IT Going Green and Making a Difference in More Ways

 

This is a 1E customer who not only uses our NightWatchman software to save electricity and subsequently reduce their own carbon footprint in doing so but they are also saw a return on investment of of less than three months on a project that also included our user self service product Shopping and services to design and implement SMS.  In the long run they are going to reduce the amount of carbon emitted into the environment by 1 metric tonne annually and their head count is only 4,500 employees.  Other benefits they will realize are faster and easier application delivery to the end users, and less IT staff costs by implementing SMS and Shopping, all along side NightWatchman.

I was not involved in this project personally, but I can tell you that with all of my customers who use NightWatchman they are not only saving millions of dollars on electricity each year and saving the planet at the same time but when they add our other software solutions like 1E WakeUp with our custom Wake-on-LAN solution and the much imitated Client Health patching of computers is much faster and reaching a patch level of 100% compliant is not only possible but now the expectation, add in our branch distribution software Nomad Enterprise and the fear of sending a package over a link and hoping it doesn’t saturate the pipe is gone, no longer can the Network admin’s point their finders at the SMS or ConfigMgr if their traffic shaping doesn’t quite work, Nomad has dynamic true bandwidth throttling built in that handles any change in network traffic, oh the stories I could tell.  And then when you add Shopping in and you never have to worry again about getting those frantic phone calls from your manager or director telling you to stop what you were working on “…because the department head of X is leaving for the airport in 45 minutes and has to have the latest version of Visio and PowerPoint installed on their laptop before they go, and I mean right now!  Create the package and ad thing you do. No, I have no idea what their computer name is why?  Oh, and make sure they have the right service pack and all the patches installed with those too!  We can’t have them getting infected.”  Because with Shopping that department head could sit in their chair open up their browser, select Visio and PowerPoint from the list of application on the Shopping portal and in just a few minutes it would all be installed while they were checking online to make sure they had the best seat for their return flight next week, all without ever contacting IT!

My customers scale, as far as client numbers, are almost always in excess of 100k so I get to design and test some very interesting solutions.  Hierarchies are very large and complicated, not to mention the sheer size of the IT operations and the risk associated with making changes to the computing environment and processes.  But when the design is complete, and we have checked every box indicating that all of the PoC tests are a success, and all requirements have been met, and I produce a report telling them how much they are going to reduce their carbon footprint and save on electricity, that they no longer have to worry about traffic shaping to make sure an SMS distribution doesn’t cause a network outage, that we meet and exceed application delivery to the end users where service level agreements are measured in seconds not days, and they are finally going to get the client fixed on all those computers where it hasn’t worked for no one knows how long, all they can do is smile in disbelief and ask me why they didn’t call sooner!  

So I can attest to this case study being factual even though I didn’t work on the project because I have seen it all with my own customers using the 1E products and services.

PeterboroughCaseStudy.pdf

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

Microsoft MVP System Center Configuration Manager

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

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More MMS Goodness

This is from the 1E site, but down towards the bottom you can see the schedule for demos at the 1E stand.  I will be presenting at least a couple times.  Brian Tucker and Neil Kimberly will also be presenting at the stand on other topics.  If you think I know SMS/ConfigMgr then you haven’t spent much time talking to Brian and Neil these guys are AMZAZING!

1E MMS Focus

1E will be exhibiting as a Gold Sponsor at the Microsoft Management Summit at the Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas from April 28 to May 2, 2008.

With a focus on System Center Success and ‘green’ IT, we will be highlighting:

• Expertise in deploying System Center solutions
• Automation solutions that dramatically reduce cost and complexity
• PC power management
• Self-service provisioning with licence control
• Content distribution and OS migration/deployment for distributed environments
• Actual customer experiences with proven ROI

SPEAKER SLOT: Real-world System Center success including PC power management: Significantly lower your PC and server management costs

Speaker: Sumir Karayi, CEO 1E

Date/Time: Tuesday 29, 11.45 – 13.00

Location: F-Veronese 2402-2503

Sumir Karayi, CEO 1E, will be speaking following Bill Anderson’s “ConfigMgr - State of the Nation” session. Sumir will talk about System Center and PC power management customer success stories.

1E has been providing robust integrated Windows systems management solutions for over 10 years. Come and listen to Sumir talk about real-world experiences of System Center success and PC power management implementations in large, complex, distributed environments. In this session you will learn how to address universal time and cost-saving initiatives such as:

• PC power and patch management including client health and energy usage reporting
• Automated self-service application provisioning with license management and control
• Optimization of software and OS deployments to bandwidth-constrained complex branch environments

Visit the 1E Stand 311

MMS provides us with a great opportunity to see friends – old and new. Please drop by the 1E stand to say hello, collect ‘green’ giveaways, enter our competition to win a Nintendo Wii, and attend ‘live’ technical demo sessions.

‘Live’ Theatre Demonstrations and Presentations

Tuesday April 29

1:10 - 1:30 PM PC Power Management: Go Green Overview Presentation Simon Francis

2:00 - 2:20 PM Self-Service Provisioning and License Control Anthony Clendenen

3:30 - 3:50 PM Fully Automated OS Deployment/Migrations Neil Kimberley

Wednesday April 30

1:10 - 1:30 PM PC Power Management, WOL and Client Health Brian Tucker

2:00 - 2:20 PM Fully Automated OS Deployment/Migrations Neil Kimberley

3:00 - 3:20 PM Self-Service Provisioning and License Control Anthony Clendenen

3:30 - 3:50 PM Bandwidth Optimization for Complex/Branch Environments Brian Tucker

Thursday May 1

1:10 - 1:30 PM Bandwidth Optimization for Complex/Branch Environments Brian Tucker

2:00 - 2:20 PM PC Power Management & Energy Usage Reporting Brian Tucker

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

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Auto Site Assignment and Multiple IP’s

Carol posted this over the the TechNet blogs site a couple of hours ago.  I commented that I didn’t think it was a huge change because the odds are pretty low that this would really happen in today.  Essentially the rule that an SMS or ConfigMgr client will use first bound NIC for auto assignment is no longer true.  If you think this is a significant technical change leave a comment and let her know.

 

Auto-site assignment and multiple IP addresses

It happens to all of us. Just when you think you’ve comfortably nailed a certain aspect of the product – Kapow! – the rug is pulled from under your feet and you realize you’re not on the stable ground you thought you were. It’s all part and parcel of working with a complex product, but still disconcerting when it happens.

Well, I had one of those moments recently when a bug came in about multiple adapters and auto-site assignment. It has long been documented (way before I joined the team) that when a computer has multiple adapters (such as a wired adapter and a wireless adapter or modem), the adapter bound first will be used to determine the client’s boundary location during auto-site assignment.

This isn’t something that I’ve ever had to rely on myself – if a computer had multiple adapters I would always prefer to use a direct site assignment, and the docs say that in this scenario, auto-site assignment probably isn’t for you. But I’ve always trusted the “first bound adapter” information.

Now it turns out that this isn’t true. A customer reported that this didn’t seem to be the case with their SMS 2003 client – an adapter that was not bound first was being used for site assignment. The product team looked into it, and sure enough, this piece of information that I’ve always trusted was actually incorrect. When a computer has multiple adapters or multiple IP addresses, the ordering of the IP addresses was nondeterministic but consistent for a particular computer. The same number of adapters or IP addresses for another computer would usually result in a different but consistent ordering of the addresses.

Although the customer reported this with SMS 2003 and quoted the SMS 2003 Concepts, Planning and Deployment Guide as the source of their (mis)information, there are no plans to republish this documentation. However, I have corrected it for the Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 RC documentation, in the topic About Client Site Assignment in Configuration Manager.

Old text (incorrect)

Note:

If a Configuration Manager 2007 client has multiple network cards (possibly a LAN network card and a dial-up modem), and therefore has multiple IP addresses, the network card that is bound first is used for evaluating client site assignment.

New text (corrected)

Note:

If a Configuration Manager 2007 client has multiple network cards (possibly a LAN network card and a dial-up modem), and therefore has multiple IP addresses, the IP address used to evaluate client site assignment is nondeterministic.

This is undoubtedly a technical change to the topic, but it’s not noted in the What’s New in the Configuration Manager Documentation Library for March 2008 where we list new topics or significant technical changes. I deliberated whether this was a “significant technical change”, and taking into account that this has been incorrect in our documentation for nearly 5 years before anybody commented on it, I decided that it wasn’t. Then I remembered one of our product group’s mottos “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence” and wondered if I had made the right decision.

Does anybody feel strongly that this constitutes a significant technical change? For example:

• Would knowing the correct behavior change an administrator’s decision about whether to use auto-site assignment when a computer has multiple addresses?
• Would this information provide the missing information about why auto-site assignment failed?

I suspect in practice that it’s one of those interesting pieces of information that you like to have clear in your mind, whether or not it’s actually of practical use. But if you think I made the wrong call and it qualifies as a significant technical change that should be called out in the change log topic, e-mail SMSDocs@Microsoft.com and I’ll see what I can do to retroactively list it.

And now, back to terra firma – until the next time!

- Carol Bailey

This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties and confers no rights.

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

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WAIK for Vista SP1 and Server 2008 and XP SP3 Dates

Hopefully you have heard by now that Vista SP1 and Server 2008 went RTM on Monday.  But can you use these with OSD or MD?  Well of course you can with the new version of WAIK.

 

Also it is being reported that Vista SP1 goes live on Feb 18th or 19th and Windows XP SP3 goes live on March 23rd or 24th. 

 

Download details here direct download here (1.1 GB).

Overview

The Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) is designed to help corporate IT professionals customize and deploy the Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 family of operation systems. By using Windows AIK, you can perform unattended Windows installations, capture Windows images with ImageX, and create Windows PE images.

This update is provided to you and licensed under the Windows Vista License Terms.

Related links:

Windows Server 2008 Group Policy Settings Reference spreadsheet.

Windows Vista Group Policy Settings Reference spreadsheet.

Group policy administrative templates for Vista.

ADMX migrator for old group policies.

Notable Changes in Vista SP1.

Release Notes for Vista SP1.

 

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

I Recommend These Books!
SMS 2003 Administrator’s Reference: Systems Management Server 2003 -  SMS 2003 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach  -  Microsoft SMS Installer (Book/CD-ROM package)  -  Pro SMS 2003  -  Professional MOM 2005, SMS 2003, and WSUS  -  Start to Finish Guide to Distributing Software With Systems Management Server 2003  -  Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 - Administrator’s Companion

And you can check out more books and gadgets at my Amazon store here.

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SoftGrid Sequencing Guidelines

Microsoft has released a Best Practices guide for Application Virtualization or SoftGrid v.4.2 app sequencing that was compiled from the MCS group.  Here are some of the highlights in the first two sections followed be the TOC’s.  There is far too much information to be effectively summarized here.  Great work!

Get your pdf copy here and your xps copy here.

 

Highlights of the Sequencer setup recommendations

• Sequence on a machine that is the oldest OS that the sequenced app will run on.
• If Office is part of your base image, install it on your Sequencer.
• Create an ODBC DSN setting as part of your Sequencer’s base images.  This will keep you from virtualizing all the ODBC DSN registry keys in the event the app you are sequencing creates any ODBC settings.
• Create a fake printer as part of your Sequencer’s base image.
• Everyone knows to create the Q drive on a separate partition right???  Everyone nod Yes..
• Put your %TEMP% directories and scratch directories on different physical drives for better performance while sequencing an app.
• Make sure you turn off all those auto start programs on your sequencer box.  Like your AV client, Adobe speed launcher, and search programs, Explorer, anti-spyware programs.

Highlights of recommendations for sequencing

• Know the app you are going to sequence.  Know if there are dependencies on other apps, know the install process, know if there are post install processes you have to complete. 
• Document all the above (commonly called a recipe) so someone else can do this or so you remember what to do when you finally get back to sequencing the app.
• Put relevant comments about the sequencer into the comments filed, your name, date, OS, SP, apps as part of the base sequencer image.
• Yes, you still need to use the 8.3 directory names.
• Configure and test the sequenced app during the Install phase.  If you make changes to the preferences as part of your normal install of the app, do it when you sequence the app as well.  And make sure the app runs as normal before you seal it, get rid of any registration dialogs or other annoying things the app does the first couple of times it runs.
• Don’t stop the monitor until all apps have been installed. 

 

Here is the rest of the TOC so you can see what else this guide includes.

Gauging Applications for Sequencing…………………………………………………………………………………. 20
Sequencing Limitations …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 21
Sample Sequencing ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22
Package Configuration……………………………………………………………………………………………. 22
Application Wizard …………………………………………………………………………………………………. 23
Saving the Package …………………………………………………………………………………………. 25
Application Package Upgrade………………………………………………………………………………….. 25
Compression of the SFT …………………………………………………………………………………………. 27
Advanced OSD Scripting ………………………………………………………………………………………… 27
Advanced Sequencing Techniques …………………………………………………………………………………….. 34
Sequencing Applications That Cannot Install to Q:\ …………………………………………………….. 34
Sequencing Web Based Applications ……………………………………………………………………….. 35
Sequencing for an OS other than the one required by the application. ………………………….. 35
Sequencing applications that require access to local devices and or resources ……………… 36
Sequencer Log Files ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 36
Finding Additional Information …………………………………………………………………………………………… 36
Error Codes and the Microsoft Knowledge Base ………………………………………………………… 36
SoftGrid Team Blog ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 37
SoftGrid Product Documentation ……………………………………………………………………………… 37
SoftGrid Related Technical Discussion Forums and Web Sites ……………………………………. 37

 

Related links:

App-V version 4.5 from the Connect site.

What’s New in 4.5

SMS and SoftGrid together

Webcasts

App-V on TechNet

 

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

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SMS 2003 Asset Intelligence Catalog Updated

This is only for SMS 2003 SP3 not ConfigMgr, ConfigMgr will be updated when SP1 is released in the not too distant future.

Direct Download or Source.

Brief Description

This package will update the Asset Intelligence catalog and bring the knowledge base to the level of SCCM 2007 RTM. It contains additional software titles and several additional updates that make the content more accurate and relevant.

Overview

Asset Intelligence enhances the inventory capabilities of SMS 2003 SP3 by extending hardware and software inventory. Many inventory classes improve the breadth of information gathered about hardware and software assets. This update, which is mentioned in the SMS 2003 SP3 help file, is the first periodic update to the Asset Intelligence Knowledge Base tables, containing newly released software information. Please note that this will update the SMS 2003 SP3 Asset Intelligence knowledge base and bring it to the same content level as SCCM 2007 RTM. This update is not intended for SCCM and is limited to SMS 2003 SP3. An update for SCCM 2007 will be provided with SCCM 2007 SP1.

Instructions

This update can be installed directly on the SQL server or from a remote machine. Please note that installation instructions differ from local to remote installation.
IMPORTANT:
Bulk Copy Program (BCP) must be installed on the system you are running the AICU.msi on.

This can be the client or server on which you are executing this update MSI.

You can check this by running “bcp ?” from command prompt

If you see error stating that “bcp is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file”, then bcp is NOT installed and you can’t proceed.
You can install BCP as part of the SQL client tools If you opt to run this update package (i.e. AICU.msi) on a remote machine then you will need to supply 2 parameters:

Name of the SQLServer and Name of the SMS Site DB.

DO NOT use quotes or braces around the SQL server name or the DB name in parameters.
HOW TO USE:
On a remote machine:

Verify BCP is installed

Copy the update MSI and verify you have administrator rights on the SQL server hosting the SMS DB

Run the following command (again, the client you are running this on, must have bcp): AICU.msi SQLSERVER=[Sql Server Name] SITEDB=[DB Name]
On the local SMS SQL Server (i.e. if you are running the MSI on the Site Server)

You do not need to specify any parameters.

Run the MSI update package
In both cases, a single log file will be generated

See C:\AI\BCP_OSQL_LOGS says: 207189 rows affected.

Look for the phrase ‘Install success!!’

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© Anthony Clendenen

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Defrag Your Hard Drive

How often do you defrag your hard drives?  Do you think it is often enough?  Defragging your drives can make a substantial difference in performance, seek times as well as the health of your drive can be improved if you defrag your drives on a regular basis.  Keep in mind that hard drives are mechanical devices and eventually one of those moving parts is going to fail and you can extend the life of your drives by making them work less when you try to get a file.  Don’t believe me? How about ExtremeTech.com? This link is to a portion of an article they wrote regarding optimizing performance and this piece is specifically about defragging your hard drive, including the Master File Table (MFT), and your Page File.

There are a ton of products out there some free, some pay, and the old standard that is included with the operating system.  Below is a list of available software for defragging your beloved hard drives.  If you find that you like one that does not have a scheduler then use either ConfigMgr to schedule a reoccurring ad to start the defrag or use task scheduler.

Pay versions:

• Diskeeper 2008, by Diskeeper Corporation
  • Home version
  • Pro version
  • Pro Premier version
  • Home Sever version
• Norton SpeedDisk, by Symantec Corporation. SpeedDisk is a component of the Norton SystemWorks bundle.
• O&O Defrag, by O&O Software
  • Professional edition
  • Server edition
• PerfectDisk 8, by Raxco Software
• Puran Defrag, by Puran Software
• UltimateDefrag, by DiskTrix, Cost $39.95, $9.95 for 90 day license, $19.95 for the Lite version, 30 day free trail download
  • UltimateDefrag 
  • UltimateDefragLite 
• Vopt, by Golden Bow Systems
• Total Defrag 2007 (Home), by Paragon Software Group, Cost $29.95, free trial download
• Ashampoo Magical Defrag, by Ashampoo, cost $14.99, 30 day free trial download 
• Windows Disk Defragmenter, by Diskeeper Corporation &Microsoft, included in the operating system

Free versions:

• Auslogic Disk Defrag, by Auslogic,
  • Download 
• Contig, by Microsoft (formerly Sysinternals),
  • Download 
• Defraggler, by Piriform,
  • Download
• JkDefrag, by Jeroen Kessels,
  • Download, GUI version 
• PageDefrag, by Microsoft (formerly Sysinternals),
  • Download 
• UltraDefrag, by Dmitri Arkhangelski and Justin Dearing,
  • Download
• IOBit SmartDefrag, by IOBit,
  • Download

 

How-To Create Your Own System Restore Partition!

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

I Recommend These Books!
SMS 2003 Administrator’s Reference: Systems Management Server 2003 -  SMS 2003 Recipes: A Problem-Solution Approach  -  Microsoft SMS Installer (Book/CD-ROM package)  -  Pro SMS 2003  -  Professional MOM 2005, SMS 2003, and WSUS  -  Start to Finish Guide to Distributing Software With Systems Management Server 2003  -  Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 - Administrator’s Companion

And you can check out more books and gadgets at my Amazon store here.

 

1 comment.

Systems Management Support WebCasts…And ConfigMgr Too

Merry Christmas…

 

 

 This is a whole list of Systems Management WebCasts that go back as far as 2000 with some SMS 2.0 stuff, here is some newer SMS 2003 WebCasts, and here is a search string for ConfigMgr WebCasts, I couldn’t find a page that just listed all of them.

Past Support WebCasts

• Support WebCast: Microsoft Security Intelligence Report: Latest trends in vulnerabilities, malware, and potentially unwanted software - Level 300 - Wednesday, 07 November 2007
• The Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Level 300: Thursday, December 22, 2005
• Troubleshooting Microsoft Exchange Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 - Level 200: Wednesday, May 18, 2005
• Vulnerability assessment and the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer - March 5, 2004
• Troubleshooting Microsoft Operations Manager Top Issues: Tuesday, January 6, 2004
• An Introduction to Microsoft Operations Manager 2004: Thursday, November 13, 2003
• Best Practices for Microsoft Operations Manager, Service Pack 1: Wednesday, November 12, 2003
• Upgrading Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 to Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 SP1: Tuesday, September 30, 2003
• How to Perform an Architectural Review: Friday, August 8, 2003
• A Technical Overview of Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003: Tuesday, July 29, 2003
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003: Troubleshooting Common Issues: Wednesday, July 9, 2003
• Upgrading from Microsoft Systems Management Server Version 2.0 to 2003: Tuesday, June 17, 2003
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Client Deployment: Tuesday, April 15, 2003
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0: Troubleshooting Client Installation: Wednesday, March 26, 2003
• Microsoft Operations Manager SP1: Configuration and Operational Best Practices: Tuesday, March 25, 2003
• Microsoft Systems Management Server: Using SMS 2003 in Small Branch Office Scenarios: Tuesday, February 25, 2003
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0: What Is New in Service Pack 5: Thursday, January 30, 2003
• Microsoft Operations Manager: Understanding the Refresh (SP1, SDK2, and the Resource Kit); Tuesday, January 14, 2003
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003: Discussion of the Beta Program: Wednesday, December 18, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003: Troubleshooting Advanced Clients: Tuesday, November 26, 2002
• Microsoft Operations Manager: An Introduction to MOM Architecture, Features, Performance, and Sizing: Tuesday, November 12, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003: Backup and Recovery: Tuesday, October 15, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server: Understanding SMS 2003 Querying and Reporting: Tuesday, August 20, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server: An Introduction to Software Update Management Using SMS 2.0: Wednesday, August 14, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003: Working with the Beta Release: Tuesday, July 30, 2002
• Introducing Software Metering in Microsoft SMS 2003: Thursday, June 13, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server (Topaz): Understanding Remote Control Options: Thursday, May 9, 2002
• Preparing for Microsoft Systems Management Server (Topaz) Deployment: Tuesday, April 16, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 Value Pack: Introduction to New Tools and Functionalities: Friday, March 29, 2002
• Microsoft Operations Manager: How to Manage the MOM Database: Friday, March 15, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server (Topaz): Understanding Advanced Security: Tuesday, February 5, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server (Topaz Release): Understanding Mobile Client: Tuesday, January 8, 2002
• Microsoft Systems Management Server : (Topaz) Software Distribution Enhancements: Tuesday, December 11, 2001
• New Microsoft Systems Management Server (code named Topaz) and Active Directory Integration: Thursday, November 29, 2001
• Understanding Operational Procedures for Microsoft Systems Management Server: Thursday, October 25, 2001
• MOM, SMS, and NetIQ AppMgr - Technical Comparisons: Thursday, October 4, 2001
• Introduction to the Next Release of Microsoft Systems Management Server: Thursday, September 6, 2001
• Troubleshooting SMS 2.0 Site Server Performance Problems: Tuesday, August 28, 2001
• Microsoft Operations Manager, Scalability and Complex Configurations: Tuesday, August 21, 2001
• Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) Installer and Installer Step-up (ISU): Thursday, July 19, 2001
• Installing and Deploying Microsoft Operations Manager 2000: Tuesday, July 17, 2001
• Understanding Microsoft Operations Manager 2000 Management Packs: Thursday, June 14, 2001
• Configuring and Troubleshooting Remote Tools in Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0: Wednesday, May 30, 2001
• Microsoft Systems Management Server Reporting using the SMS Web Reporting Tool: Thursday, May 17, 2001
• Creating Queries in the Systems Management Server Administrator Console: Thursday, April 12, 2001
• Introduction to Microsoft Operations Manager 2000: Tuesday, March 27, 2001
• Managing Mobile Clients with Systems Management Server 2.0: Friday, February 23, 2001
• Systems Management Server 2.0 Client Infrastructure:Friday, January 26, 2001
• Understanding SMS Network Discovery: Friday, December 8, 2000
• The Systems Management Server 2.0 Security Model: Tuesday, November 7, 2000
• SMS 2.0 Software Distribution Details and Advanced Information: Tuesday, October 10, 2000
• Windows Management Instrumentation: What Is It and How Does SMS Use It: Tuesday, September 26, 2000
• Handling Duplicate Systems in SMS 2.0: Thursday, August 17, 2000
• Systems Management Server 2.0 Backup and Recovery: Thursday, July 6, 2000
• What’s New in Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 Service Pack 2: Thursday, June 1, 2000
• Windows 2000 and Systems Management Server 2.0 Integration: Tuesday, May 9, 2000
• SMS 2.0 Design Issues: Thursday, April 13, 2000
• Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 Accounts: Thursday, February 03, 2000
• Systems Management Server 2.0 Security: Tuesday, January 25, 2000
• Systems Management Server 2.0 Common Problems and Resolutions: Tuesday, March 14, 2000

 

Regards,
Anthony

Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E

http://configmgr.com

© 2007 Anthony Clendenen

no comments yet.

How To Upgrade SMS 2003 to ConfigMgr

 

Back at the end of September I was preparing my home lab for ConfigMgr testing. Since then I have been trying to get back to this article to proof it and tidy it up for publishing. After a number of requests and a light amount of work after 15 hour day today I am sitting in my hotel room, eating mediocre room service, while the Bears are beating the Vikings on MNF, so what better time to do it.

Here are the basic software prerequisites for upgrading from SMS 2003 to ConfigMgr:

MMC 3.0

.NET Framework 2.0

Server 2003 SP1(+)

SQL 2005 SP2

Other considerations prior to upgrading:

You must have your SMS 2003 site in Advanced Security mode. This is the only mode in ConfigMgr.

No support for legacy clients. All clients must be advanced clients prior to the upgrade or they will no longer be clients.

Remove any 2003 Feature packs such as, OSD, Mobile Device Management, DCM, etc.

The 2003 version of ITMU is not supported in ConfigMgr so you must upgrade it right after completing the upgrade.

BUT – When I did my upgrade I left ITMU installed and it upgraded my server during the install.

Disable SQL replication prior to upgrading.

If you have modified the criterion of any of the default collections (maybe reports too), create new collections with different names (make use of linking) prior to the upgrade as these will be replaced with the defaults during the upgrade.

Prerequisites for different site roles:

Management Point - IIS 6.0, with BITS 2.0 and WebDAV extensions

Distribution Point if BITS enabled - IIS 6.0, BITS and WebDAV

Distribution Point if not BITS enabled - none

Reporting Point - IIS 6.0 and ASP

Server Locator Point - IIS 6.0

Software Update Point - IIS 6.0, WSUS 3.0 and BITS 2.5

Remote SUP - WSUS Admin console must be installed if a site is using WSUS server on another site.

Each SUP only supports 25,000 clients, if you have more than 25,000 clients assigned to a single site NLB clustering must be used (more info here).

Clients - WUA 3.0 and Windows Installer 3.1 (for updates)

Backing up your SQL (2000) db’s

Before we begin to upgrade to ConfigMgr we have to first upgrade to SQL 2005, if you are already at SQL 2005 then you can obviously skip this step but you will need to make sure you backup your db’s in SQL 2005 before you upgrade to ConfigMgr and that is covered later.

Since I am running several of the 1E tools in my lab I have the Agility Framework db to also backup, you may only need to follow these steps for your SMS db but the steps are exactly the same.

Backup Agility Framework db

Note: Before you start the backup if you are going to backup to disk like I am through Explorer create a folder to store your backups in as the wizard does not have a New Folder button to create a folder on the fly

In SQL Ent. Mgr. expand the databases, right click on the db you wish to backup, from the context menu choose All Tasks and then backup db.

This starts the Backup wizard, you can modify the name if you choose but by default it will append the db name with "backup." Also when you enter the name in the next couple of steps it will override this so don’t waste your time unless there is some company procedure you have to follow here.

Under Destination click the Add button and browse to the folder you want to store your backups in.

The name that you enter here will be the file name for you backup and will override the text you entered in the first window.

After you choose the destination and file name click OK and you will return to the SQL Server Backup window. You can leave all other choice at their defaults and start the backup by clicking the OK button. Depending on the size of your db this could take just a few seconds or a couple of minutes, when it finishes the backup you will be greeted with a popup window telling you it complete successfully like below. You can exit SQL Ent. Mgr. at this point.

Upgrade SQL 2000 to 2005 with SP2

Stop SQL server

SQL 2005 preqs: Install SQL Native Client and Setup Support Files

Complete configuration check

Select the components to install - SQL Server Database Services and Workstation components.

You are likely using a default instance so no need to choose a named instance unless you have your SQL db configured as such.

Specify the account you use to start your SQL instance, this should match what you are currently using for SQL 2000.

The setup process should not take too long but don’t forget to install SP2 for SQL. (download it here).

Prior to the upgrade it will check to see if all the SQL services are stopped and will not let you proceed until they are, fortunately it will check and let you know what needs to be stopped, including the PID if you need to go that deep.

After all services are stopped the install will proceed.

At this point I think the server had earned a reboot, even though it has not been requested.

After the reboot if you so choose, now is the time to remove the installed feature packs.

Extend AD Schema

Extending the schema is not something you should take likely but since you are doing all this in your lab it is not such a big deal. But you should be following your upgrade plan that you formed prior to testing it. Schema extensions cannot be reversed and are domain wide, you need to understand what impact they will have on your domain so plan carefully for these before you decide to implement them.

Some drawbacks to not extending the schema are:

Roaming is limited, clients will not request data from a local MP and will revert to their assigned MP instead.

NAP will not work or Native mode

Clients will not be able to auto assign themselves unless the SLP has been published to WINS and the MP has been added to DNS manually, alternately if the SLP from 2003 has been added to AD domain services then clients can auto assign. So in the upgrade scenario this is very likely to be true.

If you use secure key exchange between sites and are upgrading then you should not have any problems - I think. But you cannot use secure key exchange if you want to implement this after the upgrade without the schema extensions.

Dynamic updates to ports for client server communication will not occur.

Most of these have workarounds like passing cmd line parameters during client install to assign the clients manually, but a couple of them do not. You can get more details on workarounds and potential impact on the ConfigMgr TechNet site here.

If you are going to implement the extensions this is done the same way as previous schema extensions. The logged on account must have schema extension rights, this is not part of the typical domain admin rights, it is a separate group. Once you are logged in with the appropriate rights you can just open up a command prompt window, and from the ConfigMgr CD in the SMSSETUP\BIN\I386 directory locate the file extadsch.exe. Drag it to the command prompt window and make sure it has focus and then hit the Enter key. Once your blinking cursor returns, in the root of the boot drive you should find a log file named ExtADSch.log, open that up and look for "Successfully extended the Active Directory schema." down towards the end of the file, if you see this line all went well, if not, scroll up…

According to my log there are four new attributes that are added:

Cn=mS-SMS-Health-State

Cn=mS-SMS-Source-Forest

Cn=mS-SMS-Version

Cn=mS-SMS-Capabilities

And four classes are updated:

LDAP://cn=MS-SMS-Management-Point,CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=arz,DC=local

CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=arz,DC=local.

LDAP://cn=MS-SMS-Site,CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=arz,DC=local.

LDAP://cn=MS-SMS-Roaming-Boundary-Range,CN=Schema,CN=Configuration,DC=arz,DC=local.

For clarities sake my lab my domain is ARZ.local

Test db upgrade on backup created earlier

Remember the db backups we made, we don’t need those anymore we are at SQL 2005 now, but keep them just in case. Just like all the SMS 2003 service pack upgrades we need to test our SMS db prior to installing. Considering the time it takes to do this it is well worth testing the db, assuming you have the SMS 2003 Recovery Expert installed and you have tested it, how long has it been since you tested it? You do have it installed right? Microsoft has a couple of variations on this process that you may like better, they can be found here, my methods are the same as I have used in the past with customers, in my previous articles and when I was an SMS engineer so I prefer them not that any are really and better or worse.

If you are new to SQL 2005 what you used to do in Enterprise Manager you now do in SQL Server Management Studio. Find this shortcut on your Start menu and then connect to the local SQL instance (assuming you are running your db locally). We are going to create a new test db and restore it from our backup to test against it.

Expand the databases folder, right click it and select New Database.

You should see the New Database window like the image above, in the name field type in SMS_test and then click the OK button.

Now you should be back in the SQL Studio window and select your test db, right click on it, then select Tasks, Restore, Database like so.

You should see the Restore Database wizard now, select your test db in the Destination to restore - To database drop down menu, and from the Source for restore select From database and make sure you SMS db is the source.

On the left hand side you will see General and Options, select Options.

Check the top box Overwrite the existing database, and now we need to tell it where to store our LDF and MDF files, by default it should have the source files, which we do not want to overwrite, actually you can’t do this without getting an error.

Just click the ellipse buttons to specify new destination paths and names for the MDF and LDF files.

Before

After

Check your paths one more time like a good admin and then click OK to start the restore.

Just as with most SMS tasks, this will take a few minutes. And when you are finished you should see this.

Now we can do a test upgrade of our SMS db without risking any real damage. Click OK and close SQL Studio.

I found that I had to remove SQL 2000 completely before the following test would run, even though I specified the new SQL 2005 test db name the check would return and tell me I needed to install SQL 2005 SP2 in order to run setup. This also required a reboot, I guess I should have saved mine from earlier.

This all led to a very interesting development, it seems that during my uninstall of SQL 2000, it removed both 2000 and 2005.

As you can see I no longer have SQL 2000 in Add or Remove Programs, SQL 2005 is still listed but

See what happens when I click on Change.

The only options are to modify SQL Reporting Services or Workstation components…

I installed SQL 2005 again, installing just the database portion, it installed to a sub directory.

I will save you all the gory details but I was able to just attach the db from the SMSDATA folder. If this is intended during the uninstall this needs to be documented better, if it is not intentional then I would say this might be a BUG in the uninstaller, but maybe it was just me…

On the ConfigMgr CD in the folder SMSSETUP\BIN\I386 drag setup.exe to an open command prompt window and add the /testdbupgrade switch and then type the name of the backup db so it looks like this.

When it’s done you should see this.

Run ConfigMgr prerequisite check

Upgrade

You can begin the upgrade to ConfigMgr by double clicking the setup.exe in the I386 directory on the CD. After the initial welcome screen telling you what you need to complete prior to running setup you should see the setup options page where you will have the choice to upgrade or uninstall ConfigMgr, we obviously want to upgrade and that should be selected so click Next.

On the license agreement page review the license agreement and then check the box accepting it and then click Next again.

You can decide to participate in the customer feedback program or not on the next screen and after you have made your choice click Next again.

On the next screen the product key is entered, this will likely be filled in for you already, click Next.

The next screen gives you the option to allow setup check for any missing updates and download them for you, or you can bypass this and point it at a path where you have already stored the updates. After your choice click Next to proceed.

The next screen will ask you where you want to store the files if you chose to let setup download the files automatically, I would image this screen is the same for either method based on the wording.

Don’t forget to set your proxy settings in IE to auto detect if you are not using the latest fixed version of eval. I am using a different version supplied to 1E so it still has the bug in it but after making the change in IE it happily started downloading 88 files…

After the downloads have finished you should be presented with a summary page, check to make sure you have the selections you desire and then click Next.

This is where the database upgrade will take place and a final prerequisite check happens. Any errors or warnings listed may prevent the install or just provide information and allow the install to proceed. When you feel that you are ready and the prerequisite checks have passed, click the Begin Install button to launch the install!

And now the fun begins - this is what