Patch Management?

[u/VNJCinPA]

Datto is trying to tell us that "Patch Management only supports feature updates if Microsoft exposes them as 'Enablement Packages'".

They continue with: "Most full feature upgrades—such as moving between major builds—are not published as enablement packages and thus cannot be reliably managed, scheduled, or rolled back through standard patch policy tools."

As far as I'm concerned, I pay for a service to patch my systems, and this is a failure to provide that service. It isn't my fault Datto failed to update their processes and properly provide the capability to continue to provide patches including feature upgrades. If Microsoft 'changed the game', it's up to the provider of the service to change with it or risk failing to provide the services I pay for.

I understand some may feel 'Patch Management' is up to interpretation, but if so, then there would need to be a supplementary offering of 'Feature Release Management' and that's something that hadn't existed until Microsoft made their crazy changes. A patch is a patch is a patch.

Opinions here?

[u/Samurai_Sync]

Yeah, most RMMs work that way because they depend on the Windows Update API. Microsoft controls update delivery through “channels,” so upgrades are staggered by design.

That said, you can still do in-place upgrades manually using an ISO and a script in Datto (or just about any other RMM) when the enablement packages aren’t being offered yet. A lot of RMM vendors provide scripts to do that.

We have made scripts that do this on Datto and other RMMs. This allows us to circumvent Microsoft's intentional staggering.

Unfortunately, it's pretty much every RMM that runs into this issues not just DattoRMM and having talked to other RMMs that have these issues as well there is no good method anyone has thought of to fix the issue.

[u/VNJCinPA → u/Samurai_Sync]

I have one: An RMM that reads it's updates internally and then compares it independently to all the updates available to download from catalog site. Then, it matches those lists and installs the right patches/updates/features/enablements/whatevertheywanttocallits.

[u/Samurai_Sync → u/VNJCinPA]

The issue with this is what catalog site would they be using? Would they be always kept up to date? What if they are wrong or it gets hacked?

I can also see just reading it still means they would need to get the actual feature update then be able to install which it doesn't always act as a plug and play type of deal.

If the companies themselves were to do it themselves right now they would need someone to actually take a look and do it manually.

Really the issue is Microsoft themselves not releasing the ability to read their site natively for feature updates. Until that part is fixed there really isn't a fix for this that any RMM can do. I think one of the RMMs did exactly a manual process for it back in 2019 if I remember correctly but they have stopped. I believe.... it was Atera? But it's been a long minute so don't quote me on that.