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Automatic Update

The Automatic Update page is the preferred method of updating manage machines with Microsoft patches on a recurring basis. Automatic Update obeys both the Patch Approval Policy and the Reboot Action policy. Use Initial Update if you are installing patches for the first time on a managed machine. See Methods of Updating Patches, Configuring Patch Management, Patch Processing, Update Classification and Patch Failure for a general description of patch management.

  • Service packs and patches that require manual intervention are not included in Automatic Updates. These are shown in the Missing Manual column of the Patch Status page and on the individual Machine Update page.
  • Patch installation only occurs when a new missing patch is found by Scan Machine.
  • Automatic Update is suspended for a machine while Initial Update is being processed. Automatic Update automatically resumes when Initial Update completes.

Set Auto

Click Set Auto to schedule an automatic update of new patches on selected machine IDs on a recurring basis.

Daily / Weekly / Monthly / Run Once

Perform this task every day, every week, every month or one time only. Weekly displays a day of week drop-down list. Monthly displays a 1-31 drop down list. If a month has fewer days than the day selected, the task is performed on the last day of the month. Use the Run Once option if you want to run Automatic Update manually on an irregular schedule.

Time

Enter the hour and minute to schedule this task.

Stagger by

You can distribute the load on your network by staggering this task. If you set this parameter to 5 minutes, then the task on each machine ID is staggered by 5 minutes. For example, machine 1 runs at 10:00, machine 2 runs at 10:05, machine 3 runs at 10:10, ...

Cancel

Click Cancel to cancel execution of this task on selected managed machines.

Skip if Machine Offline

Check to perform this task only at the scheduled time, within a 15 minute window. If the machine is offline, skip and run the next scheduled period and time. Uncheck to perform this task as soon as the machine connects after the scheduled time.

Select All/Unselect All

Click the Select All link to check all rows on the page. Click the Unselect All link to uncheck all rows on the page.

Check-in status

These icons indicate the agent check-in status of each managed machine:

Agent has checked in

Agent has checked in and user is logged on. Tool tip lists the logon name.

Agent has not recently checked in

Agent has never checked in

Online but waiting for first audit to complete

The agent is online but remote control is disabled

The agent has been suspended

Machine.Group ID

The list of Machine ID.Group IDs displayed is based on the Machine ID / Group ID filter and the machine groups the administrator is authorized to see using System > Group Access.

Note: Displays the following message if applicable: Not a member of a Patch Policy - All missing patches will be installed!

Auto Update Time

The day and time this task is scheduled to recur.