By Peter Pawlak [bio]
Posted: Apr. 3, 2006

The following is a sidebar accompanying an article published by Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy & technology. More samples of our content, as well as a list of upcoming articles and reports are also available.

The new Custom Updates Publishing Tool (CUPT) that comes with Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Release 2 (R2) is necessary to enable SMS to scan computers for required patches to non-Microsoft software, and then download and install those patches if needed. Specifically, the CUPT accomplishes two main functions:

• Helps administrators manually import patch catalog files from ISV and corporate Web sites and publish them to SMS 2003 R2 for use by its Custom Updates package
• Helps developers to build, maintain, and publish patch catalog files for their software and ensures that they are compliant with the new catalog schema.

What's in a Patch Catalog?

When scanning a computer, patching tools and services, such as Microsoft Update, Windows Update, Office Update, SMS 2003, and Windows Software Update Services (WSUS), all use various forms of documents called patch catalogs to determine what patches are needed and where to retrieve them.

The data in these catalogs include the following:

• A listing of all available patches and brief descriptions of what problems they remedy
• The URLs for the patch files and integrity check data for ensuring the files are downloaded intact
• The conditions for which the patches apply (e.g., the existence of a file of certain name/size/date, existence of particular Registry entry) and whether a reboot is required after installation
• Information on patch dependencies and which patches have been superseded by others.

Microsoft recently began standardizing and consolidating its various technologies for patch scanning and distribution. (See "Patching and Scanning Tools Use Common Platform" on page 3 of the Sept. 2005 Update.) It has also settled on an XML patch catalog file schema that will be used by an updated Windows Update Agent (distributed with SMS 2003 R2 and also available from Microsoft Update). The Windows Update Agent is a standard Windows component that scans its file system and other local data stores using the catalog data. Future versions of Microsoft Update and WSUS will also use this new catalog file schema, but more important, the schema has been designed to work with third-party software.

Using Catalogs with the CUPT

CUPT does not build the actual patches, but only the catalog file that describes and points to a set of patches. It works with both .exe- and .msi-based patches and has a user interface for entering descriptors such as version numbers, article numbers, severity codes, installation switches, return codes, and reboot behavior. An expression builder allows developers to enter applicability rules for each patch, such as checking whether a particular file or Registry key exists or specifying which versions of Windows it can be installed on.

CUPT is separate from SMS and can be installed on the same computer hosting SMS or on its own Windows XP workstation or Windows 2003 Server. CUPT installs its own SQL Server 2005 Express Edition database and requires version 2.0 of the .NET framework and Microsoft Management Console (MMC) 3.0.

Microsoft will also make CUPT available to ISVs that do not purchase SMS 2003 R2, and the company plans to publish the patch catalog schema at the time SMS 2003 R2 ships.