A Tour of System Center Configuration Manager Adam Duffy Edina Public Schools
What is SCCM? A systems management product by Microsoft Manages large groups of Windows computers Used to be Systems Management Server (SMS), first released in 1994
What can you do with SCCM? Remote management Patch management Software distribution Operating system deployment Hardware and software inventory Reports and queries
Why did we start with SCCM? Forefront Endpoint Protection Our version of Altiris didn’t support Windows 7
Getting started with SCCM Get help A few AD changes Windows server(s) SQL database Management console SCCM client
Some basic terms Collection Package Advertisement
Software packages We currently have 230 packages MSI installers easily converted to package Build custom solutions Lots of resources available Packages don’t have to be full programs
Advertisements Can push out software to collections as we choose Users can easily install software as needed
Forefront Endpoint Protection Deploy the Forefront Endpoint Protection client as a software package Can push out policies
Operating System Deployment Power and flexibility in task sequences Custom settings based on computer model Our current OSD process Base image Updates Software and tweaks Thick image or thin image
Drivers 23 models of computers that will run Windows 7 Built-in detection problematic Third party tools
Reports / Queries Gather information about your systems Build collections
Remote Management Tools Consolidates multiple tools in one place Remote desktop Quick access to C: share and log files Resource Explorer Remote command prompt
And More Hardware and software inventory Software updates Network Access Protection
When things go wrong Log files, log files, log files One computer, 83 log files, 96,786 lines
Problems with SCCM Some things are slow Unintuitive terms Designed for large organizations Steep learning curve
Other Tools / Resources User groups SCCM for Education User Group MNSCUG Right Click Tools Trace32 (now CMTrace.exe) Orca AdminStudio IT Ninja
SCCM 2012 Improved administrator interface User Centric Management Role-Based Administration And more!
Questions?