Windows 11 Updates Size Is Reduced By 40 Percent

Even in the development phase of Windows 11, Microsoft had repeatedly emphasized that the upcoming updates for the new operating system should be much “smaller” than was possible with Windows 10.

Now, after the first security update, the company explains what it did for it. In a report in the TechCommunity, the Windows team now explains how the update packages could be made smaller. On the one hand, this involves reducing package sizes by around 40 percent. The latest Windows security updates have a modular structure, which means that regardless of which update is already installed, you only need the latest quality update to bring your computer up to date. As far as this was of course the case before due to the cumulative updates. But now Microsoft has made some technical changes. The most important reason for this is that users can obtain security updates at any time, even if they do not have a large bandwidth or flat rates available.

In order to achieve the goal of the smaller update packages, the Windows maintenance updates with a so-called paired forward and backward differential compression have already been distributed with Windows 10 version 1809. However, that was not quite as effective as Microsoft had hoped. Technically, the new solution is very extensive, in short, you simply use only the forward delta groups when distributing the Windows 11 updates:

“For versioned data systems that require forward and backward delta pairs, Reverse Update Data Generation provides a way to efficiently distribute the forward delta to the machine and let the machine maintain a path back to its original state Microsoft has successfully used this approach in Windows 11, reducing the size of updates by 40 percent. This benefits our customers, who have to download fewer downloads in order to stay up to date and secure. “

Optimal User Experience

Microsoft President Brad Smith said: “More than 20 million Americans do not have access to high-speed broadband networks – a gap that is widening the wealth and opportunity gaps in our country, especially between rural and urban areas. As the economy is growing “As the workplace and our daily lives become more and more digital, it is vital that we close this gap. We simply cannot afford to leave entire churches behind.” Of course, this applies worldwide and not just in the USA.

According to Microsoft, the updates have so far required a considerable bandwidth, mainly due to their high number of times (at least one update per month). Reducing this network transmission is therefore also crucial for an optimal user experience. In addition, users on slower networks can struggle to keep their computers up to date with the latest security updates if they cannot download the package in the first place.