UAG and TMG update order

I’ve referred to types of updates available in another blog post, in which I also list and update all available UAG updates. I also wrote about the update order in another post. However, it appears the topic is still a source of confusion, so I’ll dedicate this post to that topic.

A typical UAG server has multiple products, each of which needs their own updates. These include:

1) The Operating system itself

2) UAG

3) TMG

4) SQL

5) Operating system components, such as the .Net Framework

Essentially, updating each component is not tied to others. For example, if you build a new server, you can update the OS either before you update UAG, or after. On a similar note, TMG updates are separate from UAG updates, so for the most part you can update TMG before UAG, or vice versa. One thing for which the order is VERY important is when there are multiple updates for a specific component. For example, UAG has SP3, but it requires SP1, SP1 Update 1 and SP2 to be installed first, and for these three, this is also the update order. You should not install SP2 directly after SP1, nor should you install SP1 Update 1 or SP2 directly on a “gold” (RTM) server. On a similar note, TMG SP2 Rollup 3 supersedes SP2 itself, so you need to install the Service Pack before the rollup (and, to be clear…you should update TMG before you update UAG). Sometimes, updates are bundled, such as was the case with UAG SP1. UAG SP1 required TMG to be updated to SP1 Update 1, so the UAG SP1 installer also updates TMG to that level, saving you the anguish and time. The installer was designed so that if you did update TMG to SP1 independently beforehand, it would detect that and simply skip that install and update UAG directly.

As more updates and service packs come out for both products, and the operating system, things may change, so I’ll update this article when this happens. Until then, though, here’s the current (February 2013) available updates and order:

1) UAG is distributed to the public as an ISO image (X17-16677) that has TMG SP1 Update 1 and UAG SP1 slipstreamed. You would typically start with that.

2) On top of that, you should install any and all available OS updates. This doesn’t necessarily have to be the 1st thing done, but that’s how most people prefer.

3) Install the following TMG updates (before the UAG updates)

a. TMG SP2 (KB 2555840)

b. TMG SP2 Rollup 3 (KB 2735208)

***Rollups 1 and 2 are available for TMG SP2, but rollups are cumulative, so even though you CAN install either of them prior to Rollup 3, you don’t have to!

4) On top of UAG SP1, you should install any and all UAG updates, in the following order:

a. UAG SP1 Update 1 (KB 2585140)

b. UAG SP2 (KB 2710791)

c. UAG SP3 (KB 2744025)

5) Install any available updates to SQL and other system components such as the .Net framework, as offered by the Windows Update website. These can be installed before or after other updates, in no particular order.