Ivanti Patch for Windows vs Microsoft Windows Server Update Services comparison

Ivanti Patch for Windows is a complete, integrated security management solution. Its purpose is to help your organization protect your Ivanti managed devices from a variety of prevalent security exposures and risks. And if you have Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM), the solution also helps maximize your organization's investment in it to reduce security risks from unpatched non-Microsoft third-party applications. In turn, this keeps your risk low and your software up to date without adding unnecessary infrastructure or cost.

Ivanti Patch for Windows Features

Ivanti Patch for Windows has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

• Catalog of patch content for OS and third party apps
• Vulnerability detection and remediation for Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Scan and report on AIX, CentOS, and HP-UX vulnerabilities
• Quick deployment without impacting your network or users
• Distributed and remote patching
• Patch lifecycle management
• Automated updates
• Patch devices anywhere through Wake-On-WAN, device booting, do-not-disturb events, and maintenance windows
• Visibility
• Patch intelligence
• Unified endpoint management add-on
• Flexible infrastructure
• Device discovery

Ivanti Patch for Windows Benefits

Some of the benefits of using Ivanti Patch for Windows include:

• Increased security: Ivanti Patch for Windows helps you automate consistent policies for patching — whether your assets are mobile, remote, or asleep.
  
  
• Reduced risk: Ivanti Patch for Windows enables you to more easily detect and remediate OS and third-party app vulnerabilities on different systems, to comply with laws and regulations.
  
  
• Business operations go uninterrupted: By implementing Ivanti Patch for Windows, you eliminate issues that would otherwise slow down user devices. The solution allows you to patch at the right time, under the right conditions, to minimize the impact on users.
  
  
• Enhanced visibility: With Ivanti Patch for Windows, you can assess vulnerabilities and patch status via scanning, dashboards, and reports.
  
  
• Stronger security: With Ivanti Patch for Windows, administrators can assess and remediate user devices from anywhere without requiring a VPN connection, making Ivanti Patch for Windows very secure.

Reviews from Real Users

Below are some reviews and helpful feedback written by Ivanti Patch for Windows users.

PeerSpot user Tom P., Group Chairman at Unixpac, says, “This is an extremely robust product. It now has almost 20 years of history. It is very easy to use, as well as extremely efficient and accurate. Most of our customers just set it and forget it. They install it, and it does all of the automatic patching, month after month.

A Sr. Administrator at a computer software company explains, “The most valuable features are device management and support for upgrading applications. If I want to upgrade a version of an application, for example, Google Chrome, then I can create a task and push a Google Chrome update.”

A Sr. System Admin at a manufacturing company says the solution is “Straightforward to install and the features are good.”

Hussein M., Infrastructure Systems Engineer at a tech services company, says, “I have found the interface and ease of use valuable features. Additionally, it is very easy to patch VMs and other systems, such as Linux. We are able to do patches even without the internet manually.

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) is a patch management tool that simplifies the administrator’s task of deploying the latest Microsoft updates. Administrators use WSUS to manage the distribution of updates released through Microsoft Update to computers in their network.

WSUS has features you can use to manage and distribute updates from a management console. The WSUS server can also be a source of updates to other servers within the organization, acting as an upstream server.

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Use Cases

The four main use cases that WSUS adds value to businesses are:

• Centralizes update management.
• Automates update management.
• Performs general patch management to ensure compliance and protect against vulnerabilities.
• Downloads all endpoint updates from data centers to a central location and then distribute them across the organization’s network.

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Features

This built-in server includes the following features:

• Includes Windows PowerShell cmdlets.
• Features client and server separation, which means you can deliver versions of the Windows Update Agent (WUA) separately from WSUS.
• Automatic download of updates.
• Deploy a targeted download of updates to a specific group of computers.
• Multiple language support.
• Advanced reporting capabilities.
• Centralized management of network resources.

Requirements

In order to be able to use WSUS to manage and deploy updates, it is important to use a supported WSUS version, such as:

• WSUS 10.0.14393
• WSUS 10.0.17763
• WSUS 6.2 and 6.3 with installed KB 3095113 and KB 3159706

Microsoft Windows Server Update Services Benefits

• Stable.
• Ensures servers are always patched and prevents vulnerabilities.
• Works great for internal updating.
• Enforces automated updates and patching for applications.
• Because the solution is used in the cloud, clients are always using the latest version.
• Highly scalable and configurable regardless of the organization’s layout.

Different Types of WSUS Deployments

• Simple WSUS deployment: A server inside the corporate firewall serves clients via a private intranet. The WSUS server downloads updates by connecting to Microsoft Update. Using this model, you can configure multiple WSUS servers with a parent WSUS server.
  
  
• Computer groups: You can use computer groups to deliver updates to specific computers. There are two basic computer groups: All Computers or Unassigned Computers. When a client first contacts the WSUS server, it is added to both. You can then create a group from the Unassigned Computers group to the new group.
  
  
• WSUS server hierarchies: The flexibility of WSUS enables the creation of complex hierarchies of servers. To do this, you need only a single WSUS server connected to Microsoft Update. This will serve as an “upstream server,” and the connected servers as “downstream servers.”
  
  
  • You can link WSUS servers in two modes: autonomous or replica. In the autonomous mode, the upstream server shares the updates with the downstream servers but doesn’t update status or group information.
    
    
  • The upstream server shares updates, status, and group information in replica mode. You cannot administer replica servers apart from the upstream WSUS server.