Designing patch management in a fully restricted intranet (no internet access on user machines)
Hello, I am designing a Windows patch management solution for a restricted intranet environment where direct access to Microsoft Update / Windows Update endpoints from client machines is strictly prohibited. Environment constraints: Windows 10 / Windows 11 (Enterprise) Client endpoints have no internet access Access to Microsoft Update endpoints is blocked by policy Only explicitly approved servers may ever have outbound access Feature upgrades are controlled and infrequent Goals: Centralized control of Windows OS updates (security + cumulative) Ability to stage, approve, and deploy updates in waves (rings) Support for air-gapped or near air-gapped operation Use Windows’ native servicing stack (no unsupported installers) Integrate with a custom in-house endpoint agent for orchestration/reporting Questions: 1. Since Windows Update for Business (WUfB) requires direct access to Microsoft Update endpoints, is WSUS the only supported option for environments where endpoints cannot access Microsoft servers? 2. Is the following architecture considered supported and best practice? A WSUS server (or staging WSUS) with controlled/temporary internet access Offline export/import of update metadata and content using wsusutil Internal WSUS serving all client machines 3. Are there official Microsoft recommendations for: Disconnected WSUS synchronization Offline approval and transport of updates Highly regulated or air-gapped environments? 4. Can WSUS + Group Policy be used to effectively replicate WUfB concepts such as: Update rings Deferrals Deadlines Pausing updates? 5. Are there any modern alternatives (beyond classic WSUS) that are supported in environments where Microsoft CDN access is completely blocked? 6. For enterprises building custom orchestration layers: Is it recommended to rely solely on WSUS for Windows OS updates And restrict custom repositories to third-party application patching only? Any guidance, official documentation, or architectural recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
New Year greetings and appreciation to the Microsoft engineering teams
Dear Microsoft Team, I would like to express my sincere New Year greetings and my deep appreciation for your work in the field of information technologies. As a long‑time user of Microsoft products and services, I see how much dedication, intelligence, and responsibility stand behind your engineering decisions. Your work shapes the digital world in which millions of people live, work, and create every day. Thank you for your continuous pursuit of improvement, for your commitment to quality, and for the technologies that empower people around the world. Please accept my warmest wishes for the new year — for clarity, inspiration, and continued success in everything you build. With respect and gratitude, Hermann Thomas Germany
Introduction – Microsoft Certified Trainer and Solution Architect
Hello everyone, I’m Patrizio Tardiolo Bonifazi, a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Solution Architect, and Senior Engineer. I work extensively with Microsoft Azure, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Graph, Power Platform, Microsoft Teams Premium, Microsoft Entra ID, and DevOps practices, combining hands-on engineering with training delivery. I joined the Microsoft Tech Community to learn from others, share real-world experiences, and contribute with practical insights and best practices. Nice to meet you all!
SCOM Linux Parameter for Expression/Alert Description
Hi, I would like to know if there is a way to get more information from //*[local-name()="StdOut"] parameter. I know that it can be used in this way in Expression and $Data/Context///*[local-name()="StdOut"]$ in Alert. But I would like to forward little bit more info into Alert and Expression itself. For example got script which returns two values Uptime and LastBoot. And I would like to build the Expression based on Uptime and provide LastBoot into Alert description. I wonder if this is even possible in SCOM. Script itself : #!/bin/bash # Get uptime in seconds uptime_seconds=$(cat /proc/uptime | cut -d'.' -f1) # Get last boot time last_boot=$(who -b | awk '{print $3, $4}') # Output in the required format echo "Uptime : $uptime_seconds" echo "LastBoot : $last_boot" So I tried with //*[local-name()="StdOut"][contains(., "last_boot")]/text() $Data/Context///*[local-name()="StdOut"][contains(., "last_boot")]/text()$ But it doesn't work.
urgent! i need help on how to copy & paste number ID from a webpage to excel
hi i need urgent help!!! I have been sitting in front of my desktop trying to copy and paste only numbers ID from a webpage to excel but to no avail regardless spending exceeding 2 hours experimenting how to set it right in excel. after pasting in the column, when i click away, that particular column's pasted number would auto change to 5.80948E+17. pls pls help me guiding me step-by-step tutorial thanksRunning Windows 11 on Hyper‑V with 8 GB RAM: My Workaround
Hello everyone! I am a beginner and I wanted to run a Windows 11 VM on Hyper‑V to test Windows in a virtual environment. Since my device only has 8 GB RAM (with Windows itself using ~50%), it took some effort to get the VM up and running. Windows 11 requires 4 GB startup memory, and I kept hitting the “not enough memory” error. This post is my contribution so you don’t have to go through the same struggle! Windows 11 Requirements on Hyper‑V 4 virtual processors 4096 MB (4 GB) RAM 64 GB storage Secure Boot with Trusted Platform Module (TPM) enabled Things You’ll Need Hyper‑V Manager https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/host-hardware-requirements?pivots=windows Windows 11 ISO https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows11 Step 1: Creating the VM In Hyper‑V Manager: Actions → New Virtual Machine Set Name and Location Choose Generation 2 Set Startup Memory: 4096 MB Configure Networking: Default Switch Create Virtual Hard Disk: minimum 64 GB Under Installation Options, select “Install an operating system from a bootable image file” and browse for the Windows 11 ISO. Finish setup. Step 2: Configuring the VM Right‑click the VM → Settings Under Security, ensure Secure Boot is checked (default). Enable Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Apply changes. Step 3: Getting the VM to Start Here’s where the issue begins. On an 8 GB host, starting the VM with 4 GB allocated often fails with a memory error. Windows setup requires 4 GB RAM initially. After installation, you can safely reduce the VM’s memory to 2048 MB (2 GB) and enable Dynamic Memory for efficiency. This way, the VM boots with less pressure and grows as needed. Workaround: Freeing Memory To make sure Hyper‑V has enough contiguous RAM (~4100 MB), I did the following: Closed all apps on the taskbar except Hyper‑V. Opened Resource Monitor (instead of Task Manager). Closed apps in the system tray (except Defender). In Resource Monitor → Memory tab, sorted processes by Working Set (KB). Ended non‑essential processes until at least 4100 MB available RAM was shown. Unsafe to End (avoid terminating these) System processes: svchost.exe, lsass.exe, wininit.exe, csrss.exe Hyper‑V services: vmms.exe, vmcompute.exe Antivirus/security: MsMpEng.exe (Windows Defender) Drivers and background services (audio, network, GPU helpers) Windows Update components Generally Safe to End (if not needed) Web browsers: chrome.exe, msedge.exe, firefox.exe Office apps: winword.exe, excel.exe, powerpnt.exe Media players: spotify.exe Game launchers: steam.exe, epicgameslauncher.exe Updaters: Adobe/game patchers Cloud sync clients: onedrive.exe, dropbox.exe, googledrive.exe Chat apps: teams.exe, skype.exe, discord.exe msedgewebview2.exe (WebView2 runtime for apps like Teams/Outlook) explorer.exe (you’ll lose desktop/taskbar until restarted) Booting Connect to the VM first before clicking Start. If you see >>Start PXE over IPv4 and keys don’t respond Turn off the VM then click Start, make sure to hold a key after you click start. You can most likely proceed now onto setting up Windows If stuck at a background with “ENG, Accessibility, Power” icons but no login box: In the VM connection window → View → uncheck Enhanced Session. This reveals the login screen. After setup: Shut down the VM. In settings, reduce memory to 2048 MB. Restart your host. Now Windows 11 runs in Hyper‑V on an 8 GB RAM without constant memory errors!
