SharePoint & Project Server – Feb 2015 Public Updates Really??

The last update for SharePoint & Project Server 2013 was announced as Public Update available along with Windows Updates! Here is why you should disable this immediately?

SharePoint and Project Server updates need to be applied planned with DUE CARE;

1. Applied ONLY if you have an issue that is resolved by the update.
2. Applied after due testing on your dev/test environment with COPY of live data. Testing to include key/normal business processes.

A few key things to remember with SharePoint and Project Server updates/patching;

1. There is no roll-back for SharePoint and Project Server, as there is for Windows update!! if you have some data related issues or key services running in the background, then patching will not be applied correctly. Remember, key services need to be STOPPED prior to patching on each Web Server. Surely you would want to take precautions, take full backups, ensure you have a bullet proof roll-back/back-out plan in the event of failure.
2. Patching is a two two step process. If you simply update bits and database schema is not upgraded by running the SharePoint Configuration Wizard on each web server, then your databases will be left in COMPATIBILITY mode, leading to potential issues and unknown data corruption downstream.
3. Project Pro is recommended to be at the same patch level as the server, so you would have to update/patch ALL the users’ client application at the same time.
4. Some Patches have dependencies on other Service Packs!

SharePoint/Project Server System Administrators should apply the patches manually as a carefully planned exercise. Take control of your system today!!

I will follow up this post with steps/guidelines to manually patch your SharePoint and Project Server 2013 environment.