After deploying WSUS on a Server 2012 R2 Essentials machine, I allowed WSUS to update itself with KB3159706. This upgrades WSUS to supply Windows 10 upgrades (not in use at this location) but the more obvious effect is that it kills WSUS:
- WSUS service stops and cannot start
- WSUS console does not connect
Several articles including this one and this one emphasize that the post-installation instructions in the KB article are required. Really? Since when does a Windows update break the server until you follow manual post-install instructions?
Following those instructions, step 1, I ran
"C:\Program Files\Update Services\Tools\wsusutil.exe" postinstall /servicing
while connected via Remote Desktop. I was immediately disconnected and could not reconnect: “50331661 Your computer can’t connect to the remote computer because the Remote Desktop Gateway server is temporarily unavailable.”
Fortunately, I have another way to access this server. After logging on, I see that the Remote Desktop Gateway service is in fact stopped. I also see that the install successfully completed:
Step 2 calls for enabling .NET 4.5 HTTP Activation, but that was already enabled.
The remaining steps only apply if your client computers use SSL to connect to WSUS. I’ll ignore those since I’m not using SSL.
I started the Remote Desktop Gateway service and was again able to log on using Remote Desktop.
Conclusion
If you’re installing KB3159706 on Server 2012 R2 Essentials:
1. Log on to the server directly or using a third-party remote control program. Remote Desktop Gateway may stop working.
2. Read and follow the post-install tasks in the KB article.