Microsoft is giving enterprise customers the latest option to download smaller Windows 10 feature update packages for distribution, that will actually translate into significant bandwidth savings.

So far, the Windows 10 feature update downloads were about 4.8GB because Microsoft releases the x64 and x86 versions bundled being single download.

There's now usually x64-only package option that's about 2.6GB bigger, saving customers about 2.2GB about the previous bundled download size.

These slimmed down x64-only updates should be available at the time of September 27 for customers updating systems to Windows 10, versions 1703, 1709, and 1803. A x64-only feature update is originating for version 1809 once it happens to be released next month.

This should help it to be less painful for larger customers to unveil these versions of Windows 10 about the enterprise.

Microsoft expects its commercial customers with global Windows 10 rollouts underway "to see lots of time and bandwidth savings on this option".

The updates would be available for customers using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) or attached to System Center Configuration Manager, and is released as Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) files through WSUS.

However, the downsized Windows 10 feature update packages contain only the original release to manufacturer (RTM) sort of Windows 10, meaning they not have the cumulative updates released since RTM, and furthermore Features on Demand, and language packs.

That compromise means admins will probably need to separately apply the latest cumulative Quality Update to provide the software latest.

"Customers who still x86 feature updates will have to use the combined files originally published, which can continue to be available by no means have the 'x64' distinction," explained Joel Frauenheim of Microsoft.

"Configuration Manager as well as other enterprise management solutions can pull the x86 files from that come with update download to deploy given that they did before."

However, the modification won't save any bandwidth between Configuration Manager and in addition the PC being installed with Windows 10.