In a private cloud environment, which of the following is the BEST way to update 20 VMs with the same patch that has been regression tested and approved for rollout?

Automating distribution via an orchestration tool without scheduling it during a maintenance window bypasses change control practices and risks disrupting production workloads at an uncontrolled time.

Manually patching 20 VMs is time-consuming, inconsistent, and error-prone compared to a structured maintenance window approach.

The patch has already been regression tested and approved for rollout, so deploying to only half the VMs for additional testing is redundant and unnecessarily delays full remediation.

Because the patch is already regression tested and approved for rollout, no additional validation is needed before deployment. Applying it to as many VMs as possible during a scheduled maintenance window follows standard change management governance for private cloud environments. The maintenance window ensures patching happens at a controlled, low-impact time without disrupting active workloads.