In this post, we will cover the steps on how to install and configure Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) in Windows Server 2019.

Introduction:

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) enables information technology administrators to deploy the latest Microsoft product updates. You can use WSUS to fully manage the distribution of updates that are released through Microsoft Update to computers on your network. 

In a WSUS implementation, at least one WSUS server on your network must be able to connect to Microsoft Update to get available update information. 

WSUS test lab setup

I have created three virtual machines in my test lab. 

  • WS2K19-DC01: Active Directory Domain Controller and DNS server
  • WS2K19-WSUS: Member Server (Going to be WSUS server)
  • WS2K19-SRV01: Member Server (To test WSUS deployment)

Install WSUS server role on Server 2019:

Log on to server 2019, with the credential of the domain administrator.

Open Server Manager Console.

1_Open_Server_Manager

On Server Manager, click Manage and click on Add Roles and Features.

2_click_on_manage

On the Before you begin page, click Next.

3_on_before_you_begin

In the Select installation type page, select Role-based or feature-based installation option. Click Next.

4_select_role_based_installation

On the Server Selection page, verify the local server name (WS2K19-WSUS) is selected and click Next.

5_select_local_server

On the Server roles page, scroll down and select the role “Windows Server Update Services”.

6_choose_wsus_server_role

In the window that appears, click the Add Features button while you have ticked Include management tools, and then click Next to continue.

7_add_required_features_by_wsus

On the Select features page, leave the options to default and click Next.

On the Windows Server Update Services window, click Next.

9_overview_about_wsus_role

You must select role services / Database type to install for Windows Server Update Services. We will use the Windows Internal Database (WID). For large deployments using SQL Server, we can choose the SQL Server Connectivity option. Click on Next.

10_select_wsus_role_service

On the Content location selection, we have the option of selecting where the WSUS updates will be stored. It highly recommended storing the updates on another drive or separate disk if you can.

In this example, we will store updates on E: drive under folder name WSUS-Store. Specify the location and click on Next.

11_specify_the_location_to_store_wsus_updates

On the Web Server Role (IIS) page, click Next.

12_overview_on_iis_web_service

In the Role Services subsection, all necessary services are already selected. Click Next to continue.

13_select_iis_role_services

Review the settings and click Install. The installation will take a few minutes to complete.

14_click_on_install

Once WSUS installation is complete, click on Launch Post-Installation tasks link.

15_launch_post-installation_configuration

Wait for the message “Configuration successfully completed”. Click on Close.

16_click_on_close_to_complete_the_wsus_installation

Once you have installed WSUS server, the next steps is to configure it. In the next article, we will configure the WSUS server role in Windows Server 2019.

Related articles:

  1. Install and Configure WSUS on Windows Server 2019 – Part 2
  2. Configure Group Policy Settings for WSUS in Windows Sever 2019
  3. Configure client-side targeting in WSUS server 2019