When MSPs manage multiple client environments, keeping each endpoint properly patched can be a challenge. While patching policies can help scale patch management and automate routine deployments, obstacles such as low disk space, stopped services, or offline devices can complicate the process.
Automation scripts can help MSPs detect and address many of these conditions before they cause a deployment to fail. With automation scripts, MSPs can more easily manage patch deployment by preparing endpoints, validating results, remediating failures, and escalating issues when necessary. This complements patch policies and improves the patch management process, helping ensure updates are properly rolled out.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at how automation scripts can improve patch management and where they provide the most value before, during, and after deployment.
What Role Do Automation Scripts Play in Patch Deployment?
Automation scripts differ from patch automation policies, which govern routine activities such as approvals, schedules, and reboot rules. Automation scripts handle more complex issues, such as endpoint-specific checks, validation, remediation, and exceptions that may fall outside of normal patching policies.
Scripts can manage multiple tasks, including:
Checking if an endpoint is ready for patch installation.
Preparing devices before patches are deployed.
Confirming that updates were successfully installed.
Correcting common conditions that can cause patches to fail.
Reattempting failed actions within defined limits.
Collecting diagnostic information.
Escalating unresolved issues to technicians.
Using scripts for targeted readiness checks, validation, and exception handling helps keep patch policies focused on routine deployment.
How Can MSPs Use Scripts Before Patch Deployment?
With that established, we can look at how MSPs can use scripts to improve patch management and deployment. Pre-deployment scripts are great for helping MSPs to identify conditions that can impact patch deployment and address them, including:
1. Check Available Disk Space
Sometimes the only thing stopping a patch from being deployed is a lack of space. Scripts can compare available storage against defined thresholds before patch deployment to verify there’s enough disk space for the patch. If available space falls below the threshold, the endpoint can be withheld from deployment, routed through an approved cleanup workflow, or flagged for technician review.
Keep in mind that the script should not indiscriminately delete files to clear space. Without proper oversight and approval, there’s always the risk of it deleting something vital.
2. Detect Pending Reboots
Endpoints may remain in a pending-reboot state after an update, application installation, or system change. Scripts are helpful for identifying endpoints that need to restart after installing an update or making system changes.
MSPs can schedule a reboot action during an approved maintenance window or run a script that initiates the restart under defined conditions. This way, the updates are properly installed without interrupting regular workflows.
3. Verify Required Services
Scripts are also useful for confirming that OS update services and other required tools are running properly. For instance, if a service is stopped or returns error messages, scripts can attempt to restart the service or escalate the issue to a technician so the issue can be addressed before the update rolls out.
4. Confirm Patch Prerequisites
Patches sometimes have prerequisites that must be met before they can be installed, such as specific OS versions, dependent frameworks, required processes, or connectivity to approved update sources. Scripts can check for these prerequisites and return clear results, so endpoints that don’t meet these prerequisites can be addressed or excluded.
5. Close or Stop Conflicting Applications
Sometimes, open applications or running processes can block an update from launching or completing. In these cases, scripts can detect these issues, notify users, or stop them during a maintenance period so the update can complete.
Keep in mind that applications shouldn’t be closed without letting users save their work first. There are few things more frustrating than losing hours of work to an unexpected reboot.
How Can MSPs Run Scripts Across Client Endpoint Groups?
If MSPs want to run scripts across various client endpoints, they need centralized controls that can execute scripts without requiring manual connections to each endpoint. Reusable scripts can be standardized across clients while still being customized for individual needs, including variables, thresholds, schedules, and exclusions.
Scripts can be targeted to a variety of groups and needs, including:
Client
Site or location
Operating system
Device role
Department
Maintenance window
In fact, being able to run customized, targeted scripts is essential for ensuring every client and device gets the support it needs. If a script works for standard employee laptops, that’s no guarantee it’ll work the same on servers, kiosks, or other business-critical devices, so proper script targeting is important.
How Can Scripts Verify That Patches Installed Successfully?
One vital but often overlooked aspect of patch management is verifying installation. Automated deployment commands can launch the installation but don’t verify that the endpoint has reached its intended patch state. Without proper proof of installation, it’s easy for patches to fail unnoticed.
With automation scripts, it is possible to verify patch installation in several ways, including:
1. Confirm Operating System Patch Status
With scripts, you can verify key details, such as installed update identifiers, update history, operating system build numbers, the last successful installation date, and reboot status. This is a simple check that compares the endpoint’s current state with what it should be if the patch is properly installed, making it easy to verify installation.
2. Verify Application Versions
Scripts can also verify installed software after applications are updated in order to ensure they’re running the latest version. This helps MSPs identify installations that may have been reported as successful but didn’t update to the expected version, so they can check and complete the update.
3. Return Structured Results
Scripts can check patch statuses and provide standardized output, such as “successful,” “reboot required,” “manual review required,” or failure with an attached reason. This is a quick and clear way to verify patches, as it includes the device, timestamp, and concise error messages, allowing them to be addressed promptly.
4. Recheck After Restart
Many patches can’t be fully validated until the endpoint reboots. In these cases, after the endpoint restarts, MSPs can run or schedule a validation script to confirm the final operating system build or application version and report any remaining errors.
How Can Scripts Remediate Common Patch Failures?
If a patch fails, scripting can also address it and attempt to reinstall the patch properly. This works best for predictable, low-risk conditions, but scripts can also send unusual or high-impact failures to technicians, so they can investigate manually when needed.
1. Restart Failed Update Services
If a service needs to be restarted for an update to finish, automation scripts can handle it. Scripts can be configured to check the status of update-related services and restart them when it is safe to do so, allowing the installation to continue when a stopped service is the cause of the failure. If there are repeated service failures, those should be logged and escalated, so scripts should also include a maximum number of restarts before escalating.
2. Repair Temporary Update Conditions
Automation scripts can include approved remediation actions for when updates fail, such as resetting stalled update components, clearing temporary update data, or repairing known prerequisites. This can help automate troubleshooting and retries of updates. Remediation scripts should be narrowly scoped, tested, approved, and limited to known conditions. Destructive actions should require technician review.
3. Retry Failed Patch Installations
If an installation fails, scripts can be configured to retry it after the problem is resolved. This can automate the response to predictable failures and reduce the number of endpoints that require technician intervention. However, retries should be configured to have a maximum number of attempts, with delays between attempts, and record reasons for each failure, so they can be escalated to technicians if needed.
4. Trigger Required Reboots
When an update requires a reboot before it’s fully installed, scripts can schedule and initiate restarts in accordance with client policies. This helps ensure updates are properly installed without interrupting daily work by scheduling restarts during planned maintenance windows, along with friendly user notifications to ensure no important work is lost to a reboot.
5. Collect Logs for Technician Review
Scripts can also be used to gather information, such as logs, update history, system information, and failure codes. Then, when the update needs to be escalated to a technician, the information they need will be ready for them. This reduces the time technicians spend collecting basic diagnostic information and improves efficiency by providing everything they need in one place.
When Should Patch Automation Stop and Escalate to a Technician?
While patch automation is a valuable tool for keeping endpoints updated and secure, there are times when technicians still need to intervene. There are many circumstances in which automation should step aside and let a technician step in, especially when issues require a technician’s expertise and investigation.
These situations include:
The same patch fails after the permitted retry count
A required service cannot be restored
The endpoint repeatedly returns inconsistent results
A business-critical application is affected
A server or specialized device requires review
A patch causes unexpected application or system behavior
A script encounters an unknown error
The endpoint falls outside the approved configuration
Remediation would require destructive or high-risk changes
In any of these situations, IT teams should be alerted so they can step in. Make sure alerts include the client, endpoint, script version, patch, attempted actions, results, and recommended next steps to help technicians efficiently diagnose and resolve the issue.
Remember: the goal of automation is to reduce repetitive work, not brush unresolved problems under the rug. If an issue arises that scripts can’t resolve, IT teams should be ready to manage it.
How Should MSPs Standardize Patch Automation Scripts Safely?
Patch automation scripts are powerful, flexible tools for both patch deployment and troubleshooting. However, they still have to be designed properly. Here are some important steps to follow when creating your patch automation scripts:
Define One Purpose Per Script: There’s no reason to use one script for everything. Tasks such as readiness checks, remediation, validation, and reporting should be separate wherever it’s possible and practical.
Test in a Controlled Environment: It's important to test scripts and ensure they’re performing as intended before rolling them out across devices. Be sure to validate scripts on a representative group of devices before using them across production endpoints.
Use Pilot Endpoint Groups: When rolling out your scripts, you don’t want to deploy them to every device at once. Start with a limited deployment group before expanding across a client environment, so that any unexpected issues can be caught and addressed early.
Maintain Version Control: It’s important to maintain control over your scripts and any changes made to them. Be sure to record script changes, owners, approval dates, and rollback versions for each script.
Use Clear Inputs and Variables: Scripts should be straightforward and easy to modify for specific clients. Keep client-specific settings, thresholds, and maintenance windows separate from the main script logic, so they can be adjusted as needed.
Protect Credentials and Sensitive Data: Keeping sensitive data secure everywhere is important, including in scripts. Never embed plaintext passwords, access tokens, or sensitive client information in scripts, as it risks leaking the data.
Set Timeouts and Retry Limits: While scripts can re-attempt failed updates, you don’t want them to get stuck in an infinite loop. Make sure you set limits to prevent scripts from running indefinitely or creating repeated remediation loops.
Capture Logs and Exit Codes: Every execution should be traceable and understandable. This helps improve oversight and accountability while providing clear records if anything needs to be investigated or undone.
Control Script Permissions: Be sure to limit who can create, edit, approve, and execute scripts to avoid unauthorized access or unapproved scripts.
Review the Script Library Regularly: Scripts often need to be reviewed, updated, or removed when they’re no longer performing as intended. Be sure to review your library, retire obsolete scripts, and update workflows when operating systems, applications, or client requirements change.
How Can MSPs Measure the Effectiveness of Script-Assisted Patching?
MSPs should measure whether scripts are improving patch completion, reducing repeated failures, and limiting unnecessary technician intervention. You can measure the effectiveness of script-assisted patching through operational outcomes that indicate success and efficiency, rather than just the number of scripts executed.
Be sure to track these metrics:
Patch success rate
First-attempt installation rate
The percentage of failures that are remediated automatically
The number of endpoints requiring technician intervention
Average time to resolve failed patches
Endpoints waiting for a reboot
Devices that repeatedly miss maintenance windows
Script failure and timeout rates
Patch completion by client or endpoint group
Time between patch approval and verified installation
Common Mistakes MSPs Should Avoid With Patch Automation Scripts
Scripting can be a complicated process, so there are several mistakes that MSPs can commonly make when creating and using automation scripts. Be sure to watch out for these mistakes to ensure your scripts run as intended.
Common mistakes include:
Using scripts as a replacement for centralized patch policies, rather than a tool to supplement and support them.
Running untested scripts across every client, instead of testing scripts and adjusting them for each client.
Applying the same script to all endpoint types, which can result in scripts running on incompatible devices or operating systems.
Allowing unlimited retries, which can lock scripts into infinite loops of failures and retries without remediation.
Treating script execution as proof of patch success, rather than verifying the installation.
Failing to account for offline devices, which can result in devices missing key updates.
Embedding credentials in scripts, which creates cybersecurity risks.
Suppressing errors instead of escalating them.
Making high-risk changes without approval.
Failing to document script ownership and changes, which reduces accountability and control.
Creating a large script library with overlapping functions, which can become cumbersome and redundant.
Ignoring client-specific schedules and reboot requirements.
How Splashtop AEM Supports Script-Assisted Patch Deployment
Scripting and patch deployment don’t need to be challenges, much less insurmountable ones. With Splashtop AEM (Autonomous Endpoint Management), MSPs can manage patch deployment, run scripts across managed endpoint groups, review endpoint status, and remotely address exceptions from the Splashtop console.
With Splashtop AEM, you can:
1. Automate Operating System and Third-Party Patching
Splashtop AEM empowers MSPs with patch automation. With it, they can set policies to automate routine updates across managed devices, including operating systems and third-party applications. These policies form the foundation of the patching process, while scripts can support exceptions and additional checks to further improve patch management.
2. Run Scripts Across Multiple Endpoints
Splashtop AEM enables MSPs to schedule and execute scripts across selected endpoint groups. This supports multiple devices at once, rather than requiring each one to be connected individually, saving time and improving efficiency. Scripts can also run in the background, enabling routine maintenance without interrupting users.
3. Review Execution and Patch Results
By centralizing device and patch status information in one place, Splashtop AEM helps technicians identify what patches were installed successfully, where failures occurred, and what devices need extra attention. This helps ensure proper patching across endpoints, as MSPs can verify results and tell when they need to address failures.
4. Remotely Resolve Remaining Exceptions
If endpoints need additional attention, MSP technicians can use Splashtop’s remote support capabilities to remotely access and troubleshoot devices.
Improve Patch Deployment Without Creating More Manual Work
Automation scripts are powerful tools for improving patch deployment, but they have to be used properly. Scripts are most effective when they’re used for specific roles within a controlled patching workflow, such as verifying readiness, validating results, and remediating basic issues.
Scripts play a key role in patch deployment, working alongside patch automation and policies to keep endpoints up to date. When MSPs establish clear retry and escalation rules, maintain client-specific controls, and route unresolved issues to technicians, patch deployment becomes more consistent, traceable, and manageable.
With Splashtop AEM, patch automation is even more efficient. MSPs can use Splashtop AEM to configure patch policies, schedule or run scripts across managed endpoint groups, monitor deployment results, and address exceptions.
Want to see how Splashtop AEM can automate patching, run scripts across endpoints, and monitor performance results? Get started with a free trial today.
