WSUS Automated Maintenance (WAM)© is a software solution that takes the maintenance required for WSUS and automates it. It was created by Adam J. Marshall and is licensed on a yearly subscription basis through AJ Tek.

There are a number of different areas that require maintenance for WSUS. Some of them are:

  • Backing up the database.
  • If using the Drivers category, removing the current listed drivers to clean up the bulk of the drivers that are old and not used. New drivers will sync normally.
  • Declining multiple types of updates including superseded, beta, preview, expired and Itanium by default.
  • Compressing update revisions.
  • Cleaning up computer objects.
  • Renaming OS descriptions to make it easier to identify systems.
  • Cleaning up the synchronization logs with Microsoft.
  • Removing declined updates from the database.
  • Running the database maintenance routine.
  • Running the Server Cleanup Wizard (SCW)

    WAM allows you to take back control of your WSUS instance (or SUP/DP instances in an SCCM environment) and frees up time for other priorities. If WSUS is not maintained properly, it will become slow, bloated, and cause errors that will take away valuable time from an IT Administrator to troubleshoot and resolve.

    Purchase Now
    Testimonial – Darryl Elwin

    After 12 months of issues with PC’s not reporting in, 2 rebuilds of WSUS, and battling to keep it running, we bought your product. I wish I had done so sooner, The installation took approx 18hrs after which all my issues have gone. PCs are checking in during all PCs are present.

    Darryl Elwin, IT Manager - Masterton Medical

    New Zealand, February 3, 2023

    Testimonial – Shane O

    This is the way WSUS should work. Without this script it simply didn’t work at all for us and we were ready to give up and use a third party solution instead. The WAM script cleared up all the issues we were having and now WSUS is responsive and does what it is supposed to do. Great product, easy to install and configure.

    Shane Overturf - Madison Valley Medical Center

    Ennis, MT, USA, June 19, 2021

    Testimonial – Gerard L

    Thanks AJ Tek Team!

    You have taken the sting out of managing our WSUS infrastructure – what a great set-and-forget solution; it’s a must-have for all MSPs who like to do things right! I’d suggest anyone dipping their toe in reads your blogs first – it’s a perfect recipe and will save them countless hours.Gerard Lill – Eclipse Technology Services

    Gerard Lill - Eclipse Technology Services

    Australia, May 26, 2020

    Testimonials – David Green

    I have been working with WSUS for over 10 years. WAM is absolutely fantastic. It simplifies the maintenance of the WSUS server, it’s like magic.
    The Update Service Management Console is now lightning fast and never comes up with the ‘reset’ option.
    Support, if needed, is fantastic. This software really does what it claims to do. I would recommend it to all WSUS administrators.

    David Green, Diamond Singer Partners

    Caulfield South Victoria, Australia, February 20, 2022

    Testimonial – Patrick, Systems Administrator

    I have been using this software for over 3 years now, like many, many customers when it was free. It is simply the best possible maintenance software that exists and is a must for a every WSUS system. Totally worth the price. This software should be bundled with WSUS by default. No other WSUS script on the market even comes close to what this software can do and is still getting better, year after year.

    Thumbs UP ! Keep up the good work.

    Patrick Charaoui, Systems Administrator - Maximus-Systems

    Quebec, Canada March 5, 2020

    How to Justify a WAM Subscription?

    As an IT professional, your employer pays for your knowledge and expertise so it’s important to spend your time wisely.

    While keeping up with WSUS maintenance is crucial, it can eat up a lot of your time. For many companies, a subscription to WAM is actually the most cost-effective method to automate WSUS maintenance.

    Learn More

    How Many WAM Licenses Do I Need?

    The basic WAM license is called a Single or Upstream license. This is the only license you need for a single WSUS server. In this scenario, the WSUS server connects directly to Microsoft Update to download updates.

    In addition to the Single or Upstream license, you may need to purchase additional Downstream or Disconnected Downstream WAM licenses.

    Learn More

    Why We Don’t Offer a Free Trial of WAM

    At AJ Tek, our vision is to make IT simple and automated for professionals. Our flagship product, WSUS Automated Maintenance (WAM) embodies this philosophy by performing all the tasks that a system administrator would need to do, leaving only approving updates and reporting to the WSUS Administrator.

    Our software has quickly become the standard in WSUS maintenance and from time to time, we get questions about why we don’t offer a free trial of WAM. The short answer is that our software works too well on the initial run. 

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    How To Fix WSUS Synchronization Errors

    Sometimes WSUS has issues synchronizing with the upstream server – usually Microsoft, but it can be a local upstream server. Why these errors happen can be for many reasons.Microsoft requires several websites to be accessible through the firewall to synchronize. These...
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    What Does a WsusUtil Reset Do and When Should I Run a WsusUtil Reset?

    A WsusUtil reset does NOT reset WSUS to defaults or anything like that, contrary to what the word reset means. When you run WsusUtil reset, it goes through the metadata information stored in your WSUS database and verify that every update metadata row in the WSUS...
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    How to Prepare for On-Prem WSUS UUP Updates

    Quality updates are coming on March 28 for on-premises Windows 11, version 22H2 devices. The updates are coming via the Unified Update Platform (UUP) which interoperates with WSUS and Microsoft Configuration Manager. UUP quality updates are cumulative, including all...
    Read More

    How To Restore Windows Server Update Services From Backups

    You probably already know that backing up your Windows Server Updates Services is crucial. You want to back up because restores are faster than rebuilding WSUS. Although it’s not difficult to rebuild, it takes valuable time we know you don’t have. Your WSUS...
    Read More

    How To Backup Windows Server Update Services

    You probably already know that backing up your Windows Server Update Services is crucial. You want to back up because restores are faster than rebuilding WSUS. Although it’s not difficult to rebuild, it takes valuable time we know you don’t have. Your WSUS...
    Read More

    WSUS Post-deployment Configuration Failed – Windows Server 2022

    If you try to install WSUS on Server 2022 using the Windows Internal Database (WID) or SQL Server you may get a "WSUS Post-deployment Configuration Failed" error message. If you go look at the Post-Install log, you will see:...
    Read More

    Another Successful In-Place Upgrade – Why Not Change How You Think?

    I've successfully in-place upgraded a WSUS/PDQ Deploy/PDQ Inventory server from Server 2012 > Server 2012R2 > Server 2019 > Server 2022. It is a VM that is appropriately sized for the 3 roles that it has. Caveats with WSUS: After the in-place upgrades, you...
    Read More

    How To Reset Windows Update GPO Settings

    If you want to Reset the Windows Update GPO Settings because you are moving away from WSUS, or you need to for troubleshooting purposes (sometimes corruption in the registry permissions prevent expected changes from happening), the easiest way to do this is to remove...
    Read More

    How to install .NET 3.5, RSAT Tools, and Other Optional Components With WSUS

    I'm sorry.... You CAN'T import the .NET 3.5 Framework, RSAT tools, or other Optional Components into WSUS. Microsoft does not allow you to do this specifically for distributing these components through WSUS. Don't worry, there IS a way to make your life easier - it...
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    Are Your Computers to Blame For The WSUS MMC Console Crashing?

    Sometimes your computers are to blame for WSUS crashing, more specifically, that extra data that is reported back to WSUS with regards to the hardware details of the computer. In all instances that I've seen of this extra data, the BIOS version data is the culprit for...
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    Features

    Z

    Super Easy Installation

    Guided installer for a simple installation experience. It also comes with an unattended installation procedure for easy deployment to multiple systems, or for server core installs.

    Support Included

    Support is included for active subscriptions on the latest version of the software.

    R

    Simple Configuration Experience

    The installer handles the configuration experience. You take the standard installation (blue USB), all defaults are selected. You take the advanced configuration (red USB), you stay in WSUS-land and we show you just how far the WSUS hole goes. Remember: all we’re offering are plentiful options.

    Backup the WSUS Database

    Backs up the WSUS database (WID or Local SQL Server). Remote SQL Servers should have an alternative method like an enterprise backup solution already so WAM will not back them up.

    Indexes the WSUS Database

    Add WSUS Index Optimization to the database to increase the speed of many database operations in WSUS by approximately 1000-1500 times faster.

    Remove Drivers

    Remove all existing drivers from the WSUS Database trimming down the number of updates in the database. If the Drivers classification is checked, new driver updates will sync and will be kept under control (Default; Optional).

    Q

    Remove Obsolete Updates

    This stream will use SQL code to execute Microsoft’s stored procedures that will return the update id of each obsolete update in the database and then remove it.

    Compress Update Revisions

    This stream will use SQL code to execute Microsoft’s stored procedures that will return the update id of each update revision that needs compressing and then compress it.

    Remove Declined Updates

    Remove declined updates from the WSUS Database.

    Decline Multiple Types of Updates

    Shrink your WSUS Content folder’s size by declining multiple types of updates. There are over 80 types of updates possible for declining for full customization. The default selected ones are superseded updates, expired updates, preview updates, Itanium updates, and Beta updates.

    List of Update Types

    1. Superseded
    2. Expired
    3. Preview
    4. Itanium
    5. Beta
    6. IE7
    7. IE8
    8. IE9
    9. IE10
    10. Microsoft Edge (Stable)
    11. Microsoft Edge (Beta)
    12. Microsoft Edge (Dev)
    13. LanguagePacks
    14. SharepointUpdates
    15. ComputerUpdates32bit
    16. Embedded
    17. ARM64
    18. WinXP
    19. Windows 7
    20. SecurityOnly
    21. ThirdParty
    22. Win10_1507
    23. Win10_1511
    24. Win10_1607
    25. Win10_1703
    26. Win10_1709
    27. Win10_1803
    28. Win10_1809
    29. Win10_1903
    30. Win10_1909
    31. Win10_2004
    32. Win10_20H2
    33. Win10_21H1
    34. Win10_21H2

    Microsoft Office Types

    Selectable Versions with individually selectable architecture [x86, x64, or Both]

    1. Office 2002/XP
    2. Office 2003
    3. Office 2003, Office 2007 (Some updates are released for both products)
    4. Office 2007
    5. Office 2010
    6. Office 2013
    7. Office 2016
    8. Office 2019
    9. Office 365 Client

    Specific Language Types

    1. Arabic (Saudi Arabia) (ar-SA)
    2. Bulgarian (Bulgaria) (bg-BG)
    3. Czech (Czech Republic) (cs-CZ)
    4. Danish (Denmark) (da-DK)
    5. German (Germany) (de-DE)
    6. Greek (Greece) (el-GR)
    7. Spanish (Spain) (es-ES)
    8. Spanish (Mexico) (es-MX)
    9. Estonian (Estonia) (et-EE)
    10. Finnish (Finland) (fi-FI)
    11. French (Canada) (fr-CA)
    12. French (France) (fr-FR)
    13. Hebrew (Israel) (he-IL)
    14. Croatian (Croatia) (hr-HR)
    15. Hungarian (Hungary) (hu-HU)
    16. Italian (Italy) (it-IT)
    17. Japanese (Japan) (ja-JP)
    18. Korean (Korea) (ko-KR)
    19. Lithuanian (Lithuania) (lt-LT)
    20. Latvian (Latvia) (lv-LV)
    21. Norwegian (Bokmal) (Norway) (nb-NO)
    22. Dutch (Netherlands) (nl-NL)
    23. Polish (Poland) (pl-PL)
    24. Portuguese (Brazil) (pt-BR)
    25. Portuguese (Portugal) (pt-PT)
    26. Romanian (Romania) (ro-RO)
    27. Russian (Russia) (ru-RU)
    28. Slovak (Slovakia) (sk-SK)
    29. Slovenian (Slovenia) (sl-SI)
    30. Serbian (Latin, Serbia) (sr-latn-rs)
    31. Swedish (Sweden) (sv-SE)
    32. Thai (Thailand) (th-TH)
    33. Turkish (Turkey) (tr-TR)
    34. Ukrainian (Ukraine) (uk-UA)
    35. Chinese (Simplified) (zh-CN)
    36. Chinese (Hong Kong) (zh-HK)
    37. Chinese (Traditional) (zh-TW)

    Rename OS Descriptions

    This stream will rename the operating system descriptions of client systems in the WSUS MMC console. You can then use the GUI Console to sort by the OSDescription to easily gain valuable insights into what operating systems are installed in your organization.

    Windows Clients

    • Windows 10 Home
    • Windows 10 Pro
    • Windows 10 Pro N
    • Windows 10 Pro for Workstations
    • Windows 10 Pro N for Workstations
    • Windows 10 Enterprise
    • Windows 10 Enterprise N
    • Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB/LTSC
    • Windows 10 Education
    • Windows 10 Education N
    • Windows 10 Pro Education
    • Windows 10 Pro N Education

    Windows Clients

    • Windows 11 Home
    • Windows 11 Pro
    • Windows 11 Pro N
    • Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    • Windows 11 Pro N for Workstations
    • Windows 11 Enterprise
    • Windows 11 Enterprise N
    • Windows 11 Enterprise LTSB/LTSC
    • Windows 11 Education
    • Windows 11 Education N
    • Windows 11 Pro Education
    • Windows 11 Pro N Education

    Windows Server

    • Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard
    • Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter
    • Windows Server 2012 Standard
    • Windows Server 2012 Datacenter
    • Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard
    • Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter
    • Windows Server 2016 Essentials
    • Windows Server 2016 Standard
    • Windows Server 2016 Datacenter

    Windows Server

    • Windows Server 2019 Essentials
    • Windows Server 2019 Standard
    • Windows Server 2019 Standard Evaluation
    • Windows Server 2019 Datacenter
    • Windows Server 2022 Standard
    • Windows Server 2022 Standard Evaluation
    • Windows Server 2022 Datacenter
    • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2016
    • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019

    Clean Synchronization Logs

    Clean out all the synchronization logs that have built up over time (configurable, with the default keeping the last 14 days of logs).

    Computer Object Cleanup

    Computer Object Cleanup (configurable, with the default of deleting computer objects that have not synced within 30 days).

    Prune IIS Logs

    The Prune IIS Logs Stream will delete all log files (that is, files ending with .log) found in the logging folder for the WSUS IIS site. By default, the stream will remove log files older than 2 weeks. Files are checked not based on the date they were created, but when they were last modified.

    Server Cleanup Wizard

    Runs the built-in Server Cleanup Wizard (SCW) to actually carry out the removal of files on the file system.

    Display Newly Added Products & Classifications

    If you are interested in keeping track of what new products and/or classifications have been added to WSUS, we have included a stream that will include this information in the WAM report. The default will display new products and classifications that have been added to WSUS in the last 31 days.

    Database Maintenance

    Run the Recommended SQL database Maintenance script on the actual SQL database.

    Reporting Options

    Save the Report

    You can set it up to always save the report. Options for either TXT (default) or HTML.

    Email the Report

    You can set it up to always email the report. Options for either TXT or HTML (default). You can also have it as a PDF Attachment to the email. If the report fails, WAM will fall back to saving the report storing a TXT log file. The TXT log that it creates will be prepended with the notification that the email failed to send and will give the full error message for troubleshooting.

    WAM Utilities & The WAM Shell

    To aid administrators we have developed a few utilities for adjusting certain WSUS settings, which are especially convenient for WSUS installs on servers that lack a graphical user interface. We have redesigned the WAM Shell to expose the utility Cmdlets that we have written to adjust your WSUS environment.

    ​

    Get-ApplicationPoolMemory

    Set-SchUseStrongCrypto

    Get-WsusIISQueueLength

    Set-WsusWebExecutionTimeout

    Get-WsusIISLoadBalancerCapabilities

    Set-WsusIISMaxCachedUpdates

    Add-ESDMimetype

    Set-ApplicationPoolMemory

    Get-WsusIISLimitInterval

    Set-WsusIISQueueLength

    Get-WsusWebMaxRequestLength

    Set-WsusIISLoadBalancerCapabilities

    Get-WsusIISMaxInstalledPrerequisites

    Reset-ESDMimetype

    Get-SchUseStrongCrypto

    Set-WsusIISLimitInterval

    Get-WsusWebExecutionTimeout

    Set-WsusWebMaxRequestLength

    Get-WsusIISMaxCachedUpdates

    Set-WsusIISMaxInstalledPrerequisites

    Remove-ESDMimetype

    Our Blog

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    If you’re not totally sure what WSUS is or means, you’re in the right place. Maybe you haven’t yet experienced it or maybe...