Oi.

Linux may have had a squillion patches in the past [timeframe]. There is a critical difference however which you are glossing over:

With Linux, I only have to reboot when the Kernel is updated. For this reason - and this reason alone - will I never, ever even consider a Windows web server.

@Jolyon

Everyone can has WSUS. It r maek patchez teh E Z.

That said, when your archaic bloody database software and/or random mission-critical chunk of industry-specific software decides to eat it's own face thanks to patches you can spend an awful lot of time Q_Qing.

For these reasons, many of us can't simply release the patches to WSUS and forget about it. We actually have to spend [timeframe] testing the bloody things on all of our various configurations.

I can sympathise with the OP. While it probably won’t take me until Christmas to do so (as the OP claims it will on his network,) it most certainly will take me until that Friday. Patches come out on the 14...I'll be testing until the 16, forestall deployment until the 17 because it's a Friday and I can reboot servers at that time without any blitting from the back buffers.

Automated deployment is free, and awesome. Automated /testing/ on the other hand…

(\/) Ò_ó (\/) furious crabs (\/) Ò_ó (\/)

There are plenty of tools to partially or completely automate this process.

if it takes you until Christmas then that's ... very ... dilligent ... of you.