Changes in the patch management metadata for Windows release 7.2.73 related to Microsoft Office 365 updates

Products

• Patch Management Solution for Windows

Issue/Introduction

There are multiple channels of Microsoft Office 365: Deferred, Current, and First Release for Deferred, with a separate update provided for each channel in the data feed.
Currently, all Microsoft Office 365 updates are associated with a single software release Microsoft Office Click to Run 2016. Therefore, even if you use only one Microsoft Office 365 channel (for example, Deferred), all other channels are also staged to the Notification Server, consuming internet traffic and storage space on disks.

Resolution

Changes

In the patch management metadata for Windows release 7.2.73, three new Microsoft Office 365 software products are added:

• Microsoft Office Click to Run 2016 (Current)
• Microsoft Office Click to Run 2016 (Deferred)
• Microsoft Office Click to Run 2016 (First Release for Deferred)

Each Microsoft Office 365 update is assigned to two software products:

1. The software product that is common for all Microsoft Office 365 channels.
2. The software product that corresponds to the specific update channel.

For example, the update for the Deferred Channel of Microsoft Office 365 is associated to the software products Microsoft Office Click to Run 2016 and Microsoft Office Click to Run 2016 (Deferred).

Before you deploy Microsoft Office 365 updates with Patch Management Solution, consider the following:

•  If you have updated the list of available software products manually by clicking Update on the Import Patch Data for Windows page, under Vendors and Software, ensure that you have imported the latest patch management metadata for Windows before you change the selection of Microsoft Office 365 software products. Otherwise the existing Microsoft Office 365 advertisements may be deleted or disabled if the option Delete previously downloaded data for vendors, software and languages that are now excluded is checked on the Import Patch Data for Windows page.
  This happens because after the software products list is updated, the new software products are available in patch management metadata but have no associations with Microsoft Office 365 updates.
  
  
   
• Patch Assessment for the unchecked channels is not reporting.
  After you select a subset of Microsoft Office 365 software channels on the Import Patch Data for Windows page  (for example, only Microsoft Office Click to Run 2016 (Current)), Microsoft Office 365 installations of other channels will not be reported in compliance reports.

To stage a specific channel for Microsoft Office 365

1. In Symantec Management Platform Console, on the Import Patch Data for Windows page, run the Import Patch Data for Windows task (the minimal version is 7.2.73) by clicking Update under Vendors and Software.
2. On the Import Patch Data for Windows page, under Vendors and Software, check and expand Microsoft, scroll down the list, uncheck Microsoft Office Click to Run 2016, check the channels that you want to update, and then click Save changes.
   
   
    
3. To delete the software update policies for the software products excluded in the Step 2, do the following:
   On the Import Patch Data for Windows page, check the option Delete previously downloaded data for vendors, software and languages that are now excluded, and then re-run Import Patch Data for Windows task.
    
4. To delete the physical software update packages for the software products excluded in the Step 2, perform the following steps:
   4.1. In the Symantec Management Console, on the Manage menu, click Jobs and Tasks.
   4.2. In the left pane, expand System Jobs and Tasks > Software > Patch Management, and then click Check Software Update Package Integrity.
   4.3. On the Check Software Update Package Integrity page, check Delete the downloaded packages that are no longer in use, and then click Save changes.
   4.4. Under Task Status, click New Schedule, specify a schedule to run the task once, and then click Schedule.
   This process deletes the physical software update packages in the default directory on the Notification Server computer:
   C:\Program Files\Altiris\Patch Management\Packages\Updates
   
   NB! The default location can be modified by changing the Software Update Package Location value on the Core Services page.
    

5. To clean up the software update package code bases from the Notification Server Configuration Management Database (CMDB), run the NS.Package Refresh task and other standard scheduled tasks on the Notification Server (generally scheduled to run at night).
   The Site/Package Servers will clean-up the packages when the servers get synchronized with the Notification Server.
   
   NB! You can manually execute the task  NS Package Refresh on the Notification Server computer as follows:
   Windows Server 2008 R2: Server Manager > Configuration > Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library
   Windows Server 2012 R2: Server Manager > Tools > Task Scheduler > Task Scheduler Library
   
   Advisory: The synchronization between the the Notification Server and Site/Package Servers should clear the unused software update packages. However, the Site Server package clean-up schedule may hold packages for the time that is specified in Delete package files if they are unused for on the Package Service Settings page at the Symantec Management Console > Settings > All Settings > Notification Server > Site Server Settings > Package Service > Package Service Settings.
   
   Warning: Do not set the time value in Delete package files if they are unused for to 0 Days. Otherwise when the scheduled NS.Package Refresh task runs, the packages get deleted immediately after their download on the Site/Package Servers.
   
   For more information about software update packages confguration, see the KB article HOWTO56242.
   
   
   

For more information about deploying Microsoft Office 365 updates with Patch Management Solution, see the KB article TECH257226.