Yet Another System Center Blog

ConfigMgr 2007 Toolkit version 2

2010-05-05 Leave a comment

I stumbled upon this today – missed the announcements. The System Center Configuration Manager team has released V2 of the ConfigMgr toolkit.

One significant tool that I notice has be re-released in this version of the toolkit is the Management Point Troubleshooter Tool. I used it today to evaluate my management point on my Server 2008 R2 Site Server to ensure it was correctly installed. The MP Troubleshooter tool will do a pre and post MP install check, and notify you of any problems it identifies. In this version of the troubleshooter, it can even detect WebDAV rules and if necessary can provide automated fixes.

You can download the toolkit here.

Filed under SCCM, Utilities

Configuration Manager courseware update

2010-04-25 Leave a comment

I just noticed that course 6451B Planning, Deploying, and Managing Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 is now available in beta. The original A version of the course was good, and based on the RTM version of SCCM. The B version has been updated to include the R2 features of Configuration Manager, as well as features like Native Mode and Internet Client Support, which was not included in the original. I’d definitely recommend waiting until the B version becomes available if you are planning on taking a Configuration Manager course, scheduled to release in early September.

Filed under Learning, R2, SCCM

Deploying Windows 7 Using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit

2010-04-23 Leave a comment

Mitch Tulloch, MVP and lead author of the Windows 7 Resource Kit, has written an excellent series on how to deploy Windows 7 using MDT. If you are new to deploying Windows Vista or Windows 7 OS, you will find that a lot has changed since Windows XP, and this is one of the best all-in-one tutorials I’ve found. If you are using SCCM to deploy your operating systems, MDT can be integrated into the Configuration Manager console, to expose functionality not available in SCCM alone. I’d definitely recommend checking the series, starting with Part 1 at http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/Deploying-Windows-7-Part1.html

Filed under OSD

Office 2010 Available

2010-04-22 Leave a comment

As announced, Office 2010 is available today through Technet and MSDN for download. Microsoft Software Assurance clients will be able to access it April 27, according to their official release, folowed by retail availability in early May. Check out http://blogs.technet.com/office2010/archive/2010/04/15/office-2010-reaches-rtm.aspx for their announcement.

Filed under Tips & Tricks

Configuration Manager 2007 R 3 beta announced today.

2010-04-22 Leave a comment

Today, the Configuration Manager team announced R3 beta availability.

Check it out at http://www.systemcentercentral.com/BlogDetails/tabid/143/IndexID/64866/Default.aspx.

Filed under SCCM

Troubleshooting OS Deployment in Configuration Manager

2010-04-18 Leave a comment

Troubleshooting Configuration Manager task sequences can be challenging. Here are some of the things I have found helpful when things go wrong with Operating System Deployment in Configuration Manager. Read more of this post

Filed under OSD, SCCM, Tips & Tricks

Administrative Workflow for PXE OS Deployment

2010-04-18 Leave a comment

While troubleshooting an OSD task sequence for a client a few days ago, I stumbled across an excellent PXE workflow document on technet. Check it out at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb693705.aspx

Filed under Deployment, SCCM, Tips & Tricks

Deploying Windows 7 from A to Z

2010-01-18 Leave a comment

Looking for a quick overview of the options and tools available for deploying Windows 7 in your organization? Microsoft released a great little guide this week. Here is a link to the online version. From there you can download the document if you wish. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-ca/library/ee956903(WS.10).aspx

Filed under Deployment

Excluding Drives from ConfigMgr Use

2010-01-09 Leave a comment

By default, the Site Component Manager will select the NTFS volume with the most available free space to copy component binaries or to store distribution point content to. That may not always be appropriate, and if you would like to exclude a drive from SMS component usage, just create an empty file in the root of the drive named no_sms_on_drive.sms. Prior to using a drive, the site component manager will check for the existence of this file in the root of each drive, and will not use any drives on which the file exists. For Microsoft’s documentation of this check out http://support.microsoft.com/kb/871234.

Please note that it will not affect any SMS components that already exist on the drive before you create the file. This is not a new trick, but it’s amazing how many people are not aware of it.

Filed under SCCM, SMS 2003, Tips & Tricks