I completed all available Windows Updates and proceeded to add the WSUS role on Server 2012R2.  I chose the default WID database and the role addition was seemingly successful.  Unfortunately, the Post-deployment Configuration failed.  A log file had been created in the AppData\Local\Temp folder but at initial glance it seemed to imply that my error was likely due to skipping a step during installation via PowerShell, however, I didn't install using PowerShell.

Upon closer inspection the specifics of my error were right there for me, I just had to look at it long enough to decipher the details.  What I now read is that Post-deployment configuration finds a file called UpdateServices-Services.xml (I found it in Windows\System32\ServerManager\ComponentConfiguration\). 

It determines that ContentLocal=True which correctly indicates that my updates are to be stored locally.  It proceeds to inquire about the ContentDirectory, but comes back without a value. 

Here are my UpdateServices-Services.xml file contents:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><INSTANCE CLASSNAME="ServerComponent_UpdateServices_Services"><PROPERTY NAME="ContentDirectory" TYPE="string"></PROPERTY><PROPERTY NAME="ContentLocal" TYPE="boolean"><VALUE>true</VALUE></PROPERTY></INSTANCE>

I can see that the ContentLocal property did indeed have the value true, but the ContentDirectory property did not have a value.  I now needed to figure out if a String value could be specified in the same way a Boolean value was, or if it needed quotes around it, or was supposed to be specified more like an attribute (learned about that somewhere along the way). 

My UpdateServices-Services.xml now looks like this:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><INSTANCE CLASSNAME="ServerComponent_UpdateServices_Services"><PROPERTY NAME="ContentDirectory" TYPE="string"><VALUE>C:\LocalMSUpdateCache</VALUE></PROPERTY><PROPERTY NAME="ContentLocal" TYPE="boolean"><VALUE>true</VALUE></PROPERTY></INSTANCE>

Now when I launch Post Installation Tasks it takes a little longer to fail and this is the log generated:

2015-02-06 10:40:50  Postinstall started
2015-02-06 10:40:50  Detected role services: UI, WidDatabase, Services
2015-02-06 10:40:50  Start: LoadSettingsFromXml
2015-02-06 10:40:50  Start: GetConfigValue with filename=UpdateServices-Services.xml item=ContentLocal
2015-02-06 10:40:50  System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.UtilConstants' threw an exception. ---> System.IO.InvalidDataException: Invalid installation directory
   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.SetupInfo.GetInstallDirectory()
   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Internal.UtilConstants..cctor()
   --- End of inner exception stack trace ---
   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.PostInstall.GetConfigValue(String filename, String item)
   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.PostInstall.LoadSettingsFromXml()
   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.PostInstall.Initalize(Parameters parameters)
   at Microsoft.UpdateServices.Administration.PostInstall.Execute(String[] arguments)

I am at a lost.  Please help and thanks in advance!!

Hi,

According to the log, this issue is caused by that the post-install script can't get the ContentLocal property.

Please try to rename the file with name UpdateServices-Services.xml.old. Then run the post-install again.

If issue persists, please try to remove the WSUS role and WID, delete the Database file, then reinstall the WSUS again.

Hope this helps.

Best Regards.