Maybe, for example, you can only have a single computer be offline at any given time in a sequence that involves numerous computers, and you need to be able to trigger the Windows update and reboot process on all machines, in an automated fashion? You can use the Advanced Multi-Row Queue Sequence for that. What if you want to orchestrate an entire sequence where numerous computers are involved, but where maybe certain computers execute certain tasks, other computers execute various other tasks, and there are uptime/downtime dependencies such that some computers have to be online while other computers are offline. Nearly anything you can think of can probably be included in the job queue, and it can also do branching and looping, or terminate based on specified conditions. Of course the job queue can be something much more complex, if desired, because maybe you need to execute a certain script before or after the Windows Update process, or perhaps you need to perform a software deployment, or maybe something else altogether. In my case I titled the queue Update + reboot cycle, so I see it listed in the drop-down menu under “ Job queue (Update + reboot cycle)” Once it has been saved, it can be executed as a scheduled task, so you can just go back to your scheduled task window and change the drop-down menu to point to the job queue that you just created. You can then save the job queue by using the double right arrow button ( >). In this case I’ve added the following steps to my job queue:ĭownload and install updates + reboot alwaysĭownload and install updates + reboot if required You can then choose a set of steps that you want each host to execute. To launch the job queue, select your desired target hosts in the grid, and then choose Actions > Job Queue > Create/modify job queue. The job queue enables you to execute multiple actions in a row on a target computer. For that you can use the BatchPatch Job Queue. Any grids that you create can then be sent to run in the service instance so that your scheduled tasks in those grids will be executed regardless of whether or not someone is actually logged on and looking at the BatchPatch console.Īnd what if you want to do more than just run a standard Windows Update download/install/reboot operation? What if you want to have that actually execute a few times to ensure that after the reboot occurs that no additional updates are waiting to be installed? (We’ve all seen times where in Windows, after you install Windows updates and reboot, all of a sudden more/new updates are available for installation. You can then install the BatchPatch service, which will run always when the computer is on. Click on Tools > Run BatchPatch as a service. Now, what if you want the task to be able to run even if the computer is not logged on and BatchPatch is not open and visible? For that you’ll need to enable the BatchPatch run-as-service feature. It will turn green when it’s clicked on, indicating that it’s enabled. When you have set your task to do what you want (in my example I’ve again chosen the standard Windows Update option to Download and install updates + reboot if required, you’ll need to enable the scheduler by clicking on the red clock/timer icon in the upper right corner of the BatchPatch window. If your monthly maintenance window is always scheduled for the Saturday that comes after Patch Tuesday, then you can use Monthly (2nd Tuesday) + 4 days, for example. If you want to have your recurring monthly Windows Update task coincide with Microsoft’s Patch Tuesday, which is the second Tuesday of the month, then you can use the Monthly (2nd Tuesday) + X days option. To make the task recurring, choose the desired recurrence option. Select Actions > Task scheduler > Create/modify scheduled task If you want this to occur automatically every month at a scheduled time, you can instead create a scheduled task to do the same thing. Select the desired target computers in the grid, and then click on ‘ Actions > Windows updates > Download and install updates + reboot if required‘ In BatchPatch you can trigger the Windows Update and reboot process on numerous computers all at the same time.
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