How to: Import a Microsoft Update into ConfigMgr

Many of us try to enable as few categories as possible in ConfigMgr for software updates synchronization.  You may encounter a need to deploy an update from a classification or product you don’t normally synchronize.  To accomplish this task, you could choose one of the following:

1. Create a standard Package/Program/Advertisement, which means you will have to take care of proper targeting
2. Modify the Software Update Component on your central site to allow synchronization of the new classification and/or product, but then you may end up synchronizing a lot more than you did previously.
3. Use System Center Updates Publisher (SCUP) to create deployment rules.  This would work great, but requires additional effort on your part also.
4. Use the Windows Update Catalog to import the update. This works great for many reasons: 1) it requires the least effort, 2) has the least database bloat, 3) will handle the detection rules for you, and 3) deploy like a ‘normal’ Microsoft Update, giving you the best end-user experience possible. 

What is the Microsoft Update Catalog? “It's a service from Microsoft that provides a listing of updates that can be distributed over a corporate network. You can use it as a one-stop location for finding Microsoft software updates, drivers, and hotfixes.” It allows you to search the catalog (kind of like a shopping experience), add updates to the basket, then import them to WSUS. After importing, you then launch the “Run Synchronization” action on the ConfigMgr Update Repository to make the updates visible in the ConfigMgr console.
Follow these steps to import an update from the Windows Update Catalog:

1. From your ConfigMgr Central Site server, launch the Windows Server Update Services console.
2. Expand the tree to “Updates”, then select “Import Updates” from the action pane. This launches the Microsoft Update Catalog in your web browser (internet access required).
3. Search by keyword, KB number, or even plug-and-play ID!
4. Click “Add” on desired updates:
5. 
6. Click “View basket”
7. Click “Import” – this action imports the update into your top WSUS Server for ConfigMgr.
8. From ConfigMgr, launch the “Run Synchronization” action on the ConfigMgr Update Repository node.
9. Select and deploy updates as you normally do.

As you can see, the Microsoft Update Catalog can be a very handy tool, and it’s there to make your job easier, so take advantage of it!

Happy Patching!