A new Release Candidate (RC) version of the Patch Management Engine will be made available. This update will be available only to N-central assets configured to use the Release Candidate (RC) channel.

The General Availability (GA) release will follow once the RC is validated and may include additional fixes.

What’s New

This release improves the resilience and robustness of Microsoft Cumulative Update installations.

Previously, Microsoft Cumulative Updates packaged as MSU files were installed exclusively using WUSA (Windows Update Standalone Installer). With this update, PME introduces DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) as an additional installation method.

New installation behaviour

• PME will attempt to install Microsoft Cumulative Updates using DISM first.
• If DISM fails, PME will automatically fall back to WUSA.
• Patch installations that do not use MSU files are not affected by this change.

The goal is to reduce installation failures and improve overall patch reliability, particularly in scenarios where WUSA alone is insufficient.

Version Details

• Patch Management Engine: 2.13.10.5116
• Third-Party Patch Engine: 2.13.10.5030
• Diagnostics: 2.13.10.5022

N-central Patch Management Engine Version Options

When configuring Patch Management Engine updates in N-central, the following options are available:

• General Availability (GA) – Recommended: Installs the current production version of the Patch Management Engine.
• Release Candidate (RC): Installs a pre-release version of the upcoming Patch Management Engine to provide early access to improvements and fixes.