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I'm building several new 2012 r2 Hyper-V servers. One thing that I've read over and over again is that there are A LOT of hotfixes that i need to install on top of the regular OS updates Microsoft pushes via Windows Updates. Every article i read points to this article as the best source for information on which hotfixes to install. However, most of the hotfixes on that list just say "Update not applicable" when i download and try to install them. Is there a way to tell which updates are applicable to my server? Or do i just have to try each one?

Also, are all of the updates that Microsoft puts in the rollups that are releases routinely included in Windows Update? If i just run Windows Update until it says there are no more updates, do i have all of the updates applicable to this server? Or do i still need to download the rollups separately?

Matt Keller
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  • Rollups include most updates published up to the point when they are released; but they also usually have several prerequisites. If you start from a RTM Windows Server ISO, you will need to perform several check-update-reboot-recheck cycles including a couple of several-hundred-MBs rollups, which is a royal pain (had to do it recently for several physical servers including 4 Hyper-V hosts, thus I speak from direct experience). – Massimo Jun 12 '15 at 06:17

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First of all, you should perform the OS installation using the latest OS ISO available from MSDN or VL; it already includes several update rollups (some of which are quite big), and it will save you a lot of update time and several check-update-reboot-recheck cycles.

Then install the latest .NET framework (currently 4.5.2): it also includes several updates for the previous releases, so you save some update time here too.

Lastly, perform a full Windows Update check and install everything (including the optional updates; I don't actually know how Microsoft is classifying them recently, but it appears several of them include actual OS bugfixes (!!!)).

Also, not Windows-related, but important anyway: after the OS is up and running, install the latest drivers and firmware from the hardware vendor of your server(s); this is especially important for network and storage devices. Also, make sure to update the server BIOS, and to turn on hardware virtualization support.

About non-WU hotfixes: you should install them only if you are experiencing specific issues which are fixed by them; there is a reason they are not released via Windows Update and are only available for manual download.

This advice also applies to all Windows Server installations, not only for Hyper-V hosts; just install from the latest ISO, and then update everything Microsoft is telling you to update. For physical servers, pay special attention to drivers and firmware, which usually are the top source of problems for Windows systems.

Massimo
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    RE: Hotfix installation. I agree. Hotfixes outside of whatever updates are delivered via Windows Updates should be installed only if you're experiencing the specific issue or issues that the hotfix addresses. I've never heard of anybody installing "out of band" hotfixes as part of their OS deployment process. – joeqwerty Jun 12 '15 at 06:19
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Massimo's answer looked fine. I want to emphasize one thing, change its order, and add one more thing.

I want to emphasize the importance of updating the BIOS. For the hardware server supporting the VMs, the Hyper-V OS may need the latest BIOS. This is probably the first thing that should be considered. If you fail to do this, you may (or may not) need to reformat the hardware servers with the OS. (This is the re-order and emphasis item combined.)

Finally, you may need to update the CMOS. This is essentially updating firmware. But I want to make you aware of the need. I lost hours by not updating these things BEFORE I installed Hyper-V.

Propulsion
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  • I didn't put it at the top because the question asks specifically about Windows hotfixes, while this is a more general issue; thus I thought to just mention it. But of course BIOS, firmware and drivers are critically important to any physical server. – Massimo Jun 12 '15 at 06:14
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Rollup Updates / Hotfixes Microsoft Rollup Updates are inclusive so the latest Rollup Update includes updates from the previous released update, however, there are prerequisite (requirements) for installing most hotfixes, rollup updates, service packs, etc.

OS Version Dependencies Each OS version's hotfix / update stream of course will have it's own prerequisite as updates may be unique to the version or may be a back-port from a later OS versions, etc.

For Example:

Windows 2012 R2 Rollup Updates April 2014 Rollup Update MUST be installed prior to any later Rollup Update being installed. Note: April 2014 Update includes ALL prior Rollup Updates (for 2012 R2).

November 2014 Rollup Update includes ALL prior (back to May 2014) EXCEPT for April 2014. April 2014 Update is Required to Install November 2014.

December 2014 is the Last (Current) Rollup Update to date (11/30/2015) as development teams were (are) focused on Windows 10 / 2016 releases. December 2015 Update does include additional patches, however, after applying December 2014 Update, you may need to apply later versions of hotfixes that were included in the December 2014 Rollup Update package.

December 2014 - December 2015 Hotfixes Any hotfix released between November 2014 and December 2015 and is Not included within the November 2014 / December 2014 Rollup Update MUST be installed manually AFTER April 2014 & November 2014 Rollup Updates (minimum) have been installed Note: (Check Hotfix file version numbers & file version Release Date)

Windows Update Service Microsoft Windows Update Service will ONLY push critical updates and hotfixes that have wide-spread issues. Windows Update will NOT show, recommend or push hotfixes for unique or specific issues unless they are wide-spread so you MUST install any of these hotfixes manually.

Later Windows Rollup Updates in Future? Will MS release later Rollup Updates for Windows 2012 R2? Yes, MS will likely Roll all hotfixes between Nov 2014 and Jan / Feb 2016 into a later Rollup Update once Win 10 / 2016 has been released, etc.

Final Reminder You MUST install (at minimum) April 2014 & November 2014 prior to installing any later (~Nov 2014 thru 2016 Hotfixes). Minimum Supported is 2012 R2 with April 2014 Rollup Update but November 2014 Update should also be installed (DO IT).

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/23823.list-of-rollup-updates-for-windows-8-1-and-windows-server-2012-r2.aspx

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2974503

Regards,

Ron Arndt
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    A very thorough answer, but it will quickly become obsolete as more updates are released; better to give general advice than mentioning specific updates which are going to be superseded sooner or later. – Massimo Nov 30 '15 at 23:27
  • I will not argue as the choice is yours, however, your statement is not accurate or correct. As any MS CSS / Escalation engineer will say, You MUST install April 2014 and November 2014 Rollup Update before installing later Hotfixes. As I stated previously and state again, MS will likely release later Rollup Updates but until that time, you MUST install as I stated. This said, you could always call your OEM support or Microsoft and ask about the April 2014 & November 2014 Rollup Update requirements and who knows, you might find my name on the email thread :-). Good luck! – Ron Arndt Dec 01 '15 at 04:59
  • I am *not* saying your answer is wrong; it's completely correct. But it *will* become obsolete when new updates are released. It actually already *is*, at least partially: the Windows ISO images on MSDN/VL are updated soon after a rollup update is released, and if you use them to install your O.S. (which you should), no manual installation of rollups will be required. Until a new one is released, of course. – Massimo Dec 01 '15 at 10:58