Service pack
Service pack ( English for maintenance package ) is a term used by various manufacturers for the compilation of patches for updating one of their operating systems and other software products.
Since the release of the Windows NT operating system up to Windows 7 and its server counterparts, Microsoft has issued compilations of bug fixes for its NT-based operating systems and also for applications (e.g. Internet Explorer or Microsoft Office ) as service packs at irregular, longer intervals . Microsoft has not applied the service pack concept since the introduction of Windows 10 or Office 2016; instead, updates are offered at regular intervals (Office: every month, Windows: approx. Every 6 months).
Other manufacturers (for example Network Associates ) have joined this definition.
Patches usually only correct a single bug. In the event of urgent errors, in particular security gaps in network protocols or network interfaces, these patches are provided by the manufacturer as hotfixes at short notice .
Service packs offer the advantage that many of these patches can be applied with a single installation. This means that many-digit numbers of changes can be made in the background. As a rule, a service pack contains all patches (provided they have not become obsolete ) since the main version or since the previous service pack. In some cases, new or previously missing properties are implemented in service packs . As a result, a service pack can contain not only bug fixes but also extensions or improvements, as in an update . Some service packs are provided by the manufacturers in advance for testing and go through a test phase as a beta version .
According to a software manufacturer's guarantee, some applications work on an operating system from a certain installed version of a service pack. Service packs therefore represent a new sub-version of a software system.
Service packs are usually cumulative , which means that they also summarize the updates from previous service packs (e.g. Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000 contains all corrections to packages 1, 2 and 3). If a service pack is not cumulative, the service packs must be installed in the order in which they appear. However, this is only the case with very few products.