Can Dell Command Update 5.7.1 be configured with a scheduled scan or install that displays notifications to users, while still allowing an administrator or script to launch dcu-cli.exe and apply updates on demand? Ideally, the end user would still receive the normal prompt when a reboot is required. Also, if an update installation runs on a schedule while nobody is signed in to Windows, can it automatically restart the computer when that reboot is necessary?
3 Answers
You could also use an endpoint patch-management platform instead of building all of the scheduling and notification logic yourself. Some tools provide maintenance windows, user prompts, reboot deferrals, and handling for machines with no active user session. Verify that the tool supports Dell Command Update 5.7.1 and the exact reboot behavior you need before deploying it broadly.
A practical way to handle this is to wrap dcu-cli.exe in a PowerShell script and run it through Windows Task Scheduler. You can deploy the task with Group Policy or an endpoint-management tool, configure the task to run whether or not a user is logged in, and add logic for detecting a required reboot. The notification behavior may need to be implemented separately, since a task running in a noninteractive session cannot reliably display prompts to a logged-in user.
PowerShell can coordinate the process: launch the Dell CLI with the appropriate update and reboot options, check the exit code or reboot-required status, and then notify the interactive user when one is logged in. If nobody is signed in, the scheduled task can continue in the background and restart the machine after installation, provided the task has the required permissions and the CLI is configured to allow automatic reboots.
That makes sense for running the updates, but I would still need a separate user-session notification if the device is being used when the reboot becomes necessary.