Help CenterHow does it work?
Atera uses the Windows Update Agent (WUA) API to access Windows Update and discover which updates are currently available. As a result, patches are updated on Atera about once an hour. The technician can then choose to install these patches manually or automatically.
Atera's Patch Management enables you to control all your patches from one central location. This is especially important when it comes to servers, since it's always recommended to initially test an update in a staging environment and only after successful testing, move it over to production.
Prerequisites
The Windows Update service must be enabled in the Service Manager in order for Patch Management to run on Windows.
Note that in Windows 7, even if you select the Never check for Updates option, Atera still checks and installs patches regardless.
How do I install patches manually?
When installing Patches manually on a device, Atera displays a list of available patches and the technician can choose which to install.
After you select an available update, it will display as pending followed by downloading and finally Installed.
How do I install patches automatically?
To install patches automatically the technician needs to set up an IT automation profile. See here for more details.
What happens if an agent is offline during a scheduled IT Automation?
The user can set the Run on (offline) Agents period of IT Automation tasks.
The available options are: One hour/one day/one week/two weeks/one month. If an agent is offline during a scheduled IT Automation Profile (or even an IT Automation Profile executed immediately), the agent will receive and run the profile ONLY if it comes back online during the time period set above.
Where can I see feedback for an IT Automation Task?
The technician and/or end user can see feedback (including success and failure for all installations) for IT Automation profiles in the Patch & Automation Feedback report.
You can choose to receive this report by email or navigate to it directly in the UI.
What happens to offline agents?
The technician can set the Run on Agents time period within the IT Automation Profile. This means that if the agent comes online during the time period defined in the Run on Agents field, then the tasks and patches will be run (and the Report will be updated with these results as well).
How does 'Reboot' work?
If the technician selected the Reboot if needed option within the IT Automation Profile, then after Atera has installed the patches, if needed, the system will perform a reboot.
How does Atera handle EULA?
Atera will accept EULA automatically if needed.
What is the relationship with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)?
Atera works independently from the WSUS. Therefore, the Windows update service can be configured to run automatically. If the WSUS runs before the IT Automation Profile then it will install the available updates based on the settings. Similarly, if the IT Automation profile runs before the WSUS, it will install the updates first.
Read more about Atera's Patch Management features here
Julian Kudo