Microsoft to deprecate WSUS driver synchronization in 90 days

Microsoft has reminded Windows administrators that driver synchronization in Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) will be deprecated on April 18, 90 days from now.

The company first announced the deprecation in June 2024, when it also encouraged customers to adopt its newer cloud-based driver services.

"If you're using driver synchronization updates via Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), prepare for change. This service is scheduled for deprecation on April 18, 2025," Microsoft said on Friday. "For on-premises contexts, drivers will be available on the Microsoft Update catalog, but you won't be able to import them into WSUS.

"You'll need to use any of the available alternative solutions, such as Device Driver Packages, or transition to cloud-based driver services for your organization, such as Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopatch," the company added.

Redmond also announced in September that WSUS had been deprecated but that it plans to continue publishing updates through the channel and maintain all existing capabilities.

This came after WSUS was listed on August 13 as one of the "features removed or no longer developed starting with Windows Server 2025."

"Specifically, this means that we are no longer investing in new capabilities, nor are we accepting new feature requests for WSUS," Microsoft's Nir Froimovici said at the time. "However, we are preserving current functionality and will continue to publish updates through the WSUS channel. We will also support any content already published through the WSUS channel."

Introduced almost two decades ago, in 2005, as Software Update Services (SUS), WSUS allows IT admins to manage and distribute updates for Microsoft products across corporate networks with large numbers of Windows devices.

WSUS provides centralized control over updates rather than having each endpoint download them from Microsoft's servers.

After its deprecation, Microsoft encourages enterprises to adopt cloud-based solutions for client and server updates, such as Windows Autopatch, Azure Update Manager, and Microsoft Intune.

Source

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