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We have a WSUS server on site, which previously has not been synchronizing service packs.

My question is: if we turn on and approve service packs, will our WSUS server then declare all the updates included in the service pack as superseded? We are concerned that having service packs sync'd as well as the updates they include sync'd will greatly increase the amount of storage space required on the server.

I have a feeling that since they are technically different product classifications that they do not / can not count as superseded, and we will have to go in and manually decline all the included updates -- but I cannot find any technical documentation online about this, and I'm sure that I'm not the only admin to have my curiosity piqued on this.

Luke Girvin
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user2363189
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  • Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. But unless you are very short of space, or include a great many products, the extra space for the service packs shouldn't be that much of a problem. – Harry Johnston Oct 12 '13 at 04:16

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Maybe .... :)

Whether an update is superseded by another is an attribute of the newer update. In most cases, a Service Pack does superseded older updates. However, the Windows SE team got lazy when Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 were published, and those two service packs DO NOT identify any superseded updates.

In any event, synchronizing updates has nothing at all to do with storage space utilization on the server, because the WSUS server does not use storage until you APPROVE an update for distribution. To be honest, at this point in time, and given Microsoft's new stance on service packs, it's arguable whether there's any value at all in synchronizing service packs -- unless you might find value from compliance reporting on those package.

All currently available service packs are now required to be installed in order to get updates for the underlying products (except Office 2010 SP1), so it's highly likely that other than SP1 for Office 2010, you already have every one of those service packs already installed.

FWIW.. if you do approve the service packs, plan on about 300mb-500mb of disk space utilization. If you were to approve every current service pack, you'd consume another 3gb-5gb of disk space.

As for the updates that are, de facto, superseded by Win7/2008R2 SP1, but not explicitly identified as such in the metadata... YES, you would want to individually identify those updates, ensure that they are reported as 100% "Installed/NotApplicable" and then DECLINE them (although, even though the SP does not report them as superseded, the WUAgent is smart enough to know that those updates are not needed).

Lawrence Garvin
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