As a NetAdmin with more than 100 WinXP stations (and more than 450 of them all), I will never put my security in the hands of my users.

There's no such worry: as it was with the Blaster, there is some time, almost weeks, between the security update and the virus that comes to exploit it. It is more than enough for a good NetAdmin to deploy the updates to all stations. I receive the announcement from Microsoft, the day after the SUS server is synchronized (downloaded the update), I approve it and in the next 24 hours (the period of time is controllable through GPO or reg files) it is deployed to the stations. I did not have any kind of trouble, not even one station infected by any of those viruses.
So, as far as I am concerned, the SUS is a good tool. Within it's limitations, as I explained in my previous post.