Client action revamp

I have blown this old post away:
http://sms-hints-tricks.blogspot.com/2008/06/client-actions-for-entire-collection.html

I have deleted code for this tool and rewritten from scratch.
I have a problem with textarea tag in that it put breaks
in the text area. Sorry about that. Until I get that fixed you will need to just to do a search and replace. The tool will allow that admin to right click and force an action on a collection or single computer. Unlike other tools for policy and inventory I don't kick the inventory key forcing the machine to do a Full inventory. I kick off a standard Inventory so it will be a delta and fast.

Remote machines

Many times admins need to remote to another machine or work with virtual machines. For the seasoned admin this might be trival but people have asked in the forums so:

CTRL ALT DEL -> CTRL ALT END

When using remote desktop to another machine use CTRL ALT END to force the CTRL ALT DEL function on the other machine.

I have my MMS 2008 DVDs

Wow!! That was fast. One of my female co-workers came down the hall all gitty and handed me the DVDs. Yes I popped it in and listened to myself..yuck. Don't you just hate how you sound. Well I plan to go through the entire DVD Set to see what I can learn :)

MMS 2008 DVD

Looks like they are on their way!!!!!



Dear MMS 2008 Attendee,

This e-mail serves as confirmation that your MMS 2008 DVD set has been shipped and you should be receiving it within 1-2 weeks (International locations may take longer). The DVD set has been sent via the U.S. Postal Service to the address included with your registration information.

SMS to SCCM upgrade and Client Cache Issues

If you perform an upgrade of your SMS 2003 server to SCCM 2007 you should be aware of a potentional problem with your client cache. Client cache is not cleared when the new client is installed. This could cause problems with client tombstoning correctly. There are several ways to fix this. You should do a manual "clear cache" on every system. I know you are laughing... I have a vbscript that clears the cache of a client that can be used with a login script. I am currently working on making it a right click tool. This could be used once the site is upgraded and it could also be used at any time you feel the need to clear the cache of a client.

I have it 90% written, since I plan to use it in my enviroment. I will at a convention in Las Vegas presenting my research in the area of GIS so I won't have time to work on it. I hope to have it done by Friday if not the weekend. I will post it here for those that wish to use it.

Back to Las Vegas

Well this has absolutely nothing to do with SCCM or SMS but I thought I would share it. I am going back to Las Vegas next week. After spending the week and presenting at MMS 2008, I don't have a real good reason to stay. I will be making just a day trip, yes a day trip from Texas to Nevada. I will be presenting my research in GIS ("Developing A GIS-Based System for Analyzing Medical Transportation Activities ") at the 2008 International Information and Knowledge Engineering Conference. Guess I will be spending my evening practing another presneation :)

Reasons for Secondaries

The question arises sometimes about why install a secondary site server. Well here is why you would want to do it. This obviously won’t cover all the possibilities:

1. Slow site across the WAN with say 10 or more computers. By installing a secondary and adding a proxy MP to it you can control the chit chat between the clients and the MP. You will also have 1 package pulled down that will then be pulled by the 10 machines

2. Secondary location where it is not necessary to have a primary site. This group of computers could number in the low thousands. Exact numbers depends on the Hardware specs and hierarchy arrangement.

3. You have a site that you can’t afford to have a Primary site. A primary site would require an additional license, SQL connection / Database

4. Maybe you just have that many subnets and you want to disperse what machines grab from what DP / MP.



Example Assignment Scenarios for Configuration Manager: Secondary Sites
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680569(TechNet.10).aspx

Configuration Manager Site Capacity Planning
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680869(TechNet.10).aspx


Branch DP: If you have a very small number of computers (100 ) you could opt for a branch DP. Note that this is runs on a client machine. The more computers that connect the slower that persons machine will become.


This does cover Branch DP, shared DPs and such. Just the basics of installing a Secondary Site Server. Be aware that you don’t need to install a MP proxy if you just want the client to pull packages from here. The client will then talk directly to the MP.

Usability study for System Center Configuration Manager Users

This was taken from a MS annoucment:


Microsoft Usability is conducting a study focusing on the on design ideas for the next version of System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) starting July, 2008. Studies will be conducted once every month. Sessions are limited, though we do have openings we are currently scheduling into. This is a great opportunity for SCCM users who have experience working with System Center Configuration Manager to provide feedback and help improve the user experience of SCCM’s next version.



The study will be conducted in a lab setting on Microsoft’s main campus in Redmond, Washington. It is important for you to know that you do not need to prepare anything for this. We want to learn from you, the experts, to determine what needs to be improved in our software.



If you are interested or know someone who could be interested in participating, please email us at itusable@microsoft.com with SCCM in subject line. For information on other studies and to learn more about Microsoft's User Research program email us.



We are considering running some Configuration Manager usability studies in other cities. If you live outside the Puget Sound area and would like to be contacted in the future about studies in your area, please email us at itusable@microsoft.com




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Wally Mead

Laptop Collection

When creating a collection for laptops you have to include the "Chassis Type" numbers. The problem with this is that laptops/portables/pen tops all have different enclosures



select SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceID,SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceType,SMS_R_SYSTEM.Name,SMS_R_SYSTEM.SMSUniqueIdentifier,SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceDomainORWorkgroup,SMS_R_SYSTEM.Client from SMS_R_System inner join SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE on SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ResourceID = SMS_R_System.ResourceId where
SMS_G_System_SYSTEM_ENCLOSURE.ChassisTypes in ( "8", "9", "10", "14" )

You may change this as needed here is the complete list from Micrsoft:

Value Description
1 Other
2 Unknown
3 Desktop
4 Low Profile Desktop
5 Pizza Box
6 Mini Tower
7 Tower
8 Portable
9 Laptop
10 Notebook
11 Hand Held
12 Docking Station
13 All in One
14 Sub Notebook
15 Space-Saving
16 Lunch Box
17 Main System Chassis
18 Expansion Chassis
19 Sub Chassis
20 Bus Expansion Chassis
21 Peripheral Chassis
22 Storage Chassis
23 Rack Mount Chassis
24 Sealed-Case PC

MP does't work after switching from Mixed to Native Mode in SCCM

Many people have discovered that after they migrate to Native Mode that the MP doesn't work or that they clients don't receive advertisements.

This is a known issue that is being worked out. To solve the problem you should uninstall and reinstall the MP. I personally can't say that I have had this problem. We decided that if were going to take the leap to SCCM we would do it with both feet.


http://blogs.technet.com/wemd_ua_-_sms_writing_team/archive/2008/05/30/is-the-documentation-for-migrating-a-site-to-native-mode-missing-a-step-to-uninstall-reinstall-the-management-point.aspx


Granted I work in Higher Education so we don't have many of the same limitations that corporations face. Thank you Microsoft for giving us technology at a lower cost for easier adoption.

The Matrix of SCCM

Well I occasionally get called across the room to take a look at a computer log or something dealing with SCCM. As I run down the client logs and jump through them people always ew and ah. First off we are looking via notepad since the log reader is only on the Server and because it looks like just a bunch of junk. As I run through different logs and say.."see here..oh and here" the guys have decided to call it the Matrix. "Hey we see log files but he see a blonde girl." It funny how you get use to looking at log files :)

Rock on Neo!