What is a DETNSW Member Server?
With all schools in NSW migrated to eT4L Services, their main school server is joined to the DETNSW domain, providing statewide authentication, licencing and storage services. While most schools are finding their allocated eT4L Server sufficient for their needs, some schools have a need for extra services such as:
- more storage for multimedia
- local webservers
- 3rd-party application services
to be delivered from a school-owned Member Server. This is an additional physical server supplied by the school, that is running Windows Server 2016 or later and is also joined to the DETNSW domain.
Member Servers are optional and management and support of these servers is solely the responsibility of each school. However, to ensure system security on the DoE Wide Area Network, all Member Servers are automatically enrolled in DoE’s central Windows Server Update Service.
DoE's WSUS and eT4L
NSW DoE offers a managed Windows Update service for all schools with devices on the DETNSW domain. Centrally, all Windows Updates are assessed and tested prior to their approval for deployment. This avoids the problem of updates being delivered that cause negative effects for existing DoE systems, while ensuring important security patches are released and deployed in a timely manner.
Locally in each school, the eT4L Server manages the delivery of these approved Windows Updates to all managed Windows desktop and laptop computers through its update services.
The DoE standard patch release cycle normally supplies updates during the last week of each month, however some irregular security updates may be deployed at other times as required. If a restart of the eT4L Server or client desktops/laptops is required following the installation of Windows updates, then a restart is also applied.
Patching Member Servers
With Member Servers in schools now enrolled in DoE’s central WSUS and being included in the standard patch release cycle, we can be assured that approved and required updates are being applied. However, we are also aware that Member Servers are being used for a wide-variety of purposes and it may not be appropriate to auto-restart a school-owned server.
For this reason, on Member Servers, a restart will not be applied following patch delivery and installation. It will therefore be important for the school’s Member Server administrator to monitor their server(s) often, to check if they are prompting for a restart at any stage.
Member Servers in non-eT4L schools
Some high schools that have not yet migrated to eT4L may have a Member Server. Any school-owned server that is joined to the DETNSW domain rather than a local school domain is a Member server and is enrolled in DoE’s WSUS.
Action required
If your school has one or more Member Servers, it is the school’s responsibility to regularly monitor the server(s) to arrange for a server restart to be manually applied following the deployment and installation of Windows updates.