Get ready for the first UUP on premises updates coming in March!

We're bringing the power of Windows Update and Windows Update for Business to the on-premises configuration! Starting March 28th, on-premises Windows 11, version 22H2 devices will receive quality updates via the Unified Update Platform (UUP). UUP on premises interoperates with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) and Microsoft Configuration Manager. The much-improved default experience comes with a sizeable initial download to distribution points to set the stage for small and easy updates going forward. So let's help you get ready for March!

• Let's talk about the foundation
• What's the benefit?
• You're more ready than you know
• Starting the year off right

Let's talk about the foundation

You might have read about our investments in your update experience in Faster. Smaller. Windows 11, version 22H2 update fundamentals. We're now bringing these faster and smaller updates to on-premises update systems, boosting productivity for you and your organization. There's just one preliminary step to get you ready for this experience: a one-time 10GB download to distribution points with your first UUP update. That update is coming on March 28th.

UUP is becoming the default and only way to download quality updates. This means that you should plan for an additional 10GB download to distribution points (not endpoint clients) with the March 28th update. That's a one-time 10GB download for updates for Windows 11, version 22H2 per architecture (AMD64 and ARM64).

A diagram of an update workflow, centered on distribution points before endpoint clients

After this initial download to your distribution points, the distribution point download size for future updates for Windows 11, version 22H2 will be similar to what you've seen in the past.

What's the benefit?

That extra 10GB foundation on distribution points enables the awesome new capabilities that come with UUP. The same fundamental improvements we've been making over several releases are now available to enterprises with UUP on-premises update management. In short, you'll experience faster and smaller quality and feature updates, reduced disk space and usage, and fewer reboots:

• Up to 30% smaller client downloads for quality updates
• Cumulative update integration with feature updates (i.e., get current in one reboot)
• Seamless retention of installed language packs and optional features (FOD) during feature updates
• Reduced client downloads for feature updates (i.e., inbox app downloads are conditional)
• Automatic OS healing during the update processⁱ
• End-user acquisition of language packs and FOD

These capabilities were not available in WSUS before now. Previously, you had to use separate solutions to manage airgap environments, retention, acquisition, and repair. Now you can achieve all of this with UUP on premises! Find us talking about this during our development, testing, and preview stages in a series of blog posts, culminating in Public preview of Unified Update Platform on premises.

You're more ready than you know

Whether you've been using WSUS or Configuration Manager to manage updates on premises, a better and simpler experience is coming!

It's integrated with your existing tools and infrastructure on the following supported platforms:

• Any supported version of WSUS
• Configuration Manager, version 2203 and later

It's also meant for the following update types:

• Quality updates for Windows 11, version 22H2
• Feature updates to Windows 11, version 22H2 from Windows 10, version 20H1 and later

While all quality updates will now be automatically delivered with UUP servicing, you have more choice with feature updates. You can choose to use UUP on premises for feature updates, just like for quality updates, or continue to use media for feature updates. For the best experience, we recommend using UUP on premises for both feature updates and quality updates.

Starting the year off right

Since July 2022, many of your peers have successfully previewed UUP servicing. If that's you, thank you! This collaboration has confirmed that the amount of content is manageable and worth the benefits. Following a successful preview, we're excited to make these new capabilities generally available to you.

A timeline running from the former multi-platform servicing, through two preview stages, and to final UUP servicing

We'll share more about future innovations building on UUP in upcoming posts. As you prepare your distribution points for the big initial UUP update in March, we hope you're as excited as we are about the significant improvements to the update experience!

Continue the conversation. Find best practices. Visit the Windows Tech Community.

Stay informed. For the latest updates on new releases, tools, and resources, stay tuned to this blog and follow us @MSWindowsITPro on Twitter.

ⁱAutomatic OS healing: During a servicing event, such as installing the Combined Cumulative Update, if the servicing engine detects there is corruption, it will attempt to repair it. This includes OS component binaries (e.g. dlls), as well as manifest and catalog files. The content used for this repair comes from the UUP on premises files. This repair is similar but scoped differently than DISM restore health.