Microsoft deprecated WSUS in September 2024 and points servers at Azure Update Manager. Gardience is the on-premises option: approve, schedule, and report on Windows and Linux patching from one console you run yourself. No Azure connection, no per-server monthly bill.
| The WSUS job | In Gardience |
|---|---|
| Approve updates | Tested patch sets, with two-person approval on the patch run |
| Computer groups | Pilot and broad rings, groups, change windows, and locks |
| Report what is missing | Pending updates per machine, Windows and Linux in one view, with known-exploited CVEs flagged |
| Local downloads | A built-in update cache for Debian, Ubuntu, Rocky, AlmaLinux, and EPEL. Windows machines download from Microsoft. |
| Install and reboot | Real patching with reboots handled, and every machine's result in a tamper-evident audit log |
Runs on your own server. Windows machines with no internet can be scanned against Microsoft's offline catalog, and the Linux cache can be exported and carried into a network with no internet.
Windows Server 2016 to 2025, Windows 10 and 11, and the major Linux distributions, on one schedule with one approval and one report.
A scored STIG and CIS-aligned baseline, drift repair, and CMMC Level 2 evidence on the same agents.
One price for the fleet, not per server per month. See pricing.
1,020 Windows and Linux servers patched in 13 minutes in one approved run, every result in the audit log. See the proof.
| If... | Then |
|---|---|
| everything runs in Azure | Azure Update Manager |
| you already run MECM for desktops and have few servers | extend MECM |
| you run Windows and Linux on-premises, care about cost at scale, or have isolated networks | Gardience |
The full comparison: WSUS deprecated: a replacement for Windows and Linux. For Linux downloads: WSUS for Linux.
Is WSUS going away? It is deprecated, not removed: it keeps working but gets no new features. Move on your own schedule.
Do I need Azure? No. Gardience runs entirely on your own server, including networks with no internet.
Can I try it on my own machines? Yes. The free license covers 10 machines with no time limit, and the trial covers the full product.