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WSUS shows 0 PC's

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by downrighttired

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I have a single DOmain Controller, One S2k3 as a file server, and 10 hosts. Ive set a group policy directing them to obtain their updates from http://localhost:8530 (did this yesterday). When I go into WSUS its still showing 0 pcs are being managed. I think it may have something to do w/ the SQL portion of the service? I know (or remember i should say) very little about sql other than the basics. The SQL icon in the tray has a white circle and says not connected. SHould I have some certain settings in the server and services field of this icon? This isnt a big issue as Im only managing the 8 PC's but would like to resolve it for knowledge sake. ANY help is greatly appreciated.

13 replies

by asmith

Questions did you set up your WSUS to update by group policy? Make sure you set up your GP set up correctly and that all the PCs have automatic update enabled on them without a fire wall enabled as well. If not you can use PCtools.exe to manually do a registry change to all the pcs on the network. I actually had to do that to get our WSUS to work correctly let me know if you want a copy of the files to do that.

by downrighttired

which pctools are you talking about? is it the one found on this site? also what files do you mean?
I am attempting to do it by group policy. not because i run a massive network or anything but to learn how to do it (they dont pay me enough so i may as well learn something):-)
All firewalls should be off but ill go check em again. I think my problem is in my GP settings, i really need to study this more as I often have problems w/ it.

by jcmoffitt

I have a TEST OU in one of our Resource Domains where I have 8 servers and 2 workstations. I have the WSUS GPO set for the servers and workstations to look AT the WSUS server on port 80. I went to the servers and workstations and ran gpupdate to download the group policy to each machine. Do I also need to turn OFF Windows Update on each machine so it wont look at the Microsoft Website or does the GPO handle that for me?

by downrighttired

but the GP should take care of it..
Im pretty sure when you direct it where to look for updates its basically telling it look here, not to MS.

by pc21geek

Isnt localhost supposed to be the name of the WSUS server? If it localhost, the clients are looking to themselves for updates.
Not sure if you put that there becuase you didnt want to list the server name or if it is set up incorrectly.

Kevin

by cg it

To point your client computer to your WSUS server
1.In Group Policy Object Editor, expand Computer Configuration, expand Administrative Templates, expand Windows Components, and then click Windows Update.
2.In the details pane, double-click Specify intranet Microsoft update service location.
3.Click Enabled, and type the HTTP URL of the same WSUS server in the Set the intranet update service for detecting updates box and in the Set the intranet statistics server box. For example, type http://servername in both boxes, and then click OK.

manual detection =

To manually initiate detection by the WSUS server
1. On the client computer, click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type cmd in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. At the command prompt, type wuauclt.exe /detectnow. This command-line option instructs Automatic Updates to contact the WSUS server immediately.

all this can be found on MS Step by Step guide for setting up W2003 Server for WSUS how to document. Available for download here

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=C8FA2FD1-72F6-4F19-A1B0-F689DAE14BE6&displaylang=en

local machine policy not AD Group Policy has it's own configuration requirements. Also see the step by step guide.

by downrighttired

I know this is one of my weak areas. This group policy should be applied to the OU containing the computers themselves or to the users? I have it applied to the computers, and had it set up as you outlined above, but wsus still shows 0 pc's. I also ran the CL you gave, where would I find any error reports from this? So by local machine policy do you mean I need to set it on the host itself? Im printing out the guide to read now......

**
Should also mention that while all hosts are joined to the domain most of the users log on locally due to the fact that our database program doesnt work well when logged into the domain. however since I dont use the database myself, I DO log in to the domain and my pc doesnt show up either.

by downrighttired

yeh should have clarified that, just didnt want to list the server name.

by churdoo

%systemroot%/windowsupdate.log (typically c:\windows\windowsupdate.log) is where wuauclt logs its activity. This file can be quite large if the PC has been in Production for awhile.

Here are some common problems or checks for WSUS server 3.0

On your first client, you may want to Stop the Automatic Updates service and delete the above windowsupdate.log, then start the Automatic updates service and run the command "wuauclt /detectnow". Wait a couple minutes and then check the windowsupdate.log for clues of your problem.

When you set up the WSUS server, you may have set it up on port 8530, port 80, or something else. Make sure you remember what port you set up the WSUS on or look in IIS on your WSUS server. Next make sure that the GPO that you modified, Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Update/Specify Intranet Microsoft Update Service Location is set to the URL of your WSUS server AND PORT if not port 80; specify the same URL in BOTH locations of this dialogue (example URL http://mywsus.mydomain.local:8530).

Run "gpupdate /force" then run Resultant Set of Policy on your first client (Start/Run/rsop.msc) and check the Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/Windows Components/Windows Update settings to be sure they're actually reaching the client workstation properly as you expect. Note: if GP settings for Windows Update are reaching a client workstation, the settings in the client's My Computer / Properties / Automatic Updates tab will be greyed out.

Yes the group policy that you created should be linked/applied to the OU containing the COMPUTER objects, not the user objects. I generally create a new OU, say WSUSWorkstations for example, create and link the GP (the Group Policy Management Tool, free download at MS is awesome), and then move the computer objects into the OU.

Make sure that your test client can RESOLVE the URL of your WSUS server to the correct IP

Most notable in the windowsupdate.log is to first look for URL references; it will either show references to windowsupdate.com or microsoftupdate.com or to the URL of your WSUS server. If still showing windowsupdate or microsoftupdate, then your GP is not applied correctly.

Next notable will be error numbers in the windowsupdate.log. If the URL shown in windowsupdate.log is the correct URL of your WSUS server, then look for lines containing error numbers in the form 0xffffffff. Google these error numbers for help, or post back.

If all of the above appear to be set correctly and you can verify all, run "wuauclt /resetauthorization /detectnow" on the client(s) and refresh the WSUS server in about 5 minutes.

by downrighttired

Well since that post (last year :) Ive had WSUS up and running, with no problems.

But I do appreciate all the troubleshooting tips you gave, Im sure it will come in handy in the future. In fact im saving it to word doc.

THANKS!

by churdoo

Ahh, the recent replies brought this thread back to the top and I didn't notice the dates of the original posts; Sorry. Thanks for the thumb!
--C

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