WSUS 3.0 SP2 System Requirements
Updated: October 30, 2015
Applies To: Windows Server Update Services, Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1
This topic describes the software and hardware requirements needed to install Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 Service Pack 2 (SP2).
In this topic:
WSUS server minimum hardware requirements
To serve as a WSUS server, a computer must comply with the following minimum hardware requirements:
The CPU, graphics card, memory, and other hardware components must be sufficient to run the installed operating system.
I/O subsystem: Fast ATA/IDE 100 hard drive or equivalent SCSI drive is recommended.
Network adapter: Minimum 10 MB; however, 100 MB or more is recommended.
Both the system partition and the partition on which you install WSUS 3.0 SP2 must be formatted with the NTFS file system.
Minimum 1 GB of free space on the system partition.
Minimum 2 GB of free space on the volume on which the database is stored.
Minimum 20 GB of free space on the volume on which updates are stored; however, 30 GB is recommended.
Important
WSUS 3.0 SP2 cannot be installed on disk volumes in which compression has been enabled.
WSUS server software requirements
The following requirements identify the minimum operating system versions, application software, and database software for a WSUS server.
The server must have one of the following operating systems installed:
- Windows Server 2008 R2
Important
Windows Server 2008 R2 requires WSUS 3.0 SP2. If you install Windows Server 2008 R2, you should install WSUS 3.0 SP2. Do not install any version of WSUS earlier than WSUS 3.0 SP2 on Windows Server 2008 R2.
- Windows Server 2008 with SP2 or Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Warning
If WSUS 3.0 SP2 is installed on Windows Server 2008 before you upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2, the upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2 will fail.
Windows Server 2003 with SP2
Windows® Small Business Server 2011, Windows Small Business Server 2008, or Windows Small Business Server 2003 with SP2
If you are installing WSUS 3.0 SP2 on Windows Small Business Server, the following prerequisites apply:
Remove IP address and domain name restrictions from default IIS Web site.
If the IIS virtual root is restricted to certain IP addresses or domain names, the Windows Update Client on the server may be unable to update itself. Remove the IP address and domain name restrictions before you install WSUS 3.0 SP2.
Confirm ISA proxy server settings.
If Windows Small Business Server uses an ISA proxy server to access the Internet, type proxy server settings, proxy server name, port in the Settings user interface (UI).
If ISA is using Windows Authentication, type the proxy server credentials in the form DOMAIN\user. The user should be a member of the Internet Users group.
If you added a subnet to the network and did not use the Microsoft Windows Small Business Server wizards:
The WSUS server setup process installs two IIS vroots on the server: SelfUpdate and ClientWebService. Setup also puts some files under the root directory of the default Web site (on port 80), which enable client computers to self-update through the default Web site. By default, the default Web site is configured to deny access to any IP address other than localhost or to specific subnets attached to the server. Therefore, client computers that are not on localhost or on those specific subnets cannot self-update.To grant access to these client computers, complete the following steps on the default Web site’s SelfUpdate and ClientWebService virtual directories:
To grant access to the client computers to self-update
In Server Management, expand Advanced Management, expand Internet Information Services, expand Web Sites, expand Default Web Site, right-click the SelfUpdate virtual directory, and then click Properties.
Click Directory Security.
Under IP address and domain name restrictions, click Edit, and then click Granted Access.
Click OK, right-click the ClientWebService virtual directory, and then click Properties.
Click Directory Security.
Under IP address and domain name restrictions, click Edit, and then click Granted Access.
The server must also be running all of the following application software:
At least Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0
At least Microsoft® .NET Framework 2.0
At least Microsoft Management Console 3.0
At least Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2008
WSUS database requirements
WSUS 3.0 SP2 requires a SQL Server database, which must be at least one of the following versions or editions:
Windows Internal Database
Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008 R2
Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Standard or Enterprise Edition
Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 with SP3
Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express Edition with SP3
Important
SQL Server Express 2005 and SQL Server Express 2008 each have a database size limitation of 4 GB. For this reason, we do not recommend that you configure WSUS to use these databases. SQL Server Express 2008 R2 has a database size limitation of 10 GB. The SQL Server Express 2008 R2 database size is generally sufficient for WSUS, although there is no appreciable benefit to using a SQL Server Express 2008 R2 database instead of Windows Internal Database.
Remote SQL Server installation
You can install the WSUS 3.0 SP2 server software on a computer that is separate from the database server computer. In this case, the following additional criteria apply:
The database server cannot be configured as a domain controller.
The WSUS server cannot run Terminal Services.
The database server must be in the same Active Directory domain as the WSUS server, or it must have a trust relationship with the Active Directory domain of the WSUS server.
The WSUS server and the database server must be in the same time zone or be synchronized to the same Coordinated Universal Time (Greenwich Mean Time) time source.
WSUS Administration Console software requirements
Any computer that runs the WSUS Administration Console must have one of the following operating systems installed:
At least Windows Server 2008 R2
At least Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
At least Windows Server 2003 with SP2
At least Windows Small Business Server 2003 with SP2
Windows 7
Windows Vista®
Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3)
Any computer that runs the WSUS Administration Console must also have all of the following software installed:
At least The Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
At least Microsoft Management Console 3.0
At least Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable 2008
The computer that runs the WSUS Administration Console must be in the same Active Directory domain as the WSUS server, or it must have a trust relationship with the Active Directory domain of the WSUS server.
WSUS client system requirements
Automatic Updates is the client software that operates with WSUS. Automatic Updates can be installed and used on any computer that is running one of the following operating systems:
Windows 7
Windows Vista
Windows XP Professional
Windows Server 2008 R2
Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
Windows Small Business Server 2008
Windows Small Business Server 2005
Windows Small Business Server 2003 or later versions
Microsoft Windows Server 2000 with Service Pack 4 (SP4)
Warning
If a client computer is set up using an image, the client computer might not display in the WSUS Administration Console, or it might display the console but incorrectly report update data. This issue occurs because the imaged client has a duplicate SusClientID value in the registry. To resolve this problem, you must clear the SusClientID and SusClientIDValidation registry values. For more information about this issue and for instructions about how to clear the registry values, see article 903262 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.