Patch Management Overview
As apart of the Managed Agreement that you have with us, we provide a managed offering of Patch Management for both Microsoft Updates and 3rd Party Patches such as Java, Flash, Shockwave, Etc.
There are four categories of patches that can be deployed:
- Microsoft Security Patches: Microsoft Security patches are released by Microsoft on the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Big Sur’s Patch Management Team tests Microsoft Security Patches for up to four weeks, vetting them for errors in the NOC’s test environment and researching patch behavior in related technical groups and forums. Patches that pass the testing process are marked as Whitelisted. Patches that do not pass the testing process are marked as Blacklisted. After testing, patches are deployed to client sites based on the patch policies you set.
- Microsoft Non-Security Patches: Non-security patches are Critical Updates, Definition Updates, Drivers, Tools, Update Rollups, and other Microsoft updates. These patches are not tested by Continuum, but can still be deployed by patch policy.
- Apple Patches: Apple patches are made available as needed by Apple and include updates for Apple applications and Mac OSX.
- Third-Party Patches: This option allows you to patch specific third-party applications, including Adobe Reader, Acrobat, Flash, AIR, Shockwave, Sun Java Runtime Environment, Java Development Kit, Apple QuickTime, iTunes. Mozilla Firefox, and Others.
Missing desktop and server patches are identified by our monitoring agent during patch assessment. Patch assessments occur on the following days for Windows and Mac systems:
Windows desktops and servers:
- Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 2:30 am
Macs:
- Every Wednesday and Friday at 10:30 am