Update patches, what to concern?

[MichaelDay]

Okay, I know this is a silly question to ask, but I've nver done this before, so here it is..
My Active Direcotry is running great, everything is fine. But when I do Windows Update from Microsoft Website, it listed out a long list of patches that I need to update my server. My silly question is, if I download and update all those patches, will it affect to my current system? Will my AD or server down?
What are the concerns need to know before update the patches?

 

[ahalecitrix]

In general I would recommend installing all "Critical Security Updates" to your servers. These are released frequently by Microsoft and help protect your server from continually newly discovered vulnerabilities in Windows 2000. I would however take a quick glance at each one so that you know what it is that it is patching.

I would also recommend that you run your servers on a minimum of Service Pack 2. If everything is running just fine on your network, I would consider carefully installing Service Pack 3.

In general Service Packs are pretty intensive updates to the entire OS. Microsoft has gotten a lot better about releasing buggy Service Packs, but I still wouldn't recommend installing them just because a new one has been released. Many times there are specific issues that an SP will resolve and all of the updated features can be reviewed on Microsoft's website.

I personally haven't had any bad luck with SP3 and would not hesitate to install it in a new environment, but I'm always careful when installing them in an existing environment that is running well without any issues. (Note that the Windows Update site will include SP3 for Win2k in the critical update list).

 

[mrortner]

It is likely that you will have to reboot your server after the install of the updates.

 

[packdragon]

We've had SP3 installed for nearly a year now and have had no problems with it. You have a long list of patches, most of which are probably included into SP3. Might be easier for you to go straight to SP3, then after that see what patches are left. In general I wait 1-2 months after a patch has come out before installing it on our servers. Gives them a chance to spot any bugs that might have been introduced.

Most patches will require a reboot, so keep that in mind. If you have two domain controllers, then you won't have to worry about AD going down. If you only have one, then be extra paranoid about what you install!

 

[MichaelDay]

Thanks for your input. So I think I will wait for the end of today to udpate the patches.
Thanks again people and Tek-Tips