SMS 2003 ITMU Software Updates Enforced Start Time
SMS 2003 ITMU Software Updates Enforced Start Time
A common requirement that I hear when using SMS 2003 (Systems Management Server) to patch servers is the ability to accommodate maintenance windows, since it is not normally acceptable to install patches during the working day. The default behaviour of SMS 2003 means that a collection can update at any time of the day based upon its configured update schedule. If any resources become a member of a collection that is targeted by a mandatory advertisement then it may run at any time.
A lot of people are not aware that this functionality is actually already catered for in the distribute software updates wizard (DSUW) feature of SMS 2003 with the Enforced Start Time option. The option is shown in the wizard and allows you to set a time period PatchInstall must run in relation to the mandatory schedules on the advertisement in order to apply any patches. For example, if you configure the patch bundle to have an enforced start time of 90 minutes then patches will only be installed on a client if it runs within 90 minutes of the time specified on any mandatory schedule in the advertisement. If a client becomes a member of a collection at a time outside of this then it will complete without applying any patches.
I find it to be good practice to enable the enforced start time on server patch bundles and to advertise them to applicable servers with a recurring schedule (E.g. every two days). This means that if it runs outside of the maintenance window the first time, it will not perform any actions but will then automatically run again two days later and will then apply the patches as it is close to the mandatory start time. The enforced start time means that the time of the maintenance window is controlled by the advertisement itself, so this can differ between different servers / operational teams in the enterprise.
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