The Windows Server Update Services 3.0 installation package is available

This article describes the Release-to-Web (RTW) version of Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0. WSUS 3.0 upgrades the earlier version of this product. You can install the RTW version of WSUS 3.0 on the following operating systems:

• Microsoft Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or a later service pack
• Microsoft Windows XP with Service Pack 2
• Windows Vista

WSUS 3.0 delivers new features that let administrators more easily deploy updates and manage updates across an organization. This update can upgrade computers that are running the following versions of WSUS to WSUS 3.0 RTW:

• WSUS 2.0
• WSUS 2.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
• WSUS 3.0 RC

Before you install WSUS 3.0, make sure that the computer meets the minimum system requirements. Also, review the release notes for WSUS 3.0. To view the release notes, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

System requirements

WSUS 3.0 Server software prerequisites

• Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or a later service pack
• WSUS 2.0, WSUS 2.0 Service Pack 1, or WSUS 3.0 RC
• Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 or a later version
• Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
• Microsoft Management Console 3.0
• Microsoft Report Viewer
• Optional: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 with Service Pack 1
  
  Note If a compatible version of SQL Server is not installed, WSUS 3.0 installs Windows Internal Database.

WSUS 3.0 Administration Console software prerequisites

• Windows Vista, Windows XP with Service Pack 2, or Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 or a later service pack
• WSUS 3.0 RC
• Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0
• Microsoft Management Console 3.0
• Microsoft Report Viewer

If you are upgrading to WSUS 3.0 on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003 (SBS 2003) R2, see the "Installing Microsoft Windows Server Update Services 3.0 on Windows Small Business Server 2003" white paper. To obtain this white paper, visit the following Microsoft Download Center Web site:

Update information

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download the Windows Server Update Services 3.0 package now. (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=F87B4C5E-4161-48AF-9FF8-A96993C688DF&displaylang=en)

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

You can find the shortcut to start the WSUS 3.0 Administration Console in the Administrative Tools folder. In Windows XP with SP2 and in Windows Vista, the Administrative Tools folder is in Control Panel.

Important configuration issue

If you use a proxy server that requires authentication, you must overwrite the proxy server password in the WSUS Server Configuration Wizard. If you do not do this, the WSUS server may not synchronize updates. Because the configuration wizard starts automatically at the end of the Setup process, this problem can cause synchronization errors after you upgrade to WSUS 3.0. You can avoid this problem by canceling the Configuration Wizard after the upgrade or by reentering the correct proxy password when the wizard runs. To recover from this problem after it has occurred, follow these steps:

1. In the WSUS 3.0 console tree, click Options.
2. In the details pane, click Update Source and Proxy Server.
3. In the Update Source and Proxy Server dialog box, click the Proxy Server tab.
4. Reenter the proxy password. Then, save the setting.

For more information about Windows Server Update Services, visit the following Microsoft Web site: