Welcome
ESU Patch Add-Ons User's Guide
BigFix content supporting the Extended Support Updates (ESU) patching program from Microsoft® is available as an add-on to BigFix Patch, BigFix Lifecycle and BigFix Compliance.

BigFix Documentation Homepage
BigFix 11 Patch Documentation
Welcome to the BigFix Patch documentation, where you can find information about how to install, maintain, and use the BigFix Patch.
BigFix Platform
Patch Overview
BigFix Patch provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console.
Patch User Guides
BigFix Patch provides an automated, simplified patching process that is administered from a single console.
ESU Patch Add-Ons User's Guide
BigFix content supporting the Extended Support Updates (ESU) patching program from Microsoft® is available as an add-on to BigFix Patch, BigFix Lifecycle and BigFix Compliance.
- Enabling the ESU patch functionality
  Before you can start using the ESU patch add-on, you should first enable it.
- Preparing endpoints to accept ESU patches
  After subscribing the endpoints in your deployment to a BigFix Extended Security Updates (ESU) patch site, you can use the content in the site to prepare the endpoints to accept the ESU patches.
- Testing ESU Patch Delivery
- Using Minimize WMI usage feature
  Know more about the optional feature, Minimize WMI usage feature.
- Frequently Asked Questions
  Learn the answers to frequently asked questions about ESU patching with BigFix.
Detailed system requirements
The tables in this section provide detailed information about the system requirements for BigFix 11.
Patch guides in PDF format
Following is a list of links to the BigFix Patch user guides in PDF format:

ESU Patch Add-Ons

BigFix content supporting the Extended Support Updates (ESU) patching program from Microsoft® is available as an add-on to BigFix Patch, BigFix Lifecycle and BigFix Compliance.

Supported platforms: The BigFix ESU content is available on Windows™ 2012, Windows™ 2008, and Windows™ 7.

Note:

Windows™ 7 has reached its end of support on January 14, 2020.

Windows™ 2008 has reached its end of support on January 14, 2020.

Windows™ 7 and Windows™ 2008 are no longer supported as of the specified date, but BigFix will maintain support as long as Microsoft® continues to release patches.

Unlike the standard Windows™ patches from Microsoft®, ESU patches require a paid subscription. To enforce the subscription, ESU patches check for an activation key called MAK (Multiple Activation Key) during patch installation. If the key is not present on the endpoint, the ESU patch installation fails. The BigFix ESU Patch add-ons enable Fixlets to automate the distribution of Microsoft® ESU across your endpoints and provide patch Fixlets for the Microsoft® ESU patches. The main objective of these add-on products is to allow a relatively seamless continuation of your organization’s patch process into the extended support period.

This guide describes how to enable and use the BigFix ESU patch content. Many examples quoted in the guide are often used interchangeably for Windows™ 7, Windows™ 2008, and Windows™ 2012.

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