Suppress Windows Update during office hours

Suppress Windows Update during office hours

We have has learned that Windows Update for Windows 10 and Server 2016/2019/2022 can cause trouble. Therefore AADS can suppress Windows Update during office hours.

This is available for Windows 10, 11 and Server 2016/2019/2022.
This is not available for other versions of Windows.

Windows 10, 11 and Server 2016/2019/2022 do have Policies for Windows Update, but those Policies do not really stop Windows Update, and those policies do not differentiate between the day-of-the-week's.

AADS does make it possible to Suppress and Control Windows Update:

The objective of these settings is to suppress Windows Update during Office hours.

Let Windows Update run during "evening / night hours".
Do a fresh reboot prior to the start of the workday. A fresh reboot of Windows can be a good remedy against all kind of trouble...

July 2024: CrowdStrike

The problems with CrowdStrike has shown to the world that it is needed that Customers are able to control how and when Windows Update does run.
After this "incident" CrowdStrike has stated that they will update their product:

"How Do We Prevent This From Happening Again?"

including the new ability for their customers:

"Provide customers with greater control over the delivery of Rapid Response Content updates by allowing granular selection of when and where these updates are deployed."

(quote from CrowdStrike website )

This new functionality within the CrowdStrike product does nicely describe what AADS does already offer our customer for several years: "allowing granular selection of when and where these updates are deployed".

Tuesday, Patchday

Because of Tuesday, Patchday , management can decide the following:

Default Windows Update is disabled for the whole week.

Next,
Friday 17:00:

All users do log out. It is the end of the work-week.
The IT Administrator(s) are not yet allowed to go home: they change manually the Windows Update setting,
and click on [Apply]

Next,

Wait 1 minute, and click on [Start]
Windows Update is started.

+	This way of working implies that the users do not suffer from problems related to Windows Update during office hours.
+	Your Server is not the first one in the world that does install those Updates. Wait a few days with installing those Tuesday Patches until it is known that they are OK (or not...)
-	Downside of this procedure is a bit of manual work for IT Administrators, and the risk they have to work on a long Friday night, Saturday, Sunday, if for whatever reason there are problems with 1 or more Updates...

Next,

When Windows Update is done, restore the Windows Update setting:

Next,

The weekend has also started for IT Admin.