Now that we’ve looked at some of the ways to activate you Windows Server 2022 systems, let’s take a look at how you can service your Windows Server systems. Table 3.3 shows the various versions for Windows Server 2022 and which servicing model each version uses.

TABLE 3.3 Servicing models for Windows Server 2022

Installation option	LTSB servicing	Semi- annual servicing
Desktop Experience	Yes	No
Server Core	Yes	Yes
Nano Server	No	Yes

Long- Term Servicing Branch

Before the release of Windows Server 2022, Windows operating systems used the 5+5 servicing models. What this meant was there were five years of mainstream support and five years of extended support for the different versions of the Windows operating systems. This model will continue to be used in Windows Server 2022 (Desktop Support and Server Core), but it will be known as Long- Term Servicing Branch (LTSB).

Semi- annual Channel

The Semi- annual Channel is an excellent option for administrators who want to take advantage of the new operating system capabilities in Server Core or Nano Server containers. Windows Server 2022 products in the Semi- Annual Channel will have new releases of the server available twice a year. One will get released in the spring and one will get released in the fall. Each release will be supported for 18 months from the initial release date.

Many of the features included with the Semi- Annual Channel will be rolled into the following Long- Term Servicing Channel release of Windows Server. The editions, functionality, and supporting content may vary from each release depending on customer feedback.

The Semi- Annual Channel will be available to volume- licensed customers that have Software Assurance, as well as customers using the Azure Marketplace or other cloud- based service providers and loyalty programs like organizations having Visual Studio Subscriptions.

Configuring Windows Server Updates

When Microsoft releases a new operating system, users will encounter issues and security deficiencies. Both of these can cause your network to have many problems. So to help fix these issues, Microsoft will release updates and security fixes on a weekly basis. It is important for an IT department to keep their network systems up to date with these fixes.

Well, there are two main ways to do this. You can let your users all connect to Microsoft’s website one at a time and grab updates, or you can set up a Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) server to get these updates. Then that WSUS server can release the updates to your users. This helps a company because when all your users connect to Microsoft to get the same updates, it’s a waste of bandwidth and time. Also, as an IT person, you may not want all of the Microsoft updates to be deployed to your clients without viewing and testing them first.

I can tell you from firsthand experience that there have been times when I deployed an update from Microsoft and it caused more issues than it fixed. So having the ability to view and test updates on a test system ensures that the updates that we are deploying work the way that they are supposed to. So let’s take a look at some of the tools you need to understand when dealing with updates:

Windows Update This utility attaches to the Microsoft website through a user-i nitiated process, and it allows Windows users to update their operating systems by downloading updated files (critical and noncritical software updates).

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) This utility is used to deploy a limited version of Windows Update to a corporate server, which in turn provides the Windows updates to client computers within the corporate network. This allows clients who are limited to what they can access through a firewall to be able to keep their Windows operating systems up- to- date.

Windows Update

Windows Update is available for most Windows operating systems, and it allows the system to receive updates from Microsoft. Examples of updates include security fixes, critical updates, updated help files, and updated drivers.

If you (as an administrator) want to use Windows Update, click Start ➢ Settings ➢ Update And Security. You would then see the following options:

When The Last Updates Were Done When you enter the Windows Update settings, the first thing you will see is when the last updates were done (if any).

Check For Updates Button This feature allows you to manually check if any updates are available for the operating system. When you click this button (shown in Figure 3.13), the system will check for updates. If any updates are found, they will be downloaded and installed.

FIGURE 3.13 Windows Update control panel

Update History This allows you to track all the updates that you have applied to your server.

Change Active Hours This setting allows you to set your active hours on the system. So, for example, if you worked on this system or the server was most active from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., you can set those hours so that Windows Update knows when to download and install updates.

Restart Options This setting allows you to customize when the system will restart after the machine receives its updates.

Advanced Options You can use this option to customize what updates you receive when you use Windows Update.

The information that is collected by Windows Update includes the operating system and version number, the Internet Explorer version, the version information for any software that can be updated through Windows Update, the Plug and Play ID numbers for installed hardware, and the region and language settings. Windows Update will also collect the product ID and product key to confirm that you are running a licensed copy of Windows, but this information is retained only during the Windows Update session and it is not stored. No personal information that can be used to identify users of the Windows Update service is collected.

Windows Server 2022 updates will recognize when you have a network connection and will automatically search for any updates for your computer from the Windows Update website (as long as an Internet connection is available) or from a WSUS server (explained in the next section).

If any updates are identified, they will be downloaded using Background Intelligent Transfer Services (BITS). BITS is a bandwidth-t hrottling technology that allows downloads to occur using idle bandwidth only. This means that downloading automatic updates will not interfere with any other Internet traffic.

If Windows Update detects any updates for your computer, you will see an update icon in the notification area of the Taskbar.

As stated before, you can configure Windows Update by selecting Start ➢ Settings ➢ Update And Security. You can manually check for updates by clicking the Check For Updates button.

After the updates get downloaded to the server, you will see a status window showing you the update status of the updates being downloaded and installed (see Figure 3.14).

FIGURE 3.14 Viewing the update status

After some updates are downloaded and installed, you may be required to reboot the server. As seen in Figure 3.15, you can choose to reboot the server now or you can click the Schedule The Restart link and choose when you want the server to reboot. Scheduling the server to reboot after hours can be a good option for organizations that can’t have the server taken down during the day. I recommend that an administrator be nearby in the event that an update prevents the server from restarting properly. This situation is rare, but it does happen.

FIGURE 3.15 The Restart Now button

Once updates have been installed, you can click the Update History link to see all the previous updates. When you click this link, you will be shown the updates that have been installed and also have the ability to uninstall any updates (see Figure 3.16).

FIGURE 3.16 Viewing your update history

You also have the ability to set advanced options in the Updates section. One of the advanced options is to download other Microsoft updates for other Microsoft products (for example, you get Office updates at the same time you get operating system updates).

You also have the ability to defer upgrades (see Figure 3.17).

When you decide to defer upgrades, new Windows features will not be downloaded or installed during the upgrade process. Deferring upgrades will not affect the Windows Server 2022 system from getting security updates. Deferring upgrades will only prevent you from getting the newest Windows features as soon as they are released.