Not quite "SUS on a disk", but...
I've been asking Microsoft for some time to release a "SUS on a disk" - an ISO image format, and maybe an updater tool, that would allow an admin to create a DVD-R that they could then drag along to a machine that is either disconnected or poorly connected, or not allowed to connect out to the Internet. Such a disk would be really useful for those of us called to upgrade machines of our friends and family, too.
Well, today on MS Downloads, I noticed the following:
"January 2006 Security and Critical Releases ISO Image"
If this isn't new, I haven't seen it before - and while it's not quite SUS on a disk, it's pretty damn close.
Thanks for listening, Microsoft!
Now, because nothing is ever perfect, some suggestions for MS:
- This is only Windows Update, not Microsoft Update. Particularly, it doesn't include MS06-003 fixes, because that's Exchange and Outlook. A MU-on-a-disk would be great, too.
- A baseline disk image of security/critical patches to date would be helpful, too - I appreciate that it would be huge. Perhaps pick a date, make a baseline image, and provide a means to download mere updates to the image, rather than the whole image afresh, for people who like to have the "most complete" set of patches.
- Is there a tool to create our own WSUS-on-a-disk? I'd love to have that tool, so that I can take a disk with me for systems that don't get network access even for patches. Or for mailing to my parents.