In the past, it has been easy to dismiss WSUS cleanup, especially regarding its use for SCCM. Once upon a time, there wasn’t a huge need to interfere with the WSUS system behind SCCM, as we usually just assumed that the SCCM settings would take precedence over it, and make WSUS cleanup pointless. However, overtime we have seen the number of updates become so vast and unmanageable that this is no longer the case. Although SCCM settings are still vital, the vast number of updates can create performance issues for the SCCM server – and even cause the IIS timeout to expire when SCCM is syncing updates.
The best way to resolve this issue is to simply use WAM (WSUS Automated Maintenance). WAM allows you to decline multiple types of updates including by default any superseded updates, preview updates, expired updates, and much more. In turn, this will reduce your memory usage, reduce the number of updates that SCCM has to scan each time, and generally put less load on your server.
How Will WSUS Help SCCM?
While newer versions of SCCM contain an option tab for WSUS cleanup, many of the maintenance routines are simply not built in, leaving you with a 15+ page document to read, run, and set up manually, and then re-visit periodically to make sure you’re doing everything Microsoft is recommending. Cleaning your system from expired and superseded updates, as well as other old and unused files can significantly benefit your computer in terms of efficiency, speed, and quality. If you’re noticing that any part of your SCCM System is reacting slower than usual or even crashing, this can be a result of a full or close-to-full WSUS behind the scenes. A clear and uncluttered WSUS can keep your system running smoothly, stressing the importance of WSUS cleanup.
Why WAM Is The Best Choice For WSUS Cleanup In SCCM
Instead of attempting a time-consuming manual cleaning that could potentially cause a crash in your system, trust WAM (WSUS Automated Maintenance) to keep your system clean and running smoothly. WAM is a software solution created by Adam J Marshall that automates all WSUS maintenance, meaning it will perform automatic WSUS cleanup from old objects, files, and updates, keeping your computer and your SCCM running smoothly. When using WAM in conjunction with SCCM, we recommend that you disable the built-in settings for WSUS maintenance as WAM takes care of all of it for you.
WAM can successfully accomplish these administrative tasks for you:
- Back-up the database
- If using the drivers category, remove currently listed drivers to clean up the bulk of the drivers that are old and not used
- Decline multiple types of updates including superseded, beta, preview, expired and Itanium by default
- Compress update revisions
- Clean up computer objects
- Rename OS descriptions to make it easier to identify systems
- Clean up the synchronization logs with the upstream server (Microsoft or other)
- Remove declined updates from the database
- Run the database maintenance routine
- Run the Server Cleanup Wizard (SCW)
If you understand the importance of WSUS cleanup, even when only used for SCCM,
consider licensing WAM for just $90 USD a year!
At AJ Tek, our vision is to make IT simple and automated for other IT professionals. Our flagship product is WAM, WSUS Automated Maintenance. This system performs all of the tasks that a WSUS Administrator needs to do to maintain WSUS properly only leaving the approving of updates and reporting to the WSUS Administrator.
Interested in past release notes? You can find them on our site.
