Re: Testing MS Security Patches?
- From: "y2kbug_s97" <y2kbugs97@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 30 Jan 2006 05:17:29 -0800
Thank you all for posting your comments. I can tell from your comments that
Microsoft probably does not publish general guidlines for testing patches but
your comments will help me mold a solid plan in our specific environment.
Thanks again...
"Alun Jones" wrote:
> In article <178C0A5D-51D0-46C6-8243-C3193B0C4871@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
> "=?Utf-8?B?eTJrYnVnX3M5Nw==?=" <y2kbugs97@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >Does anyone know of specific tests that should be performed before
> >implementing MS security updates on production systems.
>
> There are no general recommendations to suggest here, because your goal should
> be to test those applications on which your business depends. If your
> business uses the same applications that everyone else uses, then it's
> entirely likely that they've already been tested by Microsoft. If your
> business uses different applications from others, then those are the
> applications you need to test.
>
> >I am a member of a large organization and we are trying to enhance our
> >testing procedures before implementing MS security patches through out our
> >production environments.
>
> There's nothing specific about these being security patches - they are changes
> you are making to the system, and you need to ensure that they don't impact
> the rest of the business' operations in a way that will cause more damage than
> the problem that they are aimed at fixing.
>
> >Is there a document that shows what specific things should be considered?
>
> You need to analyse your LOB (line-of-business) applications, and that's
> really something that you need to establish for yourself. Establish a set of
> functions that are required for most of your operations, and a means to test
> that they happen correctly.
>
> Then use that sequence on every change you make, and add to it any operations
> that appear to be related to the parts of the system that have changed.
>
> >I'm looking for a guideline that displays how to validate that a security
> >patch released by MS will not break any applications or the Operating System.
>
> I'd say it's a fairly good bet that Microsoft has already done more testing
> than you'll be able to in regards to making it not break the OS, so you should
> concentrate on those applications that are required for your business'
> continued operations.
>
> But, there are a few things you should consider:
>
> 1. Download the patch.
>
> 2. Test the install on a lab machine / machines that represent the majority of
> your users.
>
> 3. Test the uninstall - when you roll out the patch to users, if it kills
> their systems, you need to know that the uninstall is going to work.
>
> 4. Test the installed patch in your lab against some sample use cases. Engage
> in a feedback loop with your users to discover the important use cases -
> remind them that if they experienced significant problems with a previous
> patch, that was because you didn't test what they need to do against the patch
> in the lab. If that was because they didn't tell you what they need to do,
> then they need to be more detailed next time.
>
> 5. Determine who your rollout will start with - pick a group of users that
> will be first-adopters for the next patch. There are different theories on
> this - you can find people who are advanced users, so they can cope with
> instructions to resolve issues; you can pick people at random, to make a good
> statistical selection; you can pick people that you know are trouble to any
> piece of software they encounter; you can pick people that you like, you can
> pick people that you hate. Okay, that's a piece of humour, I don't suggest
> that you do exactly that - but pick a strategy, or a set of strategies. I
> suggest informing the test group that they are to be used as a test case for a
> new update that's rolling through, and that you need them to let you know
> anything that's changed.
>
> 6. Review the success of the initial rollout in meetings with stakeholders in
> those departments, and then roll out to the rest of the company if the result
> is good - or if the anticipated result of not rolling it out is worse.
>
> Alun.
> ~~~~
>
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