Editing Windows Update (section)

==Complementary software and services==
As organizations continued to use more computers, the per-machine Windows Update clients started to become unwieldy and insufficient. In response to the need of organizations for deploying updates to many machines, Microsoft introduced Software Update Services (SUS), which was later renamed [[Windows Server Update Services]] (WSUS). A component of the [[Windows Server]] family of operating systems, WSUS downloads updates for Microsoft products to a [[server computer]] on which it is running and redistributes them to the computers within the organization over a [[local area network]] (LAN). One of the benefits of this method is a reduction in the consumption of Internet bandwidth, equal to ''(N-1)×S'', where N is the number of computers in the organization and S is the size made by the updates. Additionally, WSUS permits administrators to test updates on a small group of test computers before deploying them to all systems in order to ensure that business continuity is not disrupted because of the changes of the updates. For very large organizations, multiple WSUS servers can be chained together hierarchically. Only one server in this hierarchy downloads from the Internet.

Update packages distributed via the Windows Update service can be individually downloaded from [[Microsoft Update Catalog]]. These updates can be installed on computers without internet access (e.g. via USB flash drive) or [[Slipstream (computing)|slipstreamed]] with a Windows installation. In case of the former, Windows Update Agent (<code>wusa.exe</code>) can install these files. In case of the latter, Microsoft deployment utilities such as [[Deployment Image Service and Management Tool|DISM]], [[Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit|WADK]] and [[Microsoft Deployment Toolkit|MDT]] can consume these packages.

Microsoft offers [[System Center Configuration Manager]] for very complex deployment and servicing scenarios. The product integrates with all of the aforesaid tools (WSUS, DISM, WADK, MDT) to automate the process.

=== Third-party services ===
A number of tools have been created by independent software vendors which provide the ability for Windows updates to be automatically downloaded for, or added to, an online or offline system. One common use for offline updates is to ensure a system is fully [[Patch (computing)|patched]] against [[security vulnerability|security vulnerabilities]] before being connected to the [[Internet]] or another network. A second use is that downloads can be very large, but may be dependent on a slow or unreliable network connection, or the same updates may be needed for more than one machine. [[AutoPatcher]], WSUS Offline Update, PortableUpdate, and Windows Updates Downloader are examples of such tools.<ref>{{cite web|title=4 Tools to Update Windows Offline and install Hotfixes from a Local Source|date=14 November 2005|url=https://www.raymond.cc/blog/offline-windows-update/1/|publisher=raymond.cc|access-date=22 November 2018|archive-date=20 October 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020175237/https://www.raymond.cc/blog/offline-windows-update/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Third-party services exist for obtaining updates from Windows Update for older Windows versions. These include Legacy Update, which is a community-driven third party replacement for the Windows Update servers for unsupported versions of Windows from [[Windows 2000]] onward.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=Cunningham |first=Andrew |date=2023-07-10 |title=Windows 95, 98, and other decrepit versions can grab online updates again |url=https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/windows-95-98-and-other-decrepit-versions-can-grab-online-updates-again/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240805020423/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/windows-95-98-and-other-decrepit-versions-can-grab-online-updates-again/ |archive-date=August 5, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=[[Ars Technica]] |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Legacy Update: Get back online, activate, and install updates on your legacy Windows PC |url=https://legacyupdate.net/ |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=Legacy Update |language=en |archive-date=31 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240731101902/https://legacyupdate.net/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Windows Update Restored is another community-driven third-party replacement for Windows Update on older versions of Windows designed to replicate the functionality of older Windows Update versions, which also includes the old updates for all [[Windows 9x]] releases and Windows NT 4.0.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tyson |first=Mark |date=2023-07-09 |title='Windows Update Restored' Site Provides Updates for Classic Windows Versions |url=https://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-update-restored-site-provides-updates-for-classic-windows-versions |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240727021528/https://www.tomshardware.com/news/windows-update-restored-site-provides-updates-for-classic-windows-versions |archive-date=July 27, 2024 |access-date=2024-08-05 |website=[[Tom's Hardware]] |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":02" />