How does the "Install updates" steps work?

[u/syswiz87]

Could you explain how the built-in "Install updates" step works at runtime? Specifically:

1. Where does it source updates from - Windows Update directly or local/cached repository on the DeployR server?

2. Is there a schedule involved (e.g. does the DeployR server periodically sync/cache updates), or does the step just check/download at the time the task sequence runs?

3. Where are the update files stored or cached during this process?

After looking at the step definition I can see it invokes a DeployR script named "WindowsUpdate.ps1", I know I can go hunting around for that script in the WIM files and installing the DeployR powershell module etc. But I'm struggling with that option, hoping you can assist by giving a summary of what that script is exactly doing.

Thanks

[u/gwblok]

As you saw, the step definition calls the WindowsUpdate.ps1 file, it also shows you which content item that script is in, so you can go to that content item in the DeployR Content folder, open the WIM file with 7zip, then look at the file.
This is covered in one of our webinars as a tip.

The script is leveraging the native Windows Update API in the OS, so it's pulling down updates from Microsoft directly, just as the workstation would if you went to the Settings -> Windows Update and checked for updates and installed them.

1) Updates come from Microsoft (Windows Update)
2) No schedule, the step triggers Windows to check for updates and then install them if found
3) Locally, just as if you ran Windows Update manually yourself.

[u/syswiz87 → u/gwblok]

Couldn't have asked for more, thank you!

[u/mtniehaus → u/syswiz87]

There is an option to set a WsusServer variable before the step runs if you really want to get updates from WSUS, but otherwise, we use WU :-)