Networked, distributed computing environments require continuous maintenance, including the application of patches and fixes. The need to apply patches is not necessarily the result of flaws or deficiencies in operating systems or applications. Patches may be required to maintain a viable IT environment in the face of software updates, to block opportunities to exploit extended technologies, or to neutralize emerging security threats. These factors exist in all development and production environments. The critical question facing IT managers is how well their organizations will manage the inevitable patch management process.
This solution accelerator is designed to help consultants, partner organizations, and internal IT support staff develop a comprehensive patch management solution for their organizations. It consists of six components:

• An introduction, which provides an overview of the operational processes and technologies required for successful patch management with SMS.
  
• A Solution Guide, which offers conceptual information, design and configuration best practices, and details of the operational practices required for success.
  
• An Operations Guide, which describes the daily, weekly, monthly, and as-needed tasks that have to be completed in order to deploy patches into a production environment.
  
• An Architecture Guide, which provides architectural guidance for deploying critical operating system updates using SMS.
  
• A Test Plan Overview, which describes at a high level the required functionality and the tests that need to be carried out to confirm that the solution performs as expected.
  
• A Test Case Detail, which provides the detail required to execute the test cases summarized in this test plan.