Observations and stuff I find interesting – mostly about System Center
2013-04-11 Leave a comment
I’m missing it too. I’m wishing I could be there to take in all the amazing sessions, meet some gurus, and of course take in all those famous after hours parties and events. All is not lost. Read more of this post
2012-06-22 8 Comments
According to MSL Campaign Factory, the two new Configuration Manager courses should start shipping June 29, 2012.
Course 10747a: Administering System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/course.aspx?ID=10747a) – 5 days. What do you need to know to manage and configure Configuration Manager 2012? This is the course you need. This course does not teach you to design and install SCCM hierarchies, it teaches day-to-day Configuration Manager administration skills.
Course 10748a: Deploying System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en/us/course.aspx?id=10748ab) – 3 days. What should your Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy look like? Do you need a CAS? Do you need multiple primary sites or secondary sites? What’s involved in migrating your existing Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy to 2012? This is the course you need.
Learning partners should be able to order the courseware by the end of this month. You should be able to sign up for the courses today.
I’ll be teaching these courses in Edmonton in July, and will try to provide some feedback here once they are done. From the looks of the two courses they provide great content and sufficient depth to give you a solid start in your Configuration Manager 2012 environment.
2012-06-09 Leave a comment
If you have been playing around with Configuration Manager 2012 you know that it’s definitely not Configuration Manager as you have known it. The new application delivery model revolutionizes software delivery and in so many ways is a giant leap forward from SCCM 2007 packages, programs, and advertisements. User-centric management has finally become a reality. Settlings which previously were configured per site can now be configured per collection greatly simplifying client management. Much of the complexity of Configuration Manager 2007 Software Update management has been removed, leaving update management in 2012 intuitive and simple. And the site hierarchy has been completely redesigned. While beta testing Configuration Manager 2012 and when demonstrating the product to clients l find myself repeating the words “FINALLY” again and again.
Will you need a Central Administration Site? Since you can now configure bandwidth settings, throttling settings, and schedule content distribution between the site server and distribution point, does your ConfigMgr 2007 hierarchy still make sense in 2012? Since there is no direct upgrade to Configuration Manager 2012, only migration, how will your migration plan look? Sounds like this is a good time to get some training and guidance to ensure you get it right the first time!
Microsoft Learning is releasing two very good official System Center 2012 Configuration Manager courses;
I think the reality is that many people will eventually need both courses. If you are up for a challenge, I’ll be teaching the 10747 and 10748 courses, combining and condensing the 8 days worth of content into 6 days. The combined course will be running in Edmonton the week of July 9, 2012 at Winding River Solutions (http://www.windingriver.ca). If you would like to register, or have questions get in touch with them.
2012-03-05 Leave a comment
Release Candidate 2 of Configuration Manager 2012 is currently available, and by the end of April the RTM version should be available. Have you started to plan for Configuration Manager 2012 in your environment? Do you know what has changed and what you should be doing to prepare for the migration? It might be time for some training.
2011-11-10 Leave a comment
I’ll be in Edmonton the week of December 5, 2011 to teach course 6451B Planning, Deploying and Managing Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007. The course will be running at Winding River (http://www.windingriver.ca/) so if you have been wanting to take this course, here’s your opportunity. Read more of this post
2011-08-06 Leave a comment
I’m primarily a Configuration Manager guy, but for the last few months I’ve been working with a couple of clients implementing System Center Service Manager. Service Manager is one of the newer additions to the System Center family, and provides an ITIL based solution for incident and problem resolution, change control, and asset lifecycle management. Since it leverages resources already in your Active Dirctory, as well as Configuration Manager inventory and assett information and Operations Manager alerts (if you use SCCM and SCOM), SCSM is a nice fit for organizations already invested in those products. See http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/en/us/service-manager.aspx for more information about the product. Read more of this post
2011-07-06 Leave a comment
With the release of CM 2012 just months away (projected Q4 2011), I’m getting a lot of questions about what official training products will be available.
As of today, it appears that there will be 2 Configuration Manager 2012 courses, Read more of this post
2011-06-04 Leave a comment
Who Wants a Kindle? Coming Soon: dMOC on a Kindle – Born to Learn – Born To Learn – Born to Learn.
For owners of a Kindle (like me) Microsoft’s Digital MOC will soon be available in Kindle format. That’s great as I have way too many printed books on the shelf gathering dust and do most of my reading in digital format now. Please note that printed MOC is still available – if you want the dMOC instead of a printed manual you should ask the Learning Partner you will be taking the class from prior to the class to see if the course is available in dMOC.
2011-04-19 Leave a comment
Windows 7 deployment seems to the the hot topic these days. If you are responsible for planning and rolling out Windows 7, then this is a course you really should consider taking. This five-day instructor-led course is intended for desktop administrators who specialize in desktop deployment, configuration, and management . It is a great course for those interested in OS deployment.
2011-03-20 Leave a comment
I re-discovered this set of quizzes last week while teaching a 6451 class in Edmonton. They are a set of feature quizzes put together by the Configuration Manager User Assistance team. One thing I like about them is that not only does it tell you if your answer is right or wrong, but it also provides helpful links for more information specific to each question. Read more of this post
Configuration Manager Team Blog
Yet Another System Center Blog 