Software Updates for remote offices

One method that was proposed a few years ago was to use Self Service. Create a SS policy that removes the preference file and re-creates with the local SUS settings. Scope the policy for that site and tell your traveling users to open up SS and run the "Change Update Settings" policy, or whatever you want to call it.

Steve

You can also assign your SUS based upon Network scope. If you do this, then when a machine recons, they should get the SUS assigned to that network scope.

I can think of a couple of ways to accomplish this:

1. Create a group of managed preferences in the JSS and scope each to a smart computer group based on IP address. As the machine phones home from different locations it will join the appropriate smart group and its managed preference setting will be adjusted for that location.
2. Take advantage of DNS and assign only the host name such as "softwareupdate" to every machine. If your machines pick up local DNS search suffixes then they will find the "softwareupdate.site.pvt" server in their local sites.

doing this via dns config is the least work, by far.

Thank you for all your responses, I may go down the self service route just because all of our offices do not have AD just yet so not sure if MCX will work in the offices that do not have AD.

rockpapergoat, you mentioned that doing this via DNS would be the least work,

how would I got about doing this,

sort of like what william mentioned in his second point.

ensure that all machines point to some hostname for updates, like "updates.company.com" or just "updates." then make sure each site resolves that correctly to a local resource. that way, your policy/config will use the same values across all clients, and you don't need to change or run anything beyond setting it the first time.

thanks for all your help :)