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Windows 2008 R2 SP1 Update and SBA - failure to boot

Symptom / Introduction:  

Applying Microsoft Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 to a Dialogic® DMG 4000 Media Gateway (DMG4000) that is being used as a Survivable Branch Appliance (SBA)  may cause a boot failure and thus require a manual intervention by the administrator in order to restore the unit's operation. Customers currently using a DMG4000 as an SBA may need to take action in order to prevent Microsoft Service Packs from being applied.

Reason for the issue / Background:  

The service pack appears to corrupt the SBA's Boot Manager and the Master Boot Record.  As a result, following an update to SP1, the first boot stops and requires a manual interaction using a keyboard and monitor in order to resume the boot sequence.

Workaround: 

The Dialogic DMG4000 SBA is shipped with automatic updates disabled and customers are strongly advised not to apply the Service Pack 1 manually to the SBA, and to double check their deployment and ensure that the domain WSUS service is properly configured NOT to install Windows Service Packs on the SBA device. Applicable MS Service Packs will be included as part of future Dialogic SBA software updates.

If a unit has already been updated to SP1 and is failing to complete the boot cycle, an administrator must connect a keyboard, mouse and monitor, and navigate through the prompts in order to complete the boot cycle. Selecting Windows Server 2008 R2 from the boot menu (not the other options) will complete the boot cycle and SP1 will be installed, but the Paragon Onboard Recovery Tool will no longer be available.

Alternately, SU4 may be reinstalled using the SU4 Upgrade Kit, creating a clean installation of SU4. Please note that SP1 will not be installed, but should be prevented from attempting to reinstall as indicated above.

Product List:

Dialogic® DMG 4000 Media Gateway Survivable Branch Appliance (SBA) - including systems based on both Intel and Dell chassis