What is the name of the update service that provides automatic updates within Windows instances in the cloud?
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Use OS patch management to apply operating system patches across a set of Compute Engine VM instances (VMs). Long running VMs require periodic system updates to protect against defects and vulnerabilities. The OS patch management service has two main components:
BenefitsThe OS patch management service gives you the flexibility to complete the following processes:
PricingFor information about pricing, see VM Manager pricing. How OS patch management worksTo use the OS patch management feature, you must set up the OS Config API and install the OS Config agent. For detailed instructions, see Setting up VM Manager. The OS Config service enables patch management in your environment while the OS Config agent uses the update mechanism for each operating system to apply patches. Updates are pulled from the package repositories (otherwise called the distribution source package) or a local repository for the operating system. The following update tools are used to apply patches:
Patch and package sourcesTo use OS patch management, the VM must have access to the package updates or patches. OS patch management does not host or maintain package updates or patches. In some scenarios your VM might not have access to the updates. For example, if your VM doesn't use public IPs or you are using a private VPC network. In these scenarios, you must complete additional steps to allow access to the updates or patches. Consider the following options:
Patch management consist of two services: patch deployment and patch compliance. Each service is explained in the following sections. Patch deployment overviewA patch deployment is initiated by making a call to the Patch API (also known as the OS Config API). This can be done by using either the Google Cloud console, Google Cloud CLI, or a direct API call. Then the Patch API notifies the OS Config agent that is running on the target VMs to start patching. The OS Config agent runs the patching on each VM by using the patch management tool that is available for each distribution. For example, Ubuntu VMs use the apt utility tool. The utility tool retrieves updates (patches) from the distribution source for the operating system. As patching proceeds, the OS Config agent reports the progress to the Patch API. Patch compliance overviewAfter you set up the VM Manager on a VM, the following takes place on the VM:
How patch compliance data is generatedThe patch compliance backend periodically completes the following tasks:
For example, if the OS inventory data for a RHEL 7 VM has the following package data:
The patch compliance backend scans for classification data (from the source distribution) and retrieves the following information:
Then on the Google Cloud console dashboard, this RHEL 7 VM is then added to list of VMs that have a Critical update available. If you review the details for this VM, you see 1 Critical update available (version 2.0) with 3 CVE's, CVE-001, CVE-002 and CVE-003. Simultaneous patchingWhen you initiate a patch job, the service uses the instance filter you provided to determine the specific instances to be patched. Instance filters allow you to simultaneously patch many instances at the same time. This filtering is done when the patch job starts to account for changes in your environment after the job is scheduled. Scheduled patchingPatches can be executed on demand, scheduled in advance, or configured with a recurring schedule. You can also cancel an in-progress patch job if you need to stop it immediately. You can set up patch maintenance windows by creating patch deployments with a specified frequency and duration. Scheduling patch jobs with a specified duration ensures that patching tasks do not start outside of your designated maintenance window. You can also enforce patch installation deadlines by creating patch deployments to be completed at a specific time. If targeted VMs are not patched by this date, then the scheduled deployment starts installing patches on this date. If VMs are already patched no action is taken on those VMs, unless a pre or post patch script is specified or a reboot is required. What is included in an OS patch job?When a patch job runs on a VM, depending on the operating system, a combination of updates are applied. You can choose to target specific updates, packages, or, for Window operating systems, specify the KB IDs that you want to update. You can also use an OS patch job to update any Google agents that are installed as a standard package for that specific distribution. Use the update tool for that distribution to query the packages that are available. For example, to see the available Google agents for an Ubuntu operating system, run apt list --installed | grep -P 'google'. For Windows operating system, you can apply all or select from the following updates: For Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Centos operating systems, you can apply all or select from the following updates: For Debian and Ubuntu systems, you can apply all or select from the following updates: For SUSE Enterprise Linux Server (SLES) and openSUSE operating systems, you can apply all or select from the following updates: Accessing OS patch management dataTo access the OS patch management data, you have the following options:
The OS patch management dashboardIn the Google Cloud console, a dashboard is available that you can use to monitor the patch compliance for your VM instances. Go to the OS Patch Management page Understanding the OS patch management dashboardOperating system overviewThis section reflects the total number of VMs, organized by operating system. For a VM to show up in this list, it must have the OS Config agent installed and OS inventory management enabled. If a VM is listed with its operating system as No data, one or more of the following scenarios might be true:
Patch compliance statusThis section provides details of the compliance status of each of the VMs organized by their operating system. Compliance status are arranged in four main categories:
What's next?
What is the Windows Update service called?WSUS is also known as Windows Server Update Services, and its first version is called Server Update Services (SUS). It helps distribute updates, fixes, and other types of releases available from Microsoft Update.
What is Microsoft automatic update?Microsoft AutoUpdate makes sure your copy of Office will always be up-to-date with the latest security fixes and improvements. If you are a Microsoft 365 subscriber, you'll also receive the newest features and tools.
How do I automatically update Windows Server?Click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click System. On the Automatic Updates tab, click Automatically download the updates, and install them on the schedule that I specify. Click to select the day and time that you want to download and install updates.
How do I find Windows Automatic updates?To turn on Automatic Updates yourself, follow these steps:. Click Start, click Run, type wscui. cpl, and then click OK.. Click Automatic Updates.. The following options are available: Automatic (recommended) This option lets you select the day and the time that updates are automatically downloaded and installed.. |