Patch Management (Windows Update)

Patch Management
 

Overview

The SmartDeploy Client automatically scans and reports the Windows Update status for every endpoint in your environment. It will display whether an endpoint is up-to-date, or whether any Windows Update packages are currently available for installation according to the Windows Update settings on that endpoint or in your organization. This information is available in the Patch Management section of the SmartDeploy console.

Patch Management is available for all users with a Pro subscription running SmartDeploy version 3.0.1040 or later.

Under Patch Management, you can view both Patch Details and Patch Statistics.

• Patch Details displays the collection of patches that have been applied to your endpoints. 

  • in the web console, Click on Windows Updates > Update Details

  

• Patch Statistics shows the patch status for each endpoint, including pending, installed, failed, or paused updates.

  • in the web console, Click on Windows Updates > Windows Updates

  

Individual Updates

As of SmartDeploy 3.0.2000, it is possible to view the status of individual Windows and Microsoft updates in the Patch Management view, and it is possible to view all installed Windows and Microsoft updates for a specific endpoint in the Computer Details pane in Computer Management.

Actions you can perform in Patch Management

You can click a single endpoint, Ctrl-Click to select multiple endpoints, or Shift-Click to select a range of endpoints.

Available actions: 

• Install Updates: This is the equivalent action of opening Windows Update on one or more endpoints and clicking Check for updates. 
• Enable Microsoft Updates (3.0.1050 or later): Detects and allows you to enable Microsoft updates, which will update other Microsoft products besides the Windows OS, such as Office (see this Microsoft KB for details).
• Reboot: Reboot the endpoint(s). 
• Export: Export a CSV of all columns currently displayed in the Patch Management view for the selected endpoint(s).
   

Install Updates

When you right-click | Install Updates, the Install Windows Updates window will appear. 

Select Local Network or Cloud Network to determine how the command to check for Windows Updates will be transmitted.

Note that Windows Updates will be installed by the endpoint in the manner configured on that endpoint or in your environment. You may send the message via Cloud, but Windows Update packages will not be installed from your cloud storage account.

Additional options include allowing the user to defer the update message, and scheduling the message for later.
 

Select the options as desired, and click Finished to confirm Windows Updates installation on the selected endpoint(s).

On each endpoint, Windows Update will run, and the user can view the progress of the update installation in the Windows Update window, just as if they had clicked Check for updates manually.

Any available updates will install automatically in accordance with Windows Update settings on that PC.

When the Windows Update installation is complete, the Windows Update window on the endpoint will report that it is up to date.

Filter by Windows Update Status

Use the Filters menu in the Patch Management view to display and filter Windows Update information. The filter options available in the web console have been updated and now appear as selectable columns, as shown in the screenshot below.

By adding the relevant Windows Update columns, you can quickly identify endpoints based on their update status and deployment readiness.

Available Windows Update-related columns include:

• Microsoft Update Status – Displays the current Windows Update status reported by the endpoint.
• Pending Windows Updates – Indicates whether updates are available for installation.
• Security Updates – Displays available or installed security-related updates.
• Critical Updates – Shows critical updates detected for the endpoint.
• Definition Updates – Displays antivirus or security definition updates.
• Feature Packs – Shows available Windows feature pack updates.
• Service Packs – Displays service pack update information.
• Update Rollups – Indicates cumulative or rollup updates.
• Updates – General Windows Update information.
• Upgrades – Displays Windows upgrade availability or status.
• Status – Provides the overall Windows Update state for the endpoint.
• Status Description – Displays additional details or descriptive information about the current Windows Update status.
• Last Windows Update – Shows the date and time of the most recent Windows Update activity on the endpoint.
• Last Client Heartbeat – Displays the last time the endpoint successfully communicated with the SmartDeploy web console.

You can combine these columns with the search and filtering options in the grid to narrow results and identify endpoints that require updates, reboots, or remediation actions.

Columns in Patch Management

You can click on the columns option and view all available columns. You can select each column headers left or right to reorder columns. You can select Reset Column Order to undo any custom reordering.