- Identify your current patch level by logging into your admin center with your global admin account and open the Servers in Farm page.
in the snapshot above, the database version is 16.0.5266.1000 , comparing this number with Microsoft official update site at https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/sharepoint-updates will indicate this version is from Jan 2022.
we will update the version to 2023 January and based on the table this will be KB 5002338
new step will be to download the KB5002338 patching executable.
download list : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/
download page : https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=104883
Pre installing :
- test the patching on dev or stage first this is a must, i had in the past cases when the install was not successful, and you don’t have a real easy rollback option. so it means if you have issues you will need to open a ticket with Microsoft. you don’t want to be in that position in production because the first thing you would be asked if you tested it first in dev or stage… don’t make it a resume rewrite scenario just by skipping this stage. DONT DO IT.
- It is important to note that before applying any updates, it is always a best practice to test them in a non-production environment to ensure compatibility with any customizations or third-party applications. Additionally, it is recommended to have a backup of the SharePoint farm before applying any updates.
- Make sure your stage and dev environment are actually working. usually these environments are dormant most of the time. make sure to test that your environment working as expected prior to implementing the patches so you won’t get a false negative. you don’t want to have an HIV Aladeen.
these patch exe files are big and can be up to 1 GB range.
- Install updates on the servers running Central Administration and any other servers running SharePoint services that do not host web applications.
- Update servers hosting web applications one at a time. Microsoft recommends updating the server that hosts the top-level site collection first, and then proceeding to other servers hosting web applications.
- After all servers have been updated, run the SharePoint Products Configuration Wizard on each server to complete the update process.
after launching the exe patch file, you might required to restart the server which means you can accept short outage during this process if IF I F everything goes well. after installing the patching on the app server move to the frontend servers and run the parch exe installation files.
the longest outage is when you apply the update using the product configuration wizard after you installed the patches. you need to run this process on each of the servers in the farm. App servers and frontends .
Not missing these patches at all one of the biggest benefits to move to SharePoint online.