Patching servers safely
Plan, run and verify server patching: prioritize by risk, test in rings, stagger redundant roles, check before and after, and always have a way back.
- Level
- Intermediate
- Length
- About 55 minutes
- Contents
- 3 lessons · 1 video · final exam
- Status
- Published · updated 1 Oct 2026
Skills you'll practise
- Prioritize updates using severity, exposure and known exploitation
- Build a schedule with test rings and staggered redundant roles
- Run pre-checks and post-checks and stop when a check fails
- Plan and carry out a rollback when an update breaks a service
Course outline
- 1.Patching servers safelyVideo · 2 min
- 2.Deciding what to patch firstLesson · 18 min
- 3.Rings, windows and staggering redundant rolesLesson · 18 min
- 4.Pre-checks, post-checks and rollbackLesson · 18 min
- 5.Patching servers safely: knowledge checkKnowledge check · 15 questions
- 6.Patching servers safely: practical exerciseKnowledge check · 1 question
- 7.Patch night: node 1 won't come backScenario
- 8.Final exam7 questions · passing it completes the course, so people who already know the material can test out
Sources it draws on
The lessons and questions are written from these references, so learners can go back to the original.
- NIST SP 800-40 Rev. 4: Guide to Enterprise Patch Management Planning
- FIRST: Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) v3.1 specification
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
- Red Hat / Fedora documentation: dnf needs-restarting
See it with your own jobs and topics
Tell us about your team and we'll walk you through setup, from choosing jobs to your first skills check.