Setting Synchronization Options

This section covers the following topics:

• Setting Which Microsoft Updates to Synchronize
• Setting Whether to Store Microsoft Patches Locally or Not Locally
  

Setting Which Microsoft Updates to Synchronize

You can set:

• Which Microsoft products to patch manage.
• Which patch classifications to download.

Changes to the Products and Classifications settings are applied to all patch managed sites and become the default for any new sites added to patch management.

To set which Microsoft products to patch manage

The Products list displays which Microsoft products are currently supported by the Microsoft Patch Management system. This is a global setting for all sites, so any product that is needed by any site must be configured here.

1. In Service Center, click Patch Management > Settings > Synchronization.
2. To add or remove products, under Products, click Change.
3. Do the following:
   
   • Select the check box for any listed products for which you want to start managing patches.
   • Clear any check boxes for any products for which you want to stop managing patches.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Save.

To set which classifications to download

The Classification list displays which Microsoft classifications are currently supported by the Patch Management system. This is a global setting for all sites, so any product that is needed by any site must be configured here.

1. In Service Center, click Patch Management > Settings > Synchronization.
2. To add or remove classifications, under Classifications click Change.
3. Do the following:
   • Select the check box for any listed classifications for which you want to start managing patches.
   • Clear any check boxes for any classifications for which you want to stop managing patches.
4. Click Save.
5. Click Save.

Setting Whether to Store Microsoft Patches Locally or Not Locally

You can set whether the Microsoft patches are downloaded on an as-needed basis from Microsoft Update or stored locally (cached) on Onsite Manager. Regardless of whether you download on an as-needed basis, or download to the Onsite Manager cache, only the Microsoft patches that are required are downloaded.

The choice is a trade-off between disk space and Internet bandwidth used to do the patching.

For example, in a country where bandwidth is not metered significantly (such as Canada), you may not want to store patches locally if space on Onsite Manager is at a premium. However, in a country where bandwidth is metered significantly (such as Australia or South Africa), you may want to download only one copy of each patch to save your client's bill for downloads.

When you store updates locally for a site, you can specify the drive and path to use. When you store updates locally for all new sites, updates will automatically be stored on the drive with the most available space, using the path Barracuda RMM\Update Cache.

To set whether to store Microsoft patches locally or not locally

1. In Service Center, click Patch Management > Settings > Synchronization.
2. In the Site Options section, using the Site list, do one of the following:
   • Select the site to configure.
   • Select New Site Defaults to set the initial configuration for patch management for new sites.
3. Do one of the following:
   • To not store the updates locally on Onsite Manager, select the Store updates on Microsoft Update option button.
   • To store the updates locally on Onsite Manager, select the Store updates locally on Onsite Manager (Requires 40 GB of disk space) option button.

   If you are storing updates locally for a site, under Storage, you can specify the Drive and Path to use if you do not want to use the default provided.

4. Click Save.