Question about "Directory containing packages > Subscribe" Updates

westhompson214

New Member
I am attempting to use ntlite for business purposes, but the normal way ntlite grabs updates are blocked on our network.

We have not purchased the program yet and before we do, we are trying to figure out what the title feature could give to us.
Would we be able to connect to the Microsoft catalog directly or does this Subscribe feature tie to something else? I can't seem to find information on this feature.
 
westhompson214 NTLites Update Downloader is a Licensed feature, not availible in Free/Unlicensed mode.
All updates are downloaded direct from microsofts servers only.
 
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I understand it's a paid feature.
I'm trying to understand what it does before we go and purchase a license.

Regarding the "from Microsoft servers directly" the download feature is having an issue with ServerAddress when trying to connect to the feature.

I understand that the updates are grabbed from the catalog, but whatever NTLite uses to sort out the updates might be blocked, reasoning for trying to see what the feature in the title does.

Screenshot 2022-11-22 082549.png
 
This happens when your internet is too slow. updating timeouts. just try again. and again.
I have tried that multiple times.
I can confirm that it is our Network Security team that has blocked the location user nuhi is hosting the server.
I can connect fine when connected to the public network at our location, but that is a much slower internet and defeats the purpose of moving off and on the networks.
If I can get a confirmation as to where the server is hosted and what the IP/Host name is, then I can see if out team can allow this through.

But I haven't gotten an answer to the main question here.
Under Updates there is a location to pick "Directory containing packages>Subscribe". How is this feature used?
What does "Subscribe" mean and what are we able to "Subscribe" to? Does it allow me to connect to Microsoft directly and bypass nuhi's server?

We are wanting to use this program to make imaging easier, but we don't want to pay just to find out it won't work.
 
NTLite requires public network access for three different functions:
  1. Checking for a newer NTLite version (using HTTPS)
  2. Checking for the monthly updates list (using HTTPS)
  3. Download KB updates from MS servers (using HTTPS)
The first two calls require access to licensing.ntlite.com, and the last to MS's download CDN.

Loss of #1 means you don't get reminded of new versions. But you can visit NTLite's download page to check manually.
Loss of #2 means you can't use Updates downloader, which is a handy feature. But since W10/11 have cumulative updates, other than one-off KB's, figuring out each Patch Tuesday's list takes a few minutes of browsing news sites.

Folder Subscription is where NTLite scans your private staging folder for available KB files to automatically integrate into the image. Any recognizable MSU file will be included. It saves you the effort of rescanning the Updates downloader, or NTLite's own cache folder.

If your security policy allows you to download KB's from MS's Catalog site, then save those files here. There's no subscription to any external site, and there isn't one anyway because MS doesn't provide this feed. WU works by matching your specific platform/release against the WSUS database. It's tailored for the system requesting updates.

Here are several options:

1. Edit NTLite's settings.xml, and enable the proxy server name/port. See if the security team will allow access, and they can audit the traffic.

2. Commit to manual downloading every Patch Tuesday. In reality, you basically need the monthly, and one .NET CU. Nobody really needs the Dynamic Update KB's, and 4.8.1 is too new for any vendor to require it right now.
 
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