The new Windows Update Corporate Web site (http://corporate.windowsupdate.microsoft.com) is a centralized portal for downloading Microsoft software and driver updates. Targeted at IT support personnel responsible for updating desktops, the site makes it substantially easier to locate and download security fixes, management and deployment tools, hotfixes and service packs, free applications (e.g., Media Player, Internet Explorer, etc.), and other recommended updates for Windows 9x, NT 4.0, and Windows 2000 Professional. The site also includes certified device drivers from over 100 different manufacturers.

Prior to this new Windows Update Corporate site, components for Microsoft operating systems were spread out among many different sites. For example, Microsoft offered a "Windows 98 Corporate Download site" that only contained items related to Windows 98 (see "Windows 98 Gets ‘Second Edition,’ Better Web Site" on page 4 of the April 1999 Update).

Benefits of the New Site

The Windows Update Corporate Web site provides four core benefits:

Centralization. For the first time, all non-fee software for all 32-bit Microsoft operating systems and applications can be downloaded from a single Web site. Previously, administrators had to search through the main Microsoft software download page, TechNet, the various product sites, and from the hardware manufacturer’s Web sites.

Search tool. The new site lets administrators narrow their choices by specific keywords, operating systems, languages, dates, hardware types, or manufacturers. Administrators can select the software items they need and download all of them with a single command. This capability was not available on any of the previous download sites.

Package consistency. Drivers always come packaged as Microsoft cabinet (.CAB) files, while the rest come as executable self-extracting installation packages. Previously, there was no consistency in the way that such components were packaged (e.g., files could come in raw form, .ZIP, self-extracting executable, or as an executable that also automatically installed itself).

Organizational aids. The new site helps administrators automatically organize the downloaded files into a consistent directory structure. The requestor must give the path of a root directory on a local server, then the Web site creates a complete directory structure underneath it, organizing the files hierarchically by type (e.g., drivers, tools, software), language, and operating system. Previous download Web sites didn’t provide a facility for organizing software chosen for download.

How the Site Is Used

In most cases, administrators use the site to download updates to a centralized repository on the organization’s intranet. From there, administrators install the update files either manually by visiting user desktops, or automatically by using a software distribution program such as Systems Management Server (SMS). Software distribution programs like SMS can use the Corporate Windows Update site’s self-installing executable files "as is." Each executable accepts a "quiet mode" switch that allows a software distribution program to install the software on workstations without requiring user interaction. Drivers, on the other hand, must first be "packaged" for the target systems using a program such as the SMS Installer or InstallShield before they can be pushed out to workstations.

The Windows Update Corporate Web site should not be confused with the similar sounding Windows Update Web site or the related Windows Update Manager program that comes standard on Windows 2000, Windows 98, and Windows Millennium Edition. The Windows Update Web site and Windows Update Manager program make it easier for users who manage their own systems to find and install recent updates. The Windows Update Manager analyzes a user’s workstation and checks with the Windows Update Web site via the Internet to see whether newer updates are available. The Windows Update Manager then installs any updates selected by the user.

Unfortunately, there is no way for administrators to use the Windows Update Manager facility other than by manually logging on to each workstation and running the tool. The Windows Update Corporate Web site is not designed to be used in conjunction with the Windows Update Manager program. For instance, it is not possible for administrators to reconfigure the Windows Update Manager on users’ workstations to look at a corporate intranet site for updates, rather than Microsoft’s external Internet site.