This is a very big change for small and medium sized businesses. In Microsoft’s never ending push to paid subscription services, they announced that WSUS would be deprecated.
When Is WSUS Deprecated?
Here are all the dates you need to know:
- Sept 2024: WSUS deprecation announcement
- April 18 2025: WSUS deprecation of Drive Synchronization (see below)
- 2030-ish: WSUS deprecated – the official date has not been set but MS said it would be when Windows Server 2025 completes its life cycle
Deprecation, Not Discontinuation:
Microsoft has announced the deprecation of WSUS. This means that while it will continue to function, Microsoft is no longer actively investing in its development or adding new features.
It is important to understand that deprecation is not the same as being discontinued or reaching end-of-life (EOL). WSUS will continue to work, especially for existing deployments.
WSUS Replacement
Microsoft is pushing organizations towards cloud-based update management solutions like Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopatch. These solutions offer greater flexibility, especially in modern, distributed work environments.
Microsoft is also pushing to use Azure Update manager for server update management.
Driver Synchronization Deprecation:
Microsoft IS deprecating WSUS driver synchronization April 18, 2025. This means that the ability to import drivers from the Microsoft Update Catalog into WSUS will be phased out.
Microsoft Technical Support for WSUS:
Microsoft will continue to provide support for existing WSUS functionality and address any critical issues.
Windows Patching Recommendations:
While existing WSUS deployments can continue to operate, Microsoft recommends that organizations consider transitioning to modern cloud-based solutions when feasible.
Azure patching and InTune will generate new revenue streams for Microsoft which means patching will cost you money. If you don’t want to pay, you should setup automatic patching without WSUS. In particular, you can use a GPO to do three things:
- Configure Delivery Optimization – VERY IMPORTANT
- Delay the installation of patches by X number of days
- Download and Install Updates
We have a simple article with lots of screenshots explaining how to configure Windows Updates to be safe and efficient HERE.
WSUS Version History – Birth to Death
Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 2.0:
- Initial release: June 6, 2005
- Expanded the range of software it could update
- WSUS 2.0 used WMSDE
WSUS 2.0 Service Pack 1:
- May 31, 2006
- Added support for Windows Vista clients
- Introduced support for additional client languages
- Allowed the use of Microsoft SQL Server 2005 as a database backend
- Included performance improvements for the web-based user interface
WSUS 3.0:
- April 30, 2007
- Featured a Microsoft Management Console (MMC)-based user interface
- Included new features and improvements
- WSUS 3.0 used either SQL Server Express or Windows Internal Database (WID) as its database engine
WSUS 3.0 Service Pack 1:
- February 7, 2008
WSUS 3.0 Service Pack 2:
- August 25, 2009
- Included as part of Windows Server 2008 R2
WSUS 4.0:
- October 26, 2012
- Included as part of Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2
WSUS 5.0:
- September 26, 2016
- Included as part of Windows Server 2016.
WSUS 10.0.17763:
- 2019
- Included as part of Windows Server 2019
WSUS 10.0.20348.1:
- 2021
- Included as part of Windows Server 2022
WSUS Deprecation
- In September 2024, Microsoft announced that WSUS development would cease with Windows Server 2025
- Microsoft is now focusing on cloud-based solutions like Microsoft Intune, Windows Autopatch, and Azure Update Manager
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