Windows Server 2012 Essentials Update Rollup 1

Microsoft today announced the first major update to Windows Server 2012, which it’s calling Update Rollup 1. As the name suggests, this update isn’t just a collection of bug fixes. It includes some small functional updates as well. Very small.

That said, it’s nothing to get all that excited about, and the “new features” that Microsoft lists reads like a list a fixes, not features. These include:

Hosted email message mailbox integration in the Dashboard. With support for this new add-in framework, it’s now possible to more easily integrate a remote third-party email service.

Improved reliability of the Remote Web Access (RWA) page. Courtesy of an update to AntiXSSLibrary.dll.

.NET Framework 4.5 package is updated to a new version. This update will update the .netfx client package to the latest version in order to improve the reliability of the client connector and other dependent features.

Improved online backup integration experience. It now includes a direct download link in the Dashboard.

In addition to these features, Update Rollup 1 also includes fixes for several major issues. You can read about these in the Knowledge Base article for the rollup. There’s also a separate KB article for the client-side install, which is required for any connected PCs.

Essentials 2012 was RTM’d in early October 2012, so this release hits at roughly the 5 month mark. It’s a bit light to be considered a service pack, but looking over the list of “fixes,” that’s pretty much what this is.