SharePoint Hotfix and SP Deployment

I seen a few instances of companies attempting to use HFNetChkPro to deploy WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007 hotfixes to their farm environments.  Hotfixes and service packs for WSS 3.0 and MOSS 2007 do not install like "normal" patches we see for the O/S.  SharePoint requires unique patch deployment steps, which makes the use of HFNetChkPro or other automated patch deployment tools a bit complicated.  The steps below are from the TechNet article Deploy software updates for Windows SharePoint Services 3.0

The following approach updates the database from the first front-end Web server, so that when you run the SharePoint Products and Technologies Configuration Wizard (psconfig.exe) on the subsequent front-end Web servers, they can simply connect to the updated database, rather than attempting to upgrade the database.

You must update the Web servers in your server farm in the following order:

  1. The files from the software update must be installed on all the Web servers in the server farm by running the software update installation on each Web server up to the point where the following dialog box displayed:

    You must run setup to install new binary files for every server in your server farm. If you have multiple servers in your server farm, run setup and the configuration wizard on the other servers now, and then return to this server and click OK to continue. 

  2. Complete the software update by clicking OK in the dialog box on one Web server that hosts the Central Administration Web site (front-end Web server) for the server farm.

  3. Complete the software update, one Web server at a time, for the rest of the server farm.