Microsoft just cant seem to pull the plug on Software Update Services 1.0.
The Redmond, Wash., company was all set to retire the patch distribution software on Dec. 6, 2006, but after listening to what it is described as “customer feedback,” Microsoft has extended support for SUS 1.0 for another seven months.
The extension means that IT managers have until July 10, 2007, to migrate to WSUS (Windows Server Update Services), the new enterprise patch-management platform currently being beta tested.
Microsoft released WSUS to manufacturing in June 2005 and has spent the last few years prodding users to upgrade, but, for a myriad of reasons, patch management administrators have struggled to migrate.
When Microsoft shut down downloads of SUS 1.0 15 months ago, some IT professionals complained to eWEEK that Redmond did not provide adequate notice of the forced upgrade.
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At the time, Jason Leznek, senior product manager in Microsofts Windows and Enterprise Management division, said the company had not seen any customer objections about the timing for the discontinuation of SUS, arguing that the new WSUS was “superior in meeting customer needs.”
Microsoft insists that WSUS offers significant improvements over SUS, with broader patching capabilities, simple patch targeting and bandwidth management, verification reporting, and consistent engine scanning.
The company offers WSUS 2.0 as a free download and is beta testing WSUS 3.0, which is expected to ship in the first half of 2007.
WSUS 3.0 promises new features to allow the easier management and deployment of security patches and software updates across an organization.
Since there is no migration path from SUS 1.0 to WSUS 3.0, Microsoft is strongly urging users to leave SUS 1.0 and upgrade before July 2007.
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