Software updates are published to a configured update server in System Center Updates Publisher by using the Publish Wizard. During the publishing process, the source file for the software update is downloaded and then the software update definition and file are published to the update server. Before the wizard can publish software updates to the update server, at least one software update must be flagged for publishing in the Updates Publisher console, and the update server and digital certificate used to sign the software updates must be specified.
 Note |
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| Updates Publisher no longer supports software update definitions using the Registry Binary Value rule and the Digest attribute in the File Exists rule. Software update definitions that use these deprecated rules must be modified before they can be published to the update server. |
System Center Updates Publisher 4.0 added support for updates that have dependencies. For these updates, a warning message displays before the publish flag is set when one or more dependencies are not found in the Updates Publisher database or the update ID for the dependency is listed in the SpecialWellKnownIDs.xml file on the Updates Publisher computer.
When the publishing process initiates for an update with one or more dependencies, the update and all dependencies must be published to the update server or the publishing process fails for the update. Updates Publisher first checks for the dependencies in the WSUS database, and if they exist, the update is published to the update server. If one or more of the dependencies are not in the update server database, Updates Publisher will check whether the missing dependencies are in the Updates Publisher database, and if so, the dependencies are downloaded from the source and then published to the update server. If one or more dependencies are not in either location, the publishing process fails for the update. The publish process will continue for other updates that have been flagged for publish.
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| Updates Publisher 3.0, with the fix applied from Knowledge Base article 944693 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=108521), removes the quiet installation (/q) and no restart (/n) command-line parameters, if they are specified, for Windows Installer (.msi) or Windows Installer Patch software updates during the publish process. These command-line parameters are not supported by Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 or WSUS 3.0 Service Pack 1. Updates Publisher 4.0 and Updates Publisher 4.5 include this fix. |
Updates Publisher 4.5 provides the ability to publish the full content for software updates, the software updates metadata and associated update file, or just the software updates metadata. When the Set Publishing Flag action is selected, the Full Content or Metadata Only publish type must be selected. When only the metadata for software updates is published to the update server, clients can scan for software updates compliance. Software updates compliance of clients can be evaluated by using reports, but the software updates cannot be installed on clients until the publish flag is set to the Full Content publish type and the software update is republished to the update server. Updates Publisher 3.0 and Updates Publisher 4.0 always publish the full content for software updates.
The following sections provide overview information and procedures for using the Publish Wizard, setting the publish flag, and for modifying the SpecialWellKnownIDs.xlm file.
In This Section
- About the Publish Wizard
- Provides overview information about the Publish Wizard.
- How to Publish Software Updates to an Update Server
- Provides steps for publishing software updates by using the Publish Wizard.
- How to Set the Publish Flag for Software Updates
- Provides steps for setting the publish flag for the updates that will be published to the configured update server.
- How to Modify the SpecialWellKnownIDs.xml File
- Provides the steps for adding an update ID for a dependency that is not in the Updates Publisher database.