User`s guide

Table Of Contents
Getting Started with VCM Patching
9
Getting Started with VCM Patching
VCM Patching for Windows and UNIX/Linux
VCM Patching is the VCM patch assessment, deployment, and verification module, which ensures
continuous enterprise security through proactive compliance of the IT infrastructure. VCM Patching
ensures that your machines have the latest security patches and other software downloads. You can
evaluate each licensed machine in your network for the current Microsoft Security Bulletins or supported
UNIX/Linux Vendor Bulletins and deploy the recommended patches to each machine.
Before you patch Windows 2008 servers and Windows 7 machines, make sure the Windows Update
service is running (set to something other than Disabled) or the patch deployment will fail.
IMPORTANT For VCM Patching to correctly assess Windows systems, you must have a current collection
of File System, Hotfixes, Registry and Services data. VCM Patching uses the File System, Registry and
Services data to determine which applications that might require patches are installed and running, and
uses the Hotfixes data to determine which patches are already installed on which machines. VCM Patching
for UNIX/Linux collects the data when you perform an assessment.
VCM Patching for Windows
VCM Patching for Windows provides several features that help you deploy patches to remediate
Windows machines:
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Bulletins: The Bulletins section contains a list of Microsoft bulletins available to VCM Patching. These
bulletins can be listed by bulletin and by affected product.
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Assessment Templates: An Assessment Template contains one or more bulletins and, when run,
dynamically shows which machines require the patches described by each bulletin. You can create
templates easily in the Bulletin section by selecting bulletins or product names.
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Imported Templates: An imported template is a user-defined template that associates machines with
patches for deployment of those patches to the selected machines. Imported templates are available for
Windows and UNIX/Linux machines.
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VCM Patching Administration: Use VCM Patching Administration to configure patch deployment,
proxy server settings, and the conditions under which you want to receive an e-mail alert. You can
select the machines that VCM Patching will manage, add and update your VCM Patching license, and
view the status of jobs that are currently running, scheduled, and completed.
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