[This is prerelease documentation and is subject to change in future releases. Blank topics are included as placeholders.]

If you currently use Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 2.0 in your environment to distribute updates, Essentials 2010 upgrades the WSUS installation to version 3.0. Most WSUS settings are preserved during this upgrade, and you can migrate existing WSUS settings during Essentials installation. You should back up your existing data before upgrading.

If you are installing Essentials with SQL Server 2008 Express Edition and as part of that installation are upgrading an existing WSUS 3.0 installation that has been using a different edition of SQL Server, you may not be able to run any of the WSUS Inventory reports. The working combinations are as follows:

Upgrade Information

The following WSUS settings are changed during the upgrade:

  • If the existing WSUS server is operating in DSS or replica mode, it is made autonomous.

  • The number of daily synchronizations from Microsoft Update is set as 1.

  • The hierarchy of computer groups is removed, and all computer groups are then at the same level (under All Computers). During this process, names may be changed for some computer groups.

  • The method of assigning computers to computer groups is changed to server-side targeting.

  • If the existing WSUS server is version 2.0 or 2.0 SP1 and is using a local database server that is running any version other than Microsoft SQL Server 2005 SP1, the database is detached from the current database instance and attached to an instance of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition. However, the database file is not moved from its current location.

The following WSUS settings are not preserved during the upgrade:

  • Information about computers (because computer groups are migrated from WSUS to Essentials).

  • Automatic approvals.

  • Any existing approvals for groups named All Clients or All Servers. You must re-create the approvals after Essentials setup completes.

You should not proceed with the upgrade if the following conditions apply:

  • The existing server has active downstream servers. System Center Essentials does not support USS mode. Because this cannot be reliably detected, the user is warned if the WSUS server has downstream servers.

  • You are using WSUS 2.0 or 2.0 SP1 and using a remote database server that is not running SQL Server 2005 SP1 to store WSUS data.

Backup Considerations for Upgrade

A backup copy of the current database is created during the upgrade process. If the upgrade is not successful, you can restore the previous environment by using the backup copy.

Ensure that you have sufficient space to back up the current WSUS database. You can find the space required by looking at the current database file size and making sure enough space exists to make a copy of that file.

See Also