Understanding Patch Management: Why it matters?
Patch management is the process of identifying, deploying, and managing software updates, or patches, to rectify vulnerabilities and boost security.
Patch management has become a critical part of any IT admin’s toolkit. Whether it’s plugging security vulnerabilities, maintaining compliance, or enhancing system performance, staying up to date with patches is non-negotiable in today’s digital environment. But despite its importance, patching is often a tedious task, especially when teams rely on separate tools for patching and endpoint management. Juggling fragmented workflows, poor visibility into patch status, and a lack of centralized control over device updates makes the traditional approach both inefficient and error prone.
Hexnode changes that narrative. With its unified platform that combines Unified Endpoint Management (UEM) and patch management, IT teams can now handle everything from a single pane of glass. Supporting both macOS and Windows, Hexnode simplifies patch identification, deployment, rollback, and reporting—all within a centralized system.
Why a Unified UEM + Patch Management Solution Matters
IT admins often waste valuable hours toggling between platforms, trying to track down patch statuses or troubleshooting failed deployments with minimal insight. Relying on separate tools for patching and endpoint management increases complexity, delays response time, and creates security blind spots.
Hexnode’s unified solution removes these hurdles. It brings centralized visibility into device compliance, update history, and patch status, enabling smoother operations. Admins can test, deploy, roll back, and track patches from a single console, with workflows that scale effortlessly across thousands of devices. Automation features in Hexnode help simplify regular updates with minimal manual effort, while built-in reporting ensures compliance is always in check.
With Hexnode, you’re not just managing devices—you’re managing apps, OS configurations, security policies, and now, patches—all from one place.
The Hexnode Potential in Patch Management
Hexnode’s patch management feature is designed to strike the perfect balance between precision and simplicity, making it easier for IT teams to stay on top of system updates. It enables seamless identification and deployment of missing OS and third-party application patches while supporting both traditional and modern patching mechanisms. Admins can roll back failed patches on Windows, track deployments in real time, and generate detailed reports to maintain visibility and compliance. The platform also allows customization of the update experience for end users and offers dedicated controls for configuring WSUS-specific preferences, giving teams greater flexibility and control over patch management.
These functionalities are driven through two core areas in the Hexnode portal:
- Patches & Updates Policy – for configuring how devices handle patches
- Patches & Updates Tab – for operational deployment, monitoring, and reporting
Patches & Updates Policy – The Foundation
Before deploying patches, it’s essential to lay down the groundwork with the ‘Patches & Updates’ policy. This policy acts as the foundation for controlling how updates are received and handled on devices. It’s typically a one-time configuration and follows a “set it and forget it” approach unless changes are required later.
Key functions:
- Defining maintenance window to control update timing.
- Blocking UI access to reduce user interference during updates.
- Configure update deadlines.
- Restricting manual installation of updates for stringent control.
- Configuring reboot behavior.
Best Used For:
- Standardizing patch behavior across all managed devices
- Automating when and how patches are installed
- Setting update preferences like deferrals, permissions, and user notifications
- Enforcing consistent patching practices across the organization
For Windows devices, if you are using WSUS for third-party software and patch distribution, you can also configure WSUS specific settings accordingly.
Patches & Updates Tab – Manage & Monitor
Once the foundation is set, the ‘Patches & Updates’ tab becomes your operational control center. This dashboard is designed for real-time monitoring, approval workflows, Patch deployment automation, and in-depth reporting.
Key Functions:
- View and approve patches awaiting admin approval.
- Detect devices with missing or failed updates.
- Track devices that require reboots.
- Visualize security vulnerabilities through graphical insights.
- Generate detailed reports for audits and compliance.
Best Used For:
- Deploying specific patches across the device fleet.
- Monitoring the status of updates.
- Troubleshooting failed or stuck updates.
- Automating deployments using advanced filters and schedules.
It serves as your go-to interface when it comes to actual patch rollouts and ongoing patch health checks.
Patch Management – The Hexnode blueprint
To get the most out of Hexnode’s patch management capabilities, it’s important to follow a structured approach. From setting up the right policies to testing patches before full scale deployment, a strategic workflow helps reduce risks, improve stability and ensure timely patching across your device fleet. Here’s how to do it the Hexnode way.
Step 1: Configure Patches and Updates policy
Start by setting up the Patches and Updates policy. Customize update preferences like:
- Maintenance windows.
- Reboot behaviors.
- Retry attempts.
- User interaction restrictions.
For Windows, configure WSUS specific settings to align with internal infrastructure if applicable.
Step 2: Identify Missing Patches
Navigate to the Patches & Updates tab to identify devices that are missing updates or have pending reboots.
Step 3: Test on a Pilot Group
Select a small set of test devices (pilot group) and manually apply the updates. This ensures any compatibility or performance issues are caught early.
Step 4: Monitor and Troubleshoot
Once you have rolled out the patches on a test group:
- Monitor patch behavior and system stability.
- Roll back the patches on Windows in case of errors.
- Adjust criteria or defer updates for certain devices if needed.
Step 5: Roll Out to Production
Once the patch proves stable, deploy it to a wider group of devices to finish the process. You can use filters to customize deployment on devices based on OS version, user role, department, or the network used. You may even schedule your deployments based on business hours or maintenance windows.
Step 6: Track and Report
Now, you may monitor deployment status, reboot events, and missing patches from the dashboard, and take necessary actions as needed. You can also generate detailed reports to ensure compliance and assist in audit trials.
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Patch Deployment with Hexnode
Whether you prioritize stricter control or effortless automation, Hexnode serves you both. With two deployment options—manual and automated—IT teams can choose the approach that best fits their operational needs, whether it’s hands-on patch management or efficient rule-based automation. These options are accessible once you start creating your new deployment from the ‘Patches and updates’ tab.
Manual deployment
Manual deployment is best suited for controlled, deliberate rollouts and scenarios where precision matters most. It’s ideal when deploying specific updates to a selected group of devices—such as during pilot testing. This allows IT admins to evaluate patch performance before a wider rollout. This method is also useful for handling urgent patches that need immediate attention on critical systems, without affecting the entire device fleet. By offering full control over which updates are deployed, when they are installed, and how devices respond, manual deployment ensures minimal disruption and maximum oversight.
To deploy patches manually:
- Step 1: Start by choosing the platform you want to deploy updates to—either Windows or macOS.
- Step 2: Next, select the type of update you wish to push, such as application updates, operating system updates. Based on your selection, you can also choose the subtype of updates such as feature updates, driver updates etc.
- Step 3: Configure the reboot settings based on your organization’s needs and set a deployment schedule that aligns with your preferred maintenance windows.
- Step 4: Finally, target the devices by applying filters such as OS version, user roles, or network type to ensure updates reach the right endpoints.
This level of control ensures updates don’t interfere with user productivity or critical operations.
Automated Patch Deployment
Automated deployment is designed for efficiency, making it ideal for managing routine updates across the organization with minimal manual intervention. It’s best suited for large-scale rollouts, scheduled maintenance routines, deploying non-critical updates and delivering updates that have passed pre-deployment testing. By defining rules and criteria (such as update type, version, or release date), IT teams can automate patch deployment while still maintaining control through approvals and maintenance window restrictions. This approach streamlines the update process, reduces administrative overhead, and ensures that devices stay consistently up to date without constant involvement.
For automated patch deployment:
- Begin by defining the rules that will govern automated patch deployment across your device fleet. You can filter updates based on specific criteria such as version, update type, or release date to ensure only relevant patches are applied.
- If there are updates you wish to skip, you can exclude them from the automated deployment process using the ‘Specify updates to ignore’ option.
- To minimize user disruption, restrict the installation and reboot processes to the predefined maintenance window configured through policies.
- Additionally, you can require that updates receive administrative approval before they are automatically deployed to devices.
With this approach, you maintain oversight and consistency while significantly reducing the manual effort involved in routine patch management.
Reporting & Real-Time Insights
Hexnode’s reporting capabilities help IT teams maintain visibility and compliance. Reports can be exported or scheduled for regular reviews.
Key Reports:
- Available Updates: See all available patches and their target devices.
- Devices Missing Updates: Track which devices haven’t installed pending patches.
- Devices Pending Reboot: Know which systems need a restart to complete installation.
- Fully Patched Devices: Confirm which devices are completely up to date.
- Critical, Major, Minor Updates: View severity-based classification of all available patches.
- Updates Awaiting Approval: Stay on top of patches needing admin approval.
Each report includes granular information like platform, OS version, device ID, CVEs, and update classifications. You can also generate custom reports with your selected fields, ensuring you always know where your organization stands.
Power your Patches with Hexnode!
Patch management doesn’t have to be a chaotic process filled with uncertainty and manual tracking. With Hexnode’s unified UEM and patch management solution, IT admins can automate, control, and monitor patches with confidence.
You get the flexibility to tailor update workflows, the visibility to track deployments in real time, and the power to secure your entire device fleet—all from a single platform. Whether you’re aiming for zero-day patching or routine compliance, Hexnode makes it possible with a smart, scalable, and centralized approach to patch management.
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