Importance of timely updates

It is necessary to update the Windows OS and its components to ensure the correct operation of Axxon One. Installation of the current updates allows for:

• Fixing known OS vulnerabilities and errors.
• Avoiding unexpected failures, including those critical to video recording and storage.

Update methods

Automatic update (recommended)

The simplest and most reliable method is to use the embedded Windows Update mechanism. You can configure automatic updating using standard OS tools (see the Microsoft official documentation).

Recommendations:

• For client workstations, automatic mode with scheduled update installation is acceptable.
• For servers, it's best to disable automatic installation to apply updates in a controlled maintenance window (see Features of server updates).

Manual check for updates

If you don't configure automatic updating, you must manually check for new updates in Windows Update at least once a week (see Install Windows Updates).

• Key (critical) updates are typically released monthly.
• To check manually, use the Check for Windows updates option in Windows Update settings.

Features of server updates

For server configurations of Axxon One, follow the order:

1. Determine a regular maintenance window—a period of time when the system can be shut down without affecting monitoring (for example, overnight or weekends).
2. Download updates (automatically or manually) before the maintenance window begins.
3. Stop the Axxon One server (see Stop the server, Suspending a Server within a cluster). If you apply updates without first stopping Axxon One, it can result in data loss, archive corruption, or failure to start the server correctly after a reboot.
4. Apply updates manually (run the installation through Windows Update or manually install the downloaded packages).
5. Restart the server (see Start the server) and ensure that Axxon One is operational (see Start the client).

Types of updates that aren't installed automatically

Some categories of updates aren't installed automatically even when Windows Update is enabled. These include:

• Optional updates—these contain fixes for specific components, drivers, or new features.
• Updates that require acceptance of new terms of use—you must agree to the license before installation.

When such updates are available, Windows Update displays the notification Optional updates available. We recommend reviewing their descriptions and installing them manually, if necessary.

Specific updates for Axxon One

In some cases, Axxon One requires specific Windows OS updates that aren't included in the standard package to function properly. A current list of such updates and installation instructions are provided in the documentation:

Additional recommendations

• We recommend you create a system backup or restore point (see Backup and restore utility).
• On critical servers, we recommend you test on an identical test environment before applying updates.
• When you use Windows Server OS (see Operating system requirements) with the hypervisor role (Hyper-V, see Requirements for using virtual machines), you must apply updates according to Microsoft recommendations for virtualized environments.