Checklist Fix Faulty Updates

The ring concept calls for staggered distribution of updates. This ensures that problems 
only affect a limited number of endpoints. Updates are distributed successively to each 
ring after a specified delay if no problems occurred in the previous ring. Solutions in the 
baramundi Management Suite including baramundi Update Management provide intuitive 
support for setting up and managing update rings.

Successful update management enables IT admins to undo problematic Microsoft and 
other updates without delay. IT teams can easily create ready-to-deploy jobs with 
baramundi to remove faulty updates from all affected systems and quickly return 
them to the previous functional state.

Updates for commonly used and specialized third-party software also can lead to 
widespread system failures. The Managed Software and Deploy modules in the 
baramundi Management Suite provide straightforward solutions both for automated 
distribution of tested updates and removing faulty software.

A more aggressive solution involves resetting affected Windows systems to a restore point. 
However, there may be some data loss depending on frequency of the restore points and 
the consistency of cloud backups. Configuration and triggering can be easily implemented 
with baramundi Deploy scripts.

If Windows PCs crash during or immediately after startup and show the blue screen of death or 
BSOD - as they did during the CrowdStrike incident - the only option is to use the 
Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE). This requires enabling PXE on client systems, operating 
DHCP PXE servers, and hardware with network interface cards (NICs).

When combined with the baramundi OS Install Module, IT admins can start the Windows PE environment 
on clients from the network remotely so that faulty updates can be deleted and systems restarted normally. 
The baramundi Management Suite also enables IT admins to automate much of the process for a 
rapid recovery. The only other option is a time-intensive manual process in which IT admins must 
insert a pre-configured USB stick to boot and correct the error on each affected system.

IT admins at companies using Microsoft BitLocker disk encryption on client systems must have ready 
access to the recovery keys for each computer to decrypt drives prior to implementing a fix. The 
baramundi Defense Control module enables centralized and secure BitLocker management so that needed 
decryption be done remotely from the baramundi Management Suite admin console. Encryption can be resumed 
once the fix is implemented on each system. This significantly reduces the time and effort needed for recovery.