Configure an update server

Configure and deploy an Update Server in every physical location to reduce bandwidth usage.

AV Defender downloads significant amounts of signature updates over the Internet. N-able recommends that you install an update server on each discrete site where you are deploying AV Defender. For example, if you have five sites, install one update server and at a minimum, one probe at each site to ensure the managed devices do not have to download updates from the external cloud.

When adding an update server, its placement in your customer hierarchy can affect the ability of a device to access updates. For example:

  • If the device is at the customer level, and the update server is on a site-level server below it, the device cannot use the update server.
  • If the device is at one location and the update server is at another location, the device cannot use the update server.
  • If the device is at a site, and the update server is at the parent customer (one level up), the device can use the update server.

The update server requires at least 11 GB of available disk space for installation. Devices where AV Defender software is installed must have a minimum of 1 GB of free disk space on the drive where the root directory
(%programfiles%) is located.

If a site has no qualified device to be an update server, you can grant an existing update server from the Customer or Site level to be the update server of that site by selecting the device from the list of update servers by using the Grant Access option.

Configure an Update Server on a Windows Server or Workstation in environments with:

  • over 15 devices,
  • typical update server downloads of approximately 300 MB/day,
  • typical PC downloads of approximately 10 MB/day.

The Update Server should not be a device that requires uninterrupted disk access, such as an Exchange or Web Server.

  1. Click Configuration > Security Manager > Update Servers.
  2. Select the server from the list and click Enable.
  3. Click Enable to accept port 7074 for the Update Server to communicate on, or enter another port number if it is in use. You can change this later if needed.

    You can change the port setting later by selecting the configured update server and clicking Configure Port.

  4. Assign the update server to a site that does not have a qualified update server device by clicking the check box next to the site name and clicking Grant Access.
  5. Click OK.

If you use the search on the Update Servers page, the search is case-sensitive. That is, entering mixed case criteria may not display results. Enter the search criteria in all lower case for best results.

If a device does not show up under Update Servers and has met all the requirements try running an Asset Update from Add Task at the device view.

After you configure an Update Server, you can install Security Manager.