Step 3: Configure Your Network Connection

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2, Windows Server Update Services

After installing WSUS, you are ready to access the WSUS console in order to configure WSUS and get started. By default, WSUS is configured to use Microsoft Update as the location for obtaining updates. If you have a proxy server on your network, use the WSUS console to configure WSUS to use the proxy server.

If you have a firewall between WSUS and the Internet, you might need to configure the firewall to ensure that WSUS can obtain updates. If you are using Internet Security and Acceleration (ISA) Server and you have not created any additional rules beyond the default configuration, you do not have to configure your firewall.

Note

Although you must have Internet connectivity to download updates from Microsoft Update, WSUS offers you the ability to import updates on to networks that are not connected to the Internet. For more information, see “Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services” at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=41171).

Step 3 contains the following procedures:

  • Configure your firewall so that WSUS can obtain updates.

  • Open the WSUS console.

  • Configure proxy-server settings so that WSUS can obtain updates.

To configure your firewall

  • If you have a firewall between WSUS and the Internet—this could be a hardware firewall or ISA Server—you might need to configure the firewall to ensure that WSUS can obtain updates. To obtain updates from Microsoft Update, the WSUS server uses port 80 for the HTTP protocol and port 443 for the HTTPS protocol. The ports that WSUS uses to communicate with Microsoft Update are not configurable.

Note

If your organization does not allow ports 80 and 443 and protocols HTTP and HTTPS open to all addresses, then for more information about how to configure your firewall, see “Deploying Microsoft Windows Server Update Services” at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=41171).

To open the WSUS console

  • On your server, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Microsoft Windows Server Update Services.

Note

You must be a member of either the WSUS Administrators or the local Administrators security groups on the server on which WSUS is installed in order to use the WSUS console.
If you do not add https://WSUSWebSiteName to the list of sites in the Local Intranet zone in Internet Explorer in Windows SBS 2003, you might be prompted for credentials each time you open the WSUS console.
If you change the port assignment in IIS after you install WSUS, you need to manually update the shortcut that is on the Start menu.
You can also open the WSUS console from Internet Explorer on any server or computer on your network by entering the following URL: https://WSUSServerName:8530/WSUSAdmin

To specify a proxy server

  1. On the WSUS console toolbar, click Options, and then click Synchronization Options.

  2. In the Proxy server box, select the Use a proxy server when synchronizing check box, and then type the proxy server name and port number in the corresponding boxes. If you are using ISA Server in its default configuration on your server, enter the name of the server and port 8080.

  3. If you want to connect to the proxy server by using specific user credentials, select the Use user credentials to connect to the proxy server check box, and then type the user name, domain, and password of the user in the corresponding boxes. If you want to enable basic authentication for the user connecting to the proxy server, select the Allow basic authentication (password in clear text) check box.

  4. Under Tasks, click Save settings, and then click OK in the confirmation dialog box.