Last week I heard a story from a potential new client of their 100MB internet pipe being choked. For a company of their size, it was a shock that they could fill 100MB pipe.
After some monitoring and network tracing, they found the culprit. A new Windows 10 computer configured to share updates with PC’s on the Internet.
Microsoft has introduced a torrent type system for updates in Windows 10 called Windows Update Delivery Optimization. It enabled updates to be pulled from other computers on your local network, or from computers on the Internet. The goal is to cut down on the use of Microsoft overloaded update servers and to increase the rate at which important patches can be distributed. Windows 10 Home and Professional editions have the feature enabled to share updates from PCs on the Internet by default.
Getting updates from computers on the internet is not a horrible idea, but you also have to share your updates. It is all or none. If you have a limited connection to the Internet, or already stretched bandwidth you may want to opt out altogether.
You can edit the settings with these steps:
1) Right-Click the Windows button.
2) Click Settings.
3) Click Updates & Security.
4) Click Windows Updates.
5) Click Advanced Options.
6) Click “Choose how updates are delivered”
Your choices are to turn it off, update from local PCs only, or PC’s local and on the Internet.
The setting can also be controlled via Group Policy. This will require you adding the Windows 10 Administrative Templates to your central store and adding a policy.
Viyu is currently disabling this feature for our Managed Service clients as we approve and control updates to their computers.
If you notice your Internet connection is slower than usual, you might want to check this new feature.
Windows Update Deliver Optimization FAQ: https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-10-windows-update-delivery-optimization
Group Policy to configure Windows Update Delivery Optimization: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3088114
Dax Wiseman – VP Engineering