System for policy-based management of software updates

• US 20050262076A1
• Filed: 03/15/2005
• Published: 11/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Voskuil, Eric K.
• Granted Patent: US 7,496,910 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A computer system configured for policy-based management of software updates is disclosed. The system maintains group-policy objects, with which groups of computers are associated. The system obtains identities of software updates from a source of software updates. The system also obtains filter criteria for each update, for determining whether the update should be applied to a particular computer or not. The system assigns newly available updates to respective selected group-policy objects and adds the obtained filter criteria to each such group-policy object. The system performs necessary installations of updates by, for each group-policy object, determining whether, for each combination of a computer belonging to a group associated with that policy object and an update assigned to that policy object, the computer satisfies the filter criteria for the update, and if so, applying the update to that computer, but if not, refraining from applying the update.

Claims

1. A computer system software-configured to:

maintain group-policy objects with which groups of computers are associated;

obtain from a source of software updates;

the identities of software updates that are newly available; and

for respective ones of such updates, corresponding update filter criteria for determining whether a computer includes software for which those updates are intended and for determining whether the updates have already been applied;

assign such newly available updates to respective selected ones of the group-policy objects;

add, to each group-policy object to which an update has thus been assigned, the filter criteria obtained for that update; and

perform necessary installations of such updates by, for each of at least one such group-policy object;

determining, for each combination of (a) computer belonging to a group associated with that group-policy object and (b) update assigned to that group-policy object, whether that computer satisfies filter criteria that include the update filter criteria obtained from the source for that update;

if so, applying that update to that computer; and

if not, refraining from applying that update to that computer.

2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein each group-policy object includes a separate policy for each update that has been assigned to that group-policy object.

3. The computer system according to claim 2, further software configured to respond to user input to add to the filter criteria at least one user-defined filter criterion.

4. The computer system according to claim 3, wherein if a computer satisfies the filter criteria for an update, the update that is applied to that computer is retrieved from a local repository.

5. The computer system according to claim 1, software configured to respond to user input to trigger the assignment of such newly available updates to respective selected ones of group-policy objects.

6. The computer system according to claim 1, software configured to respond to user input to trigger obtaining from a source of software updates:

the identities of software updates that are newly available; and

for respective ones of such updates, corresponding update filter criteria for determining whether a computer includes software for which those updates are intended and for determining whether the updates have already been applied.

7. The computer system according to claim 1, further software configured to respond to user input to add to the filter criteria at least one user-defined filter criterion.

8. The computer system according to claim 1, software configured to further obtain from the source of software updates:

metadata describing each newly available software update.

9. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein if a computer satisfies the filter criteria for an update, the update that is applied to that computer is retrieved from a local repository.