You can apply patches and other updates to the entire system by linking to a WSUS server.

With Asset Information Manager, you can configure your system so that email notification is sent when a new update is released to the WSUS server, thereby saving you the trouble of having to check for new updates. You can also specify any time or interval, allowing you to synchronize the WSUS server with Microsoft Update.

We recommend that you first examine the update on test PCs for a set period of time to make sure no system or device problems occur. Create the test PCs with the WSUS server as a computer group, and use the WSUS Automatic Approval function to automatically apply updates to the test PC computer group.

The WSUS Updates Management window can be used to link to the WSUS server and apply updates.

The figure below shows the WSUS Updates Management window.

Figure 2-13 WSUS Updates Management window

The following figure illustrates the workflow required to verify and apply new updates.

Figure 2-14 Workflow for verifying and applying new updates

To verify and apply new updates:

1. Using functions provided by WSUS, create a computer group, and configure the Automatic Approval function.
   Perform the two operations described below before you try to use Asset Information Manager to view the approval status of the updates.
   
   • Create a computer group
     Create in advance a computer group consisting of test PCs for verifying updates. For details about creating a computer group, see the Microsoft WSUS documentation.
     
   • Configure the WSUS Automatic Approval function
     Use the WSUS Automatic Approval function to configure installation approval for the test PCs' computer group. By performing this setup, when updates arrive on the WSUS server, the server automatically changes the approval status of the updates to Installed, and applies the updates to the test PCs.
     For details about the Automatic Approval function, see the Microsoft WSUS documentation.
     
2. In the Task Scheduler, enable the Notification of WSUS updates and Synchronization of WSUS at user-specified timing tasks.
   When you use a Synchronization of WSUS at user-specified timing task, manually set the WSUS server synchronization. Also configure Products and Classifications and Proxy Server settings to suit your intended use.
   
3. Execute the Synchronization of WSUS at user-specified timing task to synchronize the WSUS server with Microsoft Update.
   The Synchronization of WSUS at user-specified timing task, registered in Task Scheduler, automatically executes and performs synchronization at the specified date and time. If, as a result of this synchronization, new updates were downloaded to the WSUS server, an email is automatically sent by the Notification of WSUS updates task, notifying the asset manager that updates have been downloaded. To ensure that email notification of downloaded updates is provided, set the date and time so that the Notification of WSUS updates task is executed after that of the Synchronization of WSUS at user-specified timing task.
   
4. Apply the new updates to the test PCs.
   The updates are automatically applied to the test PCs according to the settings configured for the WSUS Automatic Approval function. Verify the updates on the test PCs for a set period of time to help ensure that no problems occur when the updates are applied to the entire system.
   
5. Apply the updates to all devices in the system.
   In the WSUS Updates Management window, use the Applicable List tab or the Not Applied List tab to check the devices on which the updates will be applied. Then, change the approval status for the update to Installed to apply the update to all devices that require it. For details about how to use the Applicable List tab to check applicable devices, see 2.5.3(3) Checking devices that require updates application (Applicable List tab) in the Administrator's Guide. For details about how to use the Not Applied List tab to check for devices among those requiring the patch to which it has not been applied, see 2.5.3(4) Checking devices on which updates have not been applied (Not Applied List tab) in the Administrator's Guide.
   
6. Check the application status of the updates.
   If the Not Applied List tab of the WSUS Updates Management window does not list any devices to which the updates have not been applied, the updates were applied successfully. If there is a device to which the updates were not applied, you can use the Applied Status List tab to check the number of devices for which the updates failed and other application status details. For details about how to use the Not Applied List tab to check the device application status, see 2.5.3(4) Checking devices on which updates have not been applied (Not Applied List tab) in the Administrator's Guide. To use the Applied Status List tab to check update application status details, see 2.5.3(5) Checking the application status of updates (Applied Status List tab) in the Administrator's Guide.
   

If needed, repeat steps 5 and 6 until you have applied the updates to all devices that need them.