Server update using Update management center in automation account

Question

I have my azure windows servers patched each month using update management center in the automation account. After the execution of the jobs, I can see that the servers are non compliant and the error is MaintenanceWindowExceeded.

why this happened, and how to solve this?

Answer 1

Hi @Shivam Singh

Thank you for reaching out to the Microsoft Q&A platform.

The error "MaintenanceWindowExceeded" occurs when the time required to install the updates exceeds the maintenance window that you have configured. To avoid this error, you can either increase the maintenance window or reduce the number of updates that are being installed during the update deployment.

To increase the maintenance window, you can modify the update deployment schedule to allow more time for the updates to be installed. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to your Automation account and select "Update Management" from the left-hand menu.
2. Select "Update deployments" and then select the deployment that is failing.
3. In the "Update deployment" pane, select "Schedule update deployment" and then modify the maintenance window to a longer duration.

If you want to reduce the number of updates that are being installed during the update deployment, you can modify the update classification settings to exclude certain types of updates. For example, you can exclude updates that are not critical or security-related. To do this, follow these steps:

1. In the Azure portal, navigate to your Automation account and select "Update Management" from the left-hand menu.
2. Select "Update deployments" and then select the deployment that is failing.
3. In the "Update deployment" pane, select "Advanced" and then modify the update classification settings to exclude certain types of updates.

I hope this helps! Let me know if you have any further questions.

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Answer 2

Hello Shivam Singh,

Thank you for posting on the Microsoft Community Forum.

The MaintenanceWindowExceeded error that you encounter is usually because the update job is outside of the scheduled maintenance window. By default, Azure Update Management provides a 120-minute maintenance window for jobs, but you can increase it up to a maximum of 360 minutes. This error occurs if the update job does not complete within this timeframe.

In order to fix this, you can try the following steps:

Increase the time of the maintenance window: You can increase the maintenance window for a job in the Update Management Center to ensure that all updates are completed within this timeframe.

Check for and optimize updates: Check for any updates that can be optimized, prioritize critical and security updates, and avoid running out of time by installing too many at once.

Batch updates: If you have a large number of servers, consider updating in batches to avoid delays caused by simultaneous updates.

If you're still having issues after the adjustment, we recommend that you review the troubleshooting guide for Azure Update Management, where you may have a more detailed solution.

Reference Links: Troubleshoot Azure Automation Update Management issues | Microsoft Learn

I hope you the information above is helpful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know.

Best Regards,

Yanhong Liu

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