Patching Server that isn't part of a Site

[CuyahogaGIS]

Can you apply all the available patches to a fresh install of ArcGIS Server before joining it to an existing Site? We're getting ready to replace some VM ArcGIS Servers with physical servers.

I've done a fresh install of ArcGIS 10.6.1 and it has some patches available. Does the Server need to be setup with a config_store and be part of a Site to install the patches?

[CuyahogaGIS]

Got a response on a Slack channel from someone at Esri and they said it's better to apply before creating the site. Functionally identical but the patching process will be faster if no site is created yet.

Been patching the past couple hours without issue.

[jill_es · Accepted solution]

Glad to hear everything is working for you!  As you mentioned, you can patch before or after creating a site - the results are the same but it can be faster before the site is created.  

[CuyahogaGIS]

I'm trying to mark your reply as the answer but the 'Mark Correct' button doesn't seem to do anything.

[jill_es]

Thanks for letting me know, I reported this to the GeoNet team and marked the answer as correct.