SolarWinds Knowledge Base

Use the information in this article to get started with your SolarWinds Patch Manager (previously EminentWare 3rd Party Updates) evaluation. This article contains the following sections:

• What is SolarWinds Patch Manager?
• What is included as part of the evaluation?
• What do I get if I purchase Patch Manager?
• How to I set up my evaluation?
• How do I use Package Download Assistant for Flash updates?
• Where can I find additional information?

What is SolarWinds Patch Manager?

SolarWinds Patch Manager (previously EminentWare 3rd Party Updates) provides pre-scripted, pre-tested "WSUS or SCCM ready" update packages that save you days of manual research, testing, and implementation time when distributing and managing third party applications on your Windows systems.

What is included as part of the evaluation?

This evaluation includes third party update catalogs for applications such as Sun Java Runtime Environment, Adobe Flash, and Adobe Reader. Click the hyperlinks below to expand additional details about each vendor where applicable.

Adobe

Dell

HP

Mozilla Firefox 10 (full installation package)

Sun Java Runtime Environment - latest update to v6 (x86 and x64 only)

While these are not the latest published versions from these vendors, they provide you a sampling of the most commonly deployed versions and products. When you purchase SolarWinds Patch Manager, you will not only get this content, but previous versions for those products and other third party updates for applications that are not included in this evaluation. We have a dedicated team that continually monitors for new updates from these vendors and, as updates are released, creates and validates new update packages and publishes them, typically within days of release.

What do I get if I purchase Patch Manager?

The following is the complete list of all third party update catalogs available for Patch Manager. Click the hyperlinks to expand additional details where applicable.

Adobe

Apple

Dell

Google Chrome

HP

Microsoft

Mozilla

Sun Java Runtime Environment

WinZip

How to I set up my evaluation?

Requirements

Complete the following procedures before trying to publish or approve any third party updates.

• Install the SolarWinds Patch Manager evaluation software.
• Ensure WMI connectivity between the Patch Manager server and the target computers.
• Distribute the WSUS self-signed publishing certificate to the Patch Manager server, WSUS servers, and target computers.
• Enable the target computers to receive third party updates.

For additional information about completing these tasks, see the Patch Manager Evaluation Guide.

Procedure

To set the Adobe, Dell, or HP catalogs to auto-sync in your Extension Pack evaluation:

1. Open the EminentWare Console.
2. In the left pane, expand Administration and Reporting, and then select Software Publishing.

3. After the EminentWare Update Services Configuration Wizard starts, click Cancel.
4. In the Actions pane (right), click Synchronization Settings.

5. In the EminentWare Update Services Options window, click the Other Catalogs tab
6. Select the catalogs you want to evaluate, and then click OK.
7. Relaunch the wizard from the Actions pane.

8. Select I do not have a license..., and then follow the on screen instructions to complete the wizard.

Troubleshooting

If you see the 0x800B0109 error, verify the following:

• You have installed the WSUS publishing certificate on the client system.
• You have enabled the Allow signed content from intranet Microsoft update service location Group Policy setting on the client system.
• You have WMI connectivity from the EminentWare server to the target machines.

To resolve any of these issues, see the Requirements section above.

How do I use Package Download Assistant for Flash updates?

Adobe does not provide direct download links for Flash updates, so Patch Manager provides Package Download Assistant to help you download the files. For additional information about how to use Package Download Assistant to download installation files for Adobe Flash updates, check out the following video.

Where can I find additional information?

See the following EminentWare 3rd Party Updates learning resources for additional information about setting up and using SolarWinds Patch Manager.

Quick Overview Video: 3rd Party Patch Management with EminentWare
This video will provide you with a quick overview of how EminentWare enables you to extend WSUS or SCCM to manage 3rd party patches such as Adobe, Mozilla, and Sun. Duration: 5 minutes; Released: May 2010.

Product Tour: Extend WSUS to manage 3rd party patches with EminentWare
This video provides a detailed look at how EminentWare can enable you to extend your existing WSUS infrastructure to easily deploy, manage, and report on third party patches along with Microsoft updates.

On Demand Webcast: How to deploy & manage 3rd party patches with WSUS
Learn more about deploying 3rd party patches and applications using WSUS -- including an overview of WSUS history with 3rd party updates. Also see a live demo of EminentWare's WSUS Extension Pack and 3rd Party Updates Pack.

Third Party Package Creation #1 with the WSUS Extension Pack
This is Part 1 tutorial video will guide you through the Third Party Package Creation process using the Package Wizard within the EminentWare WSUS Extension Pack. This video covers two key areas of the third party update process:

1. How to locate and obtain the update binary (MSI, MSP, or EXE)
2. How to create the update metadata, specifying when and how the update should be installed

Third Party Package Creation #2 Using EminentWare's WSUS Extension Pack
This video is Part 2 of the third party package creation process & procedures training using EminentWare's WSUS Extension Pack. This video will guide you through steps two & three of the package creation process, with special focus on Step 3: How to create the update metadata, specifying how, when, and where the update should be installed.