Microsoft Delays Ship Date of Windows Update Services

Computerworld - TORONTO -- Users will have to wait even longer for already-delayed updates of security-focused products and services that Microsoft Corp. pledged would be ready by now.
At its Worldwide Partner Conference here, Microsoft officials disclosed that Windows Update Services won't ship until the first half of next year. WUS, which was formerly known as Software Update Services, can be used to automate patch distribution to employees on a scheduled basis.
At last October's Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, CEO Steve Ballmer said the free patch management service would be ready in the first half of this year. In March, Microsoft revised the release date to the second half of this year, and last week, the vendor pushed it back again.
Mike Nash, vice president of Microsoft's security business and technology unit, attributed the delay to the security-focused Service Pack 2 for Windows XP. Microsoft announced last week that SP2 is due for release in August.
"The key issue [with WUS] is that our updating technology is a core part of how Windows XP Service Pack 2 is going to ship," Nash explained. "That team is working on getting SP2 done, and as soon as SP2 is done, we'll be able to go focus on getting Windows Update Services done. ... You can't do the two in parallel."
Nash cited encouraging signs that the initial version, SUS, is seeing greater usage. At last year's partner conference, when attendees were asked if they used SUS, the vast majority of hands stayed down. This week, the number of raised arms was noticeably higher. Nash said that jibes with statistics showing that some 112,000 unique servers connect to Microsoft each day to check for content using SUS.
WUS is currently available as a private beta. A public beta is due toward the end of the year, said Gytis Barzdukas, a director of product management at Microsoft.
WUS can be used to patch not only Windows but also Office, Exchange and SQL Server. Unlike SUS 1.0, it lets users target specific computers, get basic reports and download only changed patch bits.
Russ Cooper, senior scientist at TruSecure Corp., a Microsoft Gold Certified partner in Herndon, Va., said he's bothered by the delays, but he also recognizes that Microsoft must take as much time as it needs to get the security updates right. "Considering how dramatic this all is, they'd better not screw up," he said.
"When I hear 'delay' when it comes to security, I intuit they need to work on it before they feel comfortable