Does automatic updates reboots Windows Server 2008 ?
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By default, yes! It depends on the specific updates though. Some don't require a reboot, but many do.
Martijn Heemels
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This behavior is entirely configurable. You can change the Windows Updates settings through the control panel. If you're working with a Server Core installation, you'll have to do it from the command line. Server 2008 R2 Core has a sconfig utility that provides a series of menus to make this (and other basic configuration tasks) very easy, but Server 2008 RTM Core has a script that accepts parameters to make it...um...possible.
In NT 6.0, there are five possible values for the registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WindowsUpdate\Auto Update\AUOptions: 1 = disabled; 2 = notify before
download, notify before install; 3 =
download updates automatically,
notify when they're ready to install
(default on a full install of Windows
Server 2008); 4 = automatic download,
automatic install at 3 AM; 5 = allow
local admin to select configuration
mode
To use the scregedit script for this or other configuration tasks, you must CD to the directory where it is located:
cd c:\windows\system32
To view the currently configured option:
cscript scregedit.wsf /au /v
To set an option:
cscript scregedit.wsf /au 4
...where "4" could be whichever option-value you choose to set.
Stop and restart the Windows Update service to put this change in effect:
net stop wuauserv
net start wuauserv
At this point, you can just leave the machine to update itself on schedule, or you can force update detection like so:
wuauclt /detectnow
I hope this helps!
Kevin Baker
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...and I'd hasten to add than in an environment of any real size or complexity, you'd want to configure separate update behaviors for clients and servers using different Group Policies for each, and set up a WSUS server to manage and approve updates before they get to your machines. – Kevin Baker Nov 07 '10 at 19:44
