Chapter 5 — Updating Windows and applications

Lesson map

Lesson 05 published. Map, example, EX017.

flowchart TD
  N0["Learning outcomes"]
  N1["5.1 Windows updates"]
  N2["5.2 Applications"]
  N3["Lab — Checking update status"]
  N4["5.3 Reading the result"]
  N5["5.4 Fixing failures"]
  N6["Feature updates and pauses"]
  N7["Synthesis"]
  N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> N5 --> N6 --> N7
  N7 --> EX["Worked example"]
  EX --> Q["Exercise EX017"]

Logical drawing

flowchart LR
  N0["Learning outcomes"]
  N1["5.1 Windows updates"]
  N2["5.2 Applications"]
  N3["Lab — Checking update status"]
  N4["5.3 Reading the result"]
  N5["5.4 Fixing failures"]
  N6["Feature updates and pauses"]
  N7["Synthesis"]
  N0 --> N1 --> N2 --> N3 --> N4 --> N5 --> N6 --> N7 --> Q["EX017"]

[Learning outcomes]
    |
    v
[5.1 Windows updates]
    |
    v
[5.2 Applications]
    |
    v
[Lab — Checking update status]
    |
    v
[5.3 Reading the result]
    |
    v
[5.4 Fixing failures]
    |
    v
[Feature updates and pauses]
    |
    v
[Synthesis]
    |
    v
[Worked example] --> [Exercise EX017]

Learning outcomes

You will (1) configure updates; (2) check update status; (3) handle failed updates.

5.1 Windows updates

Microsoft releases security updates monthly. The firm's PCs receive them through Windows Update for Business, managed by the IT supplier. Updates install automatically, with restarts outside working hours and a deadline so that PCs cannot postpone forever. NIST SP 800-40 Rev. 4 describes patching as routine maintenance rather than emergency work. Before the supplier set deadlines, some staff postponed restarts for weeks, leaving their PCs behind. Restarts outside working hours avoid interrupting client work, which matters in tax season. Nadia checks the update status in the supplier's console each week.

5.2 Applications

Browsers usually update themselves. Other applications, such as PDF readers and the accounting software, need managing. The supplier deploys these through its management tool so they update centrally. The accounting software matters most, because it holds client data and is used every day. Central updates mean the supplier can roll out a fix to all thirty PCs at once, rather than waiting for each staff member to accept it. Nadia includes these applications when she checks update status, so the figure covers more than Windows alone. She notes which applications cannot update centrally, so they can be checked by hand.

Lab — Checking update status

"""Summarise days since last successful update per PC against a 14-day target (synthetic, stdlib only)."""
days = [3, 5, 2, 41, 6, 9, 15, 4, 2, 60, 7, 3, 11, 5, 19, 2, 8, 4, 6, 3, 30, 5, 2, 9, 4, 6, 3, 12, 5, 7]
late = [i + 1 for i, d in enumerate(days) if d > 14]
print(f"PCs {len(days)}; within 14 days {len(days)-len(late)}; late {len(late)}: {['PC%02d' % i for i in late]}")
print(f"oldest {max(days)} days")

Run with python3 lab_updates.py. Verified output:

PCs 30; within 14 days 25; late 5: ['PC04', 'PC07', 'PC10', 'PC15', 'PC21']
oldest 60 days

5.3 Reading the result

Twenty-five of thirty PCs updated within fourteen days. Five are late, the oldest by sixty days. Nadia checks each: two are rarely used spare PCs, one is a partner's laptop that is often off, one has a full disk and one has a broken update service. Each late PC has a different cause, and each cause needs a different fix. Without checking, Nadia might have assumed the five were careless users. The full disk and broken service are technical problems the supplier can fix, while the spare PCs and the partner's laptop need a change in routine. Nadia records each cause beside the PC's inventory row, so the supplier can see which fixes are technical and which depend on staff routines.

5.4 Fixing failures

Spare PCs are switched on weekly to update. The full disk is cleaned. The broken update service is repaired by the supplier using the standard repair steps. The partner's laptop is set to update when it connects. Each fix is checked a week later to confirm it worked. Nadia's ticket for the broken update service records the error, repair steps and result, so the supplier can fix the same problem faster next time. Weekly start-ups for the spares become part of her routine.

Feature updates and pauses

Besides monthly security updates, Windows receives a larger feature update each year, and each version is supported for a fixed period. Feature updates can affect older applications such as the tax software, so the supplier installs them first on a pilot group and makes sure no PC stays on a version past its support date. During month-end, the busiest time for accountants, the supplier may pause feature updates, but security updates continue. Any pause is recorded in a ticket with an end date, so it cannot be forgotten. An expired pause is one of the commonest reasons small offices drift behind on updates.

Worked example

A month later, twenty-nine of thirty PCs are within fourteen days.

Synthetic case. Figures are synthetic.

Errors and limits

A PC reported as late may not be faulty; it may just be switched off. Check before escalating.

Exercises

• EX017 — Deadline purpose. Why set an update restart deadline?
  Show marking criteria

  Rubric: 3 = prevents indefinite postponement;; 2 = forces;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.
• EX018 — Late PC causes. Name three reasons a PC might be late on updates.
  Show marking criteria

  Rubric: 3 = three distinct;; 2 = two;; 1 = one;; 0 = none.
• EX019 — Lab reading. What does the lab show?
  Show marking criteria

  Rubric: 3 = 25 of 30, five late, oldest 60;; 2 = counts;; 1 = wrong;; 0 = none.
• EX020 — Spare PCs. How should spare PCs be kept updated?
  Show marking criteria

  Rubric: 3 = switched on regularly to update;; 2 = update;; 1 = vague;; 0 = none.

Synthesis

Automatic updates with deadlines plus a check for late PCs keep the office current.

Continue studying — chapter 05 of 18

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