Patch ArcGIS without service start mandatory

[TylerTheobald]

Summary: ArcGIS patching is too limiting with the Patch Notification tool and automatic service starts should not be required.

1) The patch notification tool should have a setting to not restart services after patch/es are applied.  This is desirable for installing multiple patches.  Starting the service between patches makes the patch process take much longer with multiple patches. 

2) When manually installing patches via MSP file and msiexec, a property should be available to pass on the command line to not have Widows ArcGIS service/s started after the patch is applied.   Related to #1, this will allow admins to more efficiently patch in the least amount of time, as service starts are not necessary to patch application files. 

[MikeVolz]

FYI - When I had run multiple patches in a row in the past from the Patch Notification tool, it had corrupted Portal.  Because of that, as it was difficult to figure out what happened, I only apply 1 patch at a time and now I have not had any issues since then.

[JoshuaBixby]

When applying multiple patches, the more efficient and effective approach is to use msiexec | Microsoft Learn multiple patch option:

/update

Install patches option. If you're applying multiple updates, you must separate them using a semi-colon (;).

Using this approach you can apply 2, 3, or 4 patches in nearly the same time as a single patch, and even applying 10-15 patches only takes a minute or two longer than a single patch.  Plus, using this approach ensures patches are installed in the proper order because the MSI installer takes care of sorting out order using MsiPatchSequence embedded in the MSP files.