We've recently transitioned away from using WSUS for patching our Windows Server 2019 and 2022 systems, opting for Action1 Free instead. However, the results have been inconsistent at best. We still rely on WSUS for our older 2016 servers, but once we upgrade them, WSUS won't be an option anymore. SCCM seems like it would be overkill for our needs, and Windows Arc doesn't offer any pricing incentives. With Microsoft expected to eventually phase out WSUS, I'm on the hunt for a reliable, free alternative to help manage the patching for our roughly 30 Windows servers. Simply pointing us towards Windows updates without the ability to choose which updates to approve isn't practical, considering Microsoft's track record with patches. Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated!
5 Answers
I've had mostly positive experiences with Action1, but I hear you on the mixed results. My main issue is that it holds user profiles open, which can be a nightmare in shared environments. It can eat up space when multiple users are logging in. Besides that, it does a decent job overall.
If you want a truly free option, Ansible is worth checking out to help automate patching. For something semi-automated, BatchPatch worked well for me in the past. ABC Update is another free tool to consider, if it's still available.
We've been using Azure Update Manager, and I find it pretty effective for our needs. Gives a nice balance of control and automation.
Definitely looking forward to seeing more recommendations here too! I remember Mark Shavlik's software being decent before it became part of Ivanti. It was a bit slow, especially at scanning!
Just a reminder: even though WSUS is marked as deprecated, it might still stick around for quite a while. Keep it running as long as you can, especially since newer OS updates still use it. Just be cautious about future-proofing your setup.
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