SharePoint 2010 Server CU’s do not need Foundation!!!

I’ve been trying to find an “official position” from Microsoft on this for a while now, and it seems that Stefan has got an explanation as to why the Foundation Cumulative Update does not need to be installed before the Server Updates (as well as confirming that they are not…) – http://blogs.technet.com/b/stefan_gossner/archive/2011/03/04/delayed-february-2011-cu-for-sharepoint-2010-is-now-available.aspx – Essentially in 2007 you could be on a different hotfix level between Server and WSS, but in 2010 there are dependencies on Foundation so the hotfixes will ALWAYS be packaged together.

This will save people doing hotfix updates time, but not for Service Packs – Unfortunately you still need to install both the Foundation Service Pack as well as the Server Service Pack (dunno why – wouldn’t it make more sense to bundle them together? You can’t have server without Foundation existing… oh and BTW, the February CU for SharePoint 2010 is out and fixes a ton of new stuff…). Finally, the process for SlipStreaming Hotfixes and updates into SharePoint Deployments remains the same from 2007 – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc261890(office.12).aspx

To create an installation source, you must add software updates to the updates folder of the released version of the software.

To use the updates folder

1. Copy the files from the released version source media for the product to a folder that you can use as an installation point for the servers in your server farm.
2. Download the appropriate software update package.
3. Extract the software update files, by using this command:<package> /extract:<path>The /extract switch prompts you to provide a folder name for  the files
4. Extract the SharePoint Server / Foundation software update files, by using this command:<Path and filename of Update Executable> /extract:<C:\rtm_product_path>\Updates<C:\rtm_product_path> is the location to which you copied the files that you extracted from the Install CD / ISO.
5. Copy the files that you extracted from the SharePoint software update package to the updates folder containing the source for the released version. You must verify that the Svrsetup.dll file has been copied from the software update package and you should delete the Wsssetup.dll file if it exists.

   Important:
   Delete Wsssetup.dll because it may conflict with Svrsetup.dll. Having both Wsssetup.dll and Svrsetup.dll in the updates folder for a slipstreamed installation source is not supported.

6. You can now use this location as an installation point, or you can create an image of this source that you can burn to a CD-ROM.

   Note:
   If you extracted the software update files to a location to which you had previously copied the source for a released version, the source is updated and is ready to use.