Advice Request Microsoft Explains How Windows 7 and 8.1 Will Get Cumulative Updates

[Exterminator]

http://news.softpedia.com/news/micr...-8-1-will-get-cumulative-updates-509130.shtml

Microsoft will make substantial changes to the way it delivers updates to Windows 7 and 8.1 computers tomorrow when it starts the rollout of this month’s Patch Tuesday, switching to a new servicing model that’s inspired by Windows 10.

Specifically, Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 will start getting rollup updates every month, which are supposed to make it easier for users and IT admins to install them on Patch Tuesdays.

Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 computers will get a security-only quality update every month, and this will be published as “Security Update” with a unique KB number. Additionally, there’ll be a security monthly quality rollup which is more of a monthly rollup containing all security fixes needed to bring a computer fully up to date.

“This will be published to Windows Update (where all consumer PCs will install it), WSUS, and the Windows Update Catalog. The initial monthly rollup released in October will only have new security updates from October, as well as the non-security updates from September,” Microsoft says.

Non-security fixes
And last but not least, there’ll be a third update that will include non-security fixes and which will be rolled on the third Tuesday of the month – this means that you’ll get it a week after Patch Tuesday.

“An additional monthly rollup containing a preview of new non-security fixes that will be included in the next monthly rollup, as well as fixes from all previous monthly rollup. This can also be called the ‘preview rollup,’” Microsoft explained.

This third update will transition to a cumulative update with every new month, as older fixes will be added to the archive when newer ones become available. This means that installing the latest version always brings your computer fully up-to-date.

All these changes take place this month, and IT admins are strongly recommended to read all the changes happening to Windows 7 and 8.1 PCs, especially if they have systems running these OS versions in their networks. All changes are included in the box after the jump.

Spoiler: Patch Tuesday Changes

A security-only quality update

• A single update containing all new security fixes for that month
• This will be published only to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), where it can be consumed by other tools like ConfigMgr, and the Windows Update Catalog, where it can be downloaded for use with other tools or processes. You won’t see this package offered to PCs that talk to Windows Update.
• This will be published to WSUS using the “Security Updates” classification, with the severity set to the highest level of any of the security fixes included in the update.
• This (like all updates) will have a unique KB number.
• This security-only update will be released on Update Tuesday (commonly referred to as “Patch Tuesday”), the second Tuesday of the month. (This is also referred to as a “B week” update.)

A security monthly quality rollup

• A single update containing all new security fixes for that month (the same ones included in the security-only update released at the same time), as well as fixes from all previous monthly rollups. This can also be called the “monthly rollup.”
• This will be published to Windows Update (where all consumer PCs will install it), WSUS, and the Windows Update Catalog. The initial monthly rollup released in October will only have new security updates from October, as well as the non-security updates from September.
• This will be published to WSUS using the “Security Updates” classification. Since this monthly rollup will contain the same new security fixes as the security-only update, it will have the same severity as the security-only update for that month.
• With WSUS, you can enable support for “express installation files” to ensure that client PCs only download the pieces of a particular monthly rollup that they haven’t already installed, to minimize the network impact.
• This (like all updates) will have a unique KB number.
• This monthly rollup will be released on Update Tuesday (also known as “Patch Tuesday), the second Tuesday of the month. (This is also referred to as a “B week” update.)

A preview of the monthly quality rollup

• An additional monthly rollup containing a preview of new non-security fixes that will be included in the next monthly rollup, as well as fixes from all previous monthly rollup. This can also be called the “preview rollup.”
• This preview rollup will be released on the third Tuesday of the month (also referred to as the “C week”).
• This will be published to WSUS using the “Updates” classification as an optional update. It will also be available via Windows Update (where all consumer PCs will install it) and on the Windows Update Catalog.
• With WSUS, you can enable support for “express installation files” to ensure that client PCs only download the pieces of a particular monthly rollup that they haven’t already installed, to minimize the network impact.
• Starting in early 2017 and continuing for several months, older fixes will also be added to the preview rollup, so it will eventually become fully cumulative; installing the latest monthly rollup will then get your PC completely up to date.
• This (like all updates) will have a unique KB number.

 

[Exterminator]

http://news.softpedia.com/news/windows-7-and-8-1-start-getting-cumulative-updates-509207.shtml