Check for software patches and updates

Esri periodically releases software patches and updates for all components of ArcGIS. Email notifications are sent for each update and announced on the Patches and Service Packs page on the Esri Support website. You can also check if updates are available using a patchnotification utility installed with the software.

The patchnotification utility will report update information for ArcGIS Server and its extensions, Portal for ArcGIS, and ArcGIS Data Store. Other products are not supported. It will also display a list of installed patches and QFEs at the bottom of the dialog box. If more than one of these products are installed on the machine, update information for those products will also be reported.

To check for updates, see the steps below.

1. Log in to the machine hosting ArcGIS Server.
2. From the list of installed programs, click ArcGIS > ArcGIS Server > Check for Updates. Alternatively, you can start the utility from the command line (./patchnotification). To start the tool in console mode, use the -c command (./patchnotification -c). The utility is located in the <ArcGIS Server installation directory>/tools/patchnotification directory.

   Note:

   If your system does not include a display, the utility automatically opens in console mode.

   If your machine is offline or does not have direct access to the Internet, an error message will display. If your machine uses a forward proxy server to access the Internet, you'll need to specify the proxy server in the utility:

   • If you're running the utility from the user interface, follow these steps:
   1. Click the gear icon at the bottom of the utility dialog box.
   2. In the Settings dialog box, select Connect through a Proxy Server.
   3. Specify the host name, port, and user credentials (if necessary) of the proxy server.
   4. Click OK to connect to the proxy server.
   • If you're running the utility from the command line or in console mode, specify the proxy server using the -p command (./patchnotification -p http://<user>:<password>@forwardproxy.server.com:<port>).
3. Review the ArcGIS Server update information. If Portal for ArcGIS or ArcGIS Data Store products are installed on the machine, information for those products also displays. Installed patches are available at the bottom of the dialog box. Click any link in the dialog box to obtain more information and instructions for downloading and installing the update.

   Be sure to apply the ArcGIS Server patch or update to all machines in your GIS server site.

Click OK to close the notification dialog box.