Dustin Jones Sr. Program Manager David Mills Sr. Product Manager Microsoft Corporation Session Code: MGT318

Session Objectives and Takeaways Understand why Microsoft built Essentials 2007 for IT management of midsize businesses Learn IT management capabilities of Essentials 2007 for managing mission-critical business applications and infrastructure Detailed walkthroughs using Essentials 2007 to manage critical end-user IT resources

“Keeping OS and applications updated with the latest patches is time- consuming.” “ is critical for my company, server downtime is bad for business.” “Software installation for desktops should be quick and easy – it’s not!” “End-user troubleshooting is manual for us – telephone, , and remote desktop in Windows XP.” “Our hardware and software inventory is in spreadsheets. It’s hard to pull it all together.” Mid-Market IT Challenges

System Center Essentials 2007 Unified solution for midsize businesses (50–500 PCs, up to 30 servers) A unified solution with a single console for managing your servers, clients, hardware, software, and IT services Simple execution of complex management tasks like troubleshooting end- user issues, monitoring, and server and client software deployment Monitoring, troubleshooting, and asset tracking to keep your IT environment secure and up-to- date

System Center Family of Products

Integrated management designed for medium-sized companies with up to 30 servers and 500 clients Simple setup Unified management experience Comprehensive monitoring Update management Software and hardware inventory Integrated reporting Software deployment Remote management support

A “Day in the Life” with System Center Essentials David Mills Sr. Product Manager System Center Essentials

What’s New in SP1? Support for Managing workgroup-joined computers Monitoring SNMPv1 network devices Multiple auto-approval rules in Update Management A remote SQL Server 2005 instance on a computer with a different architecture (x86 or x64) than Essentials 2007 Management Server Running Essentials 2007 on Windows Server 2008 Management packs for Windows Server 2008 Improved Backup and disaster recovery guidance Management pack quality Performance, usability, and supportability

Managing Mission-Critical Resources Exchange Server/ Monitoring Exchange Server health and performance (preventing mail downtime) Client access and performance (Microsoft Office Outlook, Outlook Web Access [OWA], ActiveSync) Microsoft Office system Timely and accurate software deployment Monitor and troubleshoot applications SQL Server Preventing line-of-business (LOB) application outages Managing database space and performance Windows Client (Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, Windows Vista) End-user needs help solving problem Client monitoring

Unified Exchange Management Key features Monitoring Availability, configuration, and performance Core back-end MAPI synthetic logon Front-end synthetic logon transactions (OWA, OMA, EAS) Self-tuning thresholds Multiple views on health and performance Expert knowledge Diagnostic tasks Integrated SNMP network device monitoring Update Management Automated policy configuration “Update now” functionality Update status Integrated reporting Inventory 60+ data points for hardware and software Available “in context” for troubleshooting Integrated reporting Reporting Availability reports per component Integrated performance reports Configuration change reporting

Full Monitoring for Exchange Server Proactive end-to-end service monitoring Smart defaults to cut the “noise” of alerts Expert Exchange knowledge In-line tasks to click and remotely fix issues Automated routine management tasks Self-tuning thresholds

Unified Messaging View Exchange Messaging components in a single view View Exchange application and related managed objects like storage, Active Directory, etc. Networking and client views Health status of related component rolled into Exchange Messaging view Easily identify problems, understand impact to Messaging Service, and quickly drill down to diagnose and troubleshoot

Exchange Reports Health Modeling enables Availability Reports from Exchange sites to individual servers, down to components on each server Configuration Change Reports which track key configuration changes on each Exchange server Overlay Reports: Visualize changes in configuration on a timeline

Monitoring from End-User Perspective Distributed application monitoring (Outlook Send/Receive) Alerts, logon latency, performance Outlook Mobile Access Outlook Web Access ActiveSync Monitoring critical path

Managing Dustin Jones Sr. Program Manager System Center Essentials

Unified Office Management Key features: Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007 Monitoring Alerts “tuned’ for mid-sized businesses Expert knowledge to diagnose and fix issues Diagnostics tasks Crash and hang management Resource utilization management Responsiveness management Outlook mail availability Data source (database) availability File server and file availability Update (Patch) Management Automated policy configuration “Update now” functionality Update status Integrated reporting Software Distribution Deploy MSI and EXE applications Deploy Office 2007 Inventory 60+ data points for hardware and software Available “in context” for troubleshooting Integrated reporting Reporting Global reports (Top Alerts, Availability, etc.) Hardware (check machines for Office install)

Comprehensive Office Monitoring Global aggregate and critical monitoring for issues with Availability and reliability Performance Hardware and configuration Visualize Office health with Views Reports Respond to Office issues Faster problem resolution using Windows and Office knowledge Knowledge-embedded in-line tasks and views Context sensitive tasks Automated recoveries and diagnostics

Focus on End-User Productivity Platform and version coverage Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, and Windows Vista; Office XP, Office 2003, Office 2007 alerts provided for Outlook client Designed for global aggregate and critical monitoring Are my applications crashing or hanging? Are my applications consuming too many resources? Are my applications responsive for end users? Applications specific aggregate and critical monitoring Are Office Outlook clients able to send/receive mail? Is Windows Internet Explorer able to access sites? Is Windows Client Desktop able to access data sources? Is Windows Client Desktop able to access shares and files?

Managing Office Dustin Jones Sr. Program Manager System Center Essentials

Unified SQL Server 2005 Management Key features Monitoring Alerts “tuned’ for midsized businesses Monitor with expert knowledge to diagnose and fix issues Diagnostics tasks Self-tuning thresholds Availability reports per component Integrated performance reports Configuration change reporting Topology view Health and performance dashboard views Reporting 10 SQL Server-specific reports in addition to more general Windows reports Update (Patch) Management Automated policy configuration “Update now” functionality Update status Inventory 60+ data points for hardware and software Available “in context” for troubleshooting Integrated reporting

Full SQL Server Monitoring Complete application model of SQL elements including Smart defaults Instances, databases, file groups, files, agent jobs, SQL roles (e.g., replication) Clustering, log shipping, backup, SQL server agent Three core types of monitoring Availability, performance, configuration

Unified SQL Server View End-to-end visibility into mission-critical applications Faster problem resolution using SQL Server knowledge Automate routine management tasks Consolidated view of distributed servers and applications

Comprehensive Reporting In-context reports available in Actions pane of the management spaces Fifty pre-configured reports available via the Reporting node of the System Center Essentials console Ten SQL Server-specific reports available for things like: Database space, performance, lock analysis, counters, and many others

Remote SQL Server Task Support Monitoring alert information includes “in-line” tasks to “fix it now” Generic computer tasks include view of computer along with other attributes and “in-context” tasks SQL Server-specific tasks in the Actions pane give quick access to the most used features

Managing SQL Server Dustin Jones Sr. Program Manager System Center Essentials

Unified Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000 Professional Support Monitoring Availability and reliability, performance, and configuration Integrated health view and reports Expert knowledge Inline tasks and views Remote tasks Automated recoveries and diagnostics Remote hardware management with Intel management pack Update Management Automated Policy Configuration “Update now” functionality Update status Microsoft, third-party, and custom updates Integrated reporting Software Deployment EXE and MSI software deployment Deployment status Inventory 60+ data points for hardware and software Available “in context” for troubleshooting Integrated reporting Reports Global reports (Top Alerts, Availability, etc.) Desktop Monitoring dashboard Desktop Memory reports Desktop Storage reports Desktop Performance reports Desktop Purchasing reports

Comprehensive Client Monitoring Proactive alerts and reporting for critical issues Alerts and centralized error collection for crash and hang data (Agentless Exception Monitoring) Complete monitoring of the Windows Vista infrastructure, including the host OS and critical services Expert knowledge to diagnose and troubleshoot In-line tasks to click and remotely fix issues

Automated Updates Automated policy configuration Supports Microsoft, third-party and custom updates “Update now” functionality Monitoring and reporting of update status Automated daily health report Integrated reporting for compliance

30 Hardware and Software Inventory 60+ hardware and software attributes are gathered about SCE-managed machines Software inventory gathered via registry inspection, matching those listed via the “Add/Remove” control panel applet Hardware inventory gathered via WMI provider: Hard disk and memory usage, network card, etc.

Remote Troubleshooting Get detailed information on a user’s PC configuration Perform remote tasks right from the console: Ping, list processes, IPConfig, etc. Remote access to client computer to troubleshoot from SCE management console

Remote Troubleshooting Client Dustin Jones Sr. Program Manager System Center Essentials

Summary Call to action Essentials 2007 SP1 is ready to simplify IT management, reduce costs, and support your business’s objectives and your end-users Download Essentials 2007 SP1 today (Eval Edition or VHD). Test it, see the value, then upgrade using a product key

Sessions On-Demand & Community Resources for IT Professionals Resources for Developers Microsoft Certification and Training Resources Microsoft Certification & Training Resources Resources

Related Content MGT206 What's Next for Microsoft System Center Essentials MGT11-HOL Introduction to Microsoft System Center Essentials 2007

Resources All information about System Center Essentials is available at Self-help Resources Team Blog

Management Track Resources Key Microsoft Sites System Center on Microsoft.com: System Center on TechNet: Virtualization on Microsoft.com: Community Resources System Center Team Blog: System Center Central: System Center Community: System Center on TechNet Edge: System Center on Twitter: Virtualization Feed: System Center Influencers Program: Content, connections, and resources for influencers in the System Center Community. For information, contact

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