Topic last updated -- August 2007

Software update point based client installation publishes the Configuration Manager 2007 client to a software update point, as an additional software update. This method of client installation can be used to install the Configuration Manager 2007 client on computers that do not already have the client installed, or to upgrade existing Configuration Manager 2007 clients.

If a computer is an existing Configuration Manager 2007 client, its Configuration Manager client policy provides the software update point server name and port from which to obtain software updates.

Important
To use software update point based installation, you must use the same WSUS server for both client installation and software updates. This server must be the active software update point in a primary site. For more information, see How to Create and Configure an Active Software Update Point.

If a computer does not have the Configuration Manager 2007 client installed, you must configure and assign an Active Directory Group Policy object to specify the software update point server name from which the computer will obtain software updates.

It is not possible to add command line properties to a software update point based client installation. If you have extended the Active Directory schema for Configuration Manager 2007, client computers will automatically query Active Directory Domain Services for installation properties when they install.

If you have not extended the Active Directory schema, you can use Windows Group Policy to provision client installation settings to computers in your site. These settings will automatically be applied to any software update point based client installations. For more information, see How to Provision Configuration Manager Client Installation Properties using Group Policy and How to Assign Configuration Manager Clients to a Site.

Use the following procedures to configure computers without a Configuration Manager 2007 client to use the software update point for client installation and software updates, and to publish the Configuration Manager 2007 client software to the software update point.

To configure an Active Directory Group Policy object to specify the software update point for client installation and software updates

  1. Using an editor such as Windows Group Policy editor, open a new or existing Group Policy object.

  2. In the Group Policy editor, navigate to Computer Configuration / Administrative Templates / Windows Components / Windows Update, and then open the properties of the setting Specify intranet Microsoft update service location.

  3. Click Enabled.

  4. In the Set the intranet update service for detecting updates: field, specify the name of the software update point server you want to use, and the port. These must match exactly with the server name format and the port being used by the software update point:

    • If the Configuration Manager site system is configured to use a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), specify the server name using FQDN format.

    • If the Configuration Manager site system is not configured to use a fully qualified domain name (FQDN), specify the server name using a short name format.

    • If the site is in mixed mode and software updates is using the default Web site, the port number is likely to be 80 unless it has been changed.

    • If the site is in mixed mode and software updates is using a custom Web site, the port number is likely to be 8530 unless it has been changed.

      Note
      To determine the port number being used by the software update point, see How to Determine the Port Settings Used by WSUS.

    Example: http://server1.contoso.com:8530

  5. In the Set the intranet statistics server: field, specify the name of the intranet statistics server you want to use. There are no specific requirements for specifying this server. It does not have to be the same computer as the software update point server, and the format does not have to match if it is the same server.

  6. Assign the Group Policy object to the computers on which you want to install the Configuration Manager client and receive software updates.

To publish the Configuration Manager 2007 client to the software update point

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Site Management / <site code> – <site name> / Site Settings / Client Installation Methods.

  2. Right-click Software Update Point Client Installation, and click Properties.

  3. To enable client installation, select the Enable Software Update Point Client Installation check box.

  4. If the client software on the Configuration Manager 2007 site server is a later version than the client version stored on the software update point, the Upgrade Client Package Version dialog box will open. Click Yes to publish the most recent version of the client software to the software update point.

    Note
    If the client software has not been previously published to the software update point, this field will be blank.

  5. To finish configuring the software update point client installation, click OK.

See Also