The Deploy Software Updates Wizard allows you to create a deployment that deploys software updates to members of the target collection. Depending on whether the software updates have previously been downloaded, whether a deployment template is used, and whether Network Access Protection (NAP) is enabled will determine how many wizard pages appear, which processes are initiated, and what objects appear in the Configuration Manager console.

Opening the Deploy Software Updates Wizard

There are several methods that can be used to open the Deploy Software Updates Wizard.

Update List

Creating an update list that contains approved software updates is part of the recommended workflow for creating software update deployments. For more information about the benefits for using update lists, see About Update Lists in Software Updates. Use the following method to create a deployment using an update list:

To create a deployment using an update list

  1. Highlight an update list under the Update List node of the Configuration Manager console.

  2. Use one of the following methods to open the Deploy Software Updates Wizard:

    • Initiate the Deploy Software Updates action. The deployment settings are configured in the wizard.

    • Drag-and-drop the highlighted update list to a deployment template. The deployment is configured with the settings from the template, and the wizard requests information only about the collection (if not specified in the template), deployment package (if a software update in the update list is not in an existing package), download location (if a software update in the update list is not in an existing package), deployment schedule, and NAP effective date.

    • Drag-and-drop the highlighted update list to a deployment. The configured settings for the deployment are maintained, and the wizard requests information only about the deployment package (if a software update in the update list is not in an existing package), download location (if a software update in the update list is not in an existing package), deployment schedule, and NAP effective date.

Software Updates

Use the following method to create a deployment by selecting individual software updates:

To deploy selected software updates

  1. Highlight one or more software updates in the Configuration Manager console. For more information, see How to Find Software Updates in Configuration Manager.

  2. Use one of the following methods to open the Deploy Software Updates Wizard:

    • Initiate the Deploy Software Updates action. The deployment settings are configured in the wizard.

    • Drag-and-drop the highlighted software updates to a deployment template. The deployment is configured with the settings from the template, and the wizard requests information only about the collection (if not specified in the template), deployment package (if a software update is not in an existing package), download location (if a software update is not in an existing package), deployment schedule, and NAP effective date.

    • Drag-and-drop the highlighted software updates to a deployment. The configured settings for the deployment are maintained, and the wizard requests information only about the deployment package (if a software update is not in an existing package), download location (if a software update is not in an existing package), deployment schedule, and NAP effective date.

Properties Configured in the Deploy Software Updates Wizard

The following properties are defined in the Deploy Software Updates Wizard:

  • Name and Description

  • *Collection

  • *Display and time settings

  • *Restart settings

  • *Event generation

  • *Download settings

  • *SMS 2003 settings (available only when every software updates in the deployment is deployable to Systems Management Server 2003)

  • Deployment package (available only when at least one software update has not been already downloaded or when deploying to SMS 2003 clients)

  • Download location

  • Language selection

  • Deployment schedule

  • Set NAP evaluation

An asterisk (*) denotes the properties that can be automatically populated either by dragging and dropping selected software updates, or an update list, to a template or by selecting a template on the Deployment Template page of the wizard. If a template is not used when creating a deployment, the properties are manually entered and can be optionally saved as a deployment template on the Create Template page of the wizard and used in future deployments. For more information about planning for a deployment, see Planning for a Software Update Deployment. For more information about the Deploy Software Updates Wizard pages, see Deploy Software Updates Wizard.

See Also