Brian S. Tucker

Current List of Disallowed SMS / SCCM SITECODES

2009-07-15T17:24:00Z

For those of you who used (or still use SMS 2003) there was a KB article published a long time ago that stated what codes you could not use.

These included: CON - PRN - AUX - NUL

For those on SCCM with R2, you cannot use the following: OSD - SRS and FCS as these will disable features in R2. Currently, there is not a KB on these new disallowed codes.

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Using MCS ChangePoint for Windows 7 Users

2009-06-19T12:15:00Z

If you are running Windows 7 and are on a MCS engagement, you know you need to enter your time and or expenses each week. While for the first few weeks IE in 7 worked fine, this week did not. If you experience this, use the RDP string to connect to the Terminal Server.

cpts.partners.extranet.microsoft.com

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How to Resolve SW Update & Site Replication Issues with SCCM 2007 SP1 R2

2009-06-18T20:53:00Z

While I have had some issues over the years on site to site replication (as we all have), normally the address is not configured right or the permission is not set between the sites or even someone forgets to add the primary above as the primary to the child. All these things are easy for mess up and or forget. However, I ran into a real issue on a site that I want to help explain what the issue was and how it was resolved. Issue: Primary to Child Primary replication replicated some collections, packages, adverts and some SW Updates. No errors were logged and the child could send all info up to the primary above, but the issue was not all objects were not coming down the pipe 100%. Resolution: SW Updates - The first thing we did was to clear out all the .CID files in the ..\Inboxes\Objmgr.box\INCOMING and also the subfolder \Retry. The .CID files are actually the individual SW Updates that you selected from the categories. The .CID files have code in them so that when they come in, they look to see if any files supersede them. If yes, then they go to the Retry folder and wait for the proper file to come down and then are processed soon after. I copied the files from both folders just in case to a neutral area. You know you have problems when the Objmgr.log spews error after error for the .CID files. 1. Open SQL and run the following query against your SCCM DB.2. On the child site sql database run the following query in SQL to remove the bad items:

*Warning run this query on the CHILD SITE where the issue is occurring, insure that the CENTRAL Site Code is manually entered as well*

Delete from CI_ConfigurationItems Where CIType_ID in (1, 6, 8);
Update CI_SDMPackages set IsDeleted = 1 where SourceSite = 'central site code';
Exec sp_DeleteOldSDMPackageData 0;

You should see a number of rows affected by this query and a lot for a larger hierarchy. 989 rows took 31 minutes… Wait 15 minutes or so after this completes. What's interesting about this .CID issue is that the .CID's come DIRECTLY from the Central Primary. They do not come from the Primary above no matter how big your hierarchy is. One would think that since the SW Updates / WSUS use the upper primary for WSUS replication, this is not the case when sending down .CID files.

3. Force a resync of the Patch data objects by dropping a <child_site_code>.sha file into the Central site's ..\SMS\inboxes\objmgr.box. This is just a empty .txt file renamed to XXX.SHA. If you did it right, you should see the file delete within a few seconds.Packages, Adverts & Collections - These are not as hard to force replication. From the Central Primary locate your SCCM install dir and in a command prompt run <X:\SCCM Location>\Bin\i386\00000409\Preinst.exe /syncchild XXX (where XXX is the site code). It will take some time, but you should get full replication. Preinst.exe has been around for some time as many of us know, but it pertains to the main subject. The real information on this post is how to fix replication for SW Updates which was very different in SMS.

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Windows 7 RC Now Available on MSDN Subscriptions

2009-04-30T13:10:00Z

All versions of Windows 7 were released 10 minutes ago... Have fun!

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Windows 7 RC Released Tomorrow (for some)

2009-04-29T22:04:00Z

Windows 7 Availability

· 4/30 - RC Availability to managed Beta programs including MSDN and TechNet subscribers, Connect Beta testers, and TAP customers

· 5/5 – Availability through the Customer Preview Program. Anyone can download the RC build through this program.

· TBD – RTM availability has not been set yet. See timing guidance below.

As with the Beta, customers will be able to download Windows 7 RC online from Windows.com, TechNet and MSDN. There will be no limits on the number of keys provided or the number of Windows 7 downloads supported. RC downloads will be available at least through June 2009.

Windows 7 Release Timeline, including RTM guidance?

In talking about the delivery of Windows 7 and when we expect to achieve the next milestones in the product release, it’s important to talk about the key milestones, and the goals and principles that we plan to achieve at each stage; then you as the partner can be the judge as to whether we achieved the goal of each milestone, the quality of the product, and when you believe we will release the product.

PDC (Professional Developers Conference). The first major milestone was the release at PDC of the Milestone 3 (M3) build of Windows 7. The goal at this point was to provide a product that was platform complete and reliable to release to the developer (ISV) and IHV ecosystem and enable them to start preparing their applications and hardware for Windows 7. The feedback was very positive.

Beta. In the January timeframe, the goal was to provide a product that performed well, was reliable and was feature complete, so that we could share it with a broad set of end users and IT professionals, providing them with a first look at the upcoming OS and allowing them to factor Windows 7 into their deployment and migration planning. It is estimated that 2.8M customers installed and used Windows 7 Beta. The customer reception has been very positive. Customer feedback and beta testing results are the key factor in defining the timing of the next milestone.

RC (Release Candidate). Our next release, Windows 7 RC, will be available beginning April 30th. The goal for the RC is to deliver a very high quality product that demonstrates our aspiration on the quality of the final RTM version. With RC our goal is to get broad evaluation from IT Professionals and businesses testing it in their environments.

RTM. The final engineering milestone is the release to manufacturing (RTM). This release is typically 3-5 months after the RC. We believe the product is very high quality and to date have received very positive feedback. This might result in RTM delivery before the 3-5 months timeframe. But ultimately you'll decide the quality and assess the delivery once you download and use the RC. Customer and partner feedback will determine how quickly we release after RC. The released version of Windows 7 will typically be made available to our Windows Volume Licensing customers 2-3 weeks after RTM.

Why should partners and customers upgrade to Windows 7 RC?

· First, to experience the latest that Windows 7 has to offer. Several new features, including XP VPC, are available in the RC build of Windows 7. Also, users will experience continued improvements in overall system performance and polish.

· Second, for those using a Beta version of Windows 7, it is important to migrate to Windows 7 RC to avoid the timebomb that is build into Windows 7 Beta. That timebomb will activate on 7/1/2009. Two weeks before the timebomb activates (on 6/17), users will begin receiving frequent notifications about the timebomb. When the timebomb activates, users will experience frequent notifications and forced reboots.

Please advise your customers who are using the Windows 7 Beta to migrate to Windows 7 RC to avoid the timebomb. It is imperative that everyone running Windows 7 Beta move to RC, when available. Note that all Beta customers who registered for a key will receive several e-mails notifying them of the timebomb and encouraging them to move to Windows 7 RC. (Windows 7 RC also has a built-in timebomb, but this will not activate until 3/1/2010.)

What is the recommended path to migrate to Windows 7 RC?

The recommended path to migrate to Windows 7 RC depends on what operating system you are currently running:

Current OS	Recommended Path to RC
Windows XP	If your hardware meets the minimum recommendations for Windows 7, we recommend you do a clean install of Windows 7 RC when available. The recommended minimum hardware for the Beta can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-7/beta-faq.aspx. (Hardware recommendations will be roughly the same for RC.)
Windows Vista	We recommend you upgrade to Windows 7 RC when available
Windows 7 Beta	We strongly recommend you do a clean install of Windows 7 RC when available. You do not need to first reinstall Windows Vista and then upgrade to Windows 7 RC. The reason we recommend a clean install is that some features do not work when upgrading from Windows 7 Beta to Windows 7 RC. Rather than spend resources to enable the upgrade from Beta to RC scenario – which is not a normal customer scenario once the product is released – the engineering team focused on improving the overall quality of Windows 7. This will allow us to more quickly release the final version of Windows 7 to customers.

In all of these scenarios, the Windows Easy Transfer tool can be used make it easier to restore files and settings after a clean install.

How will Microsoft collect and use feedback from Windows 7 RC?

The “Send Feedback” feature isn’t in Windows 7 RC, because we’re at a later stage of the software development process. With this release, we’re focused on verifying that all the changes and fixes we made based on the Beta tests and feedback are working correctly. We do that by gathering the automatically generated information (called telemetry) that your PC sends us when you use Windows 7 RC. Telemetry provides information about when your computer hangs, crashes or has performance issues, and it lets us know what applications or devices you were using when you experienced problems. It is important that we get this data from thousands of different hardware configurations in order to complete Windows 7. This will help us confirm that the fixes we included based on Beta feedback work on a wide range of hardware, and identify any new problems.

Where can I get Windows 7 materials?

- Windows 7 MSPP Site

- Windows 7 Customer Site

- Windows 7 Shop

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New Microsoft SCCM Webcasts

2009-04-28T15:31:00Z

It's been a while since Microsoft made some SCCM videos and I'm very interested in the one for deploying Windows 7 with OSD! Follow the links to register.

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft does IT: System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Client Health Strategies (Level 300)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

9:30 A.M.–10:30 A.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft does IT: Using Local Policies to Solve Complex System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Client Challenges (Level 300)

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft does IT: Deploying Windows 7 Using System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and OSD (Level 300)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

9:30 A.M.–10:30 A.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft does IT: Using Virtualization with Hyper-V to Deploy System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (Level 300)

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

11:00 A.M.–12:00 P.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft does IT: Delivering Internet-based Client Management (Level 300)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

9:30 A.M.–10:30 A.M. Pacific Time

TechNet Webcast: How Microsoft Is Architecting the Virtual Application Infrastructure (Level 300)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

9:30 A.M.–10:30 A.M. Pacific Time

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MMS 2009 RSS Feeds

2009-04-28T12:16:00Z

Microsoft and others are pulling out all the stops to get you the information you need about this years summit. Here are just a few links that will help you get the pulse of the conference.

http://twitter.com/mms09 - TWITTER?

http://www1.mms-2009.com/feeds/rss.aspx/headlines

Announcing: "MMS 2009 Online"

4/25/2009 12:00 PM

If you are unable to attend MMS 2009 in person this year, a new "MMS 2009 Online" registration option has been created which provides access to the valuable session content being presented at this year’s MMS 2009 event - right from your desktop.

"MMS 2009 Online" is an opportunity to access the MMS 2009 CommNet during and after the event, just like attendees who are present at the event. This option provides access to key content including:

Live Webcast of the MMS 2009 Keynotes*
Video Recordings of Breakout session topics**
Downloadable PowerPoint slide decks from the Breakout sessions
Hands-on Lab Manuals
Sample files shared by Speakers
Access to the MessagePoint system for online discussions with other attendees
Copy of the MMS 2009 Post-show DVD set mailed shortly after the event (a $275 value)
Copy of the MMS 2009 Hands-on Lab Walkthrough DVD mailed after the event (a $125 value)
Access to all MMS 2009 Online content for 3 months after the event closes

Registration as an "MMS 2009 Online" Attendee costs $350 and provides online access to over 140 breakout topics as recordings and PowerPoint slide decks as well as 76 Hands-on Lab manuals. The Post-show DVD set provides indexed recordings of all available Breakouts plus bonus materials and supplementary files from session speakers and Event Sponsors. The Hands-on Lab Walkthrough DVD provides video recordings of the most popular lab topics offered at the event with audio commentary providing step-by-step explanations of the key procedures covered.

* Note that the live webcasts of the MMS 2009 keynotes are not restricted to registered "MMS 2009 Online" Attendees. Access to all other content is restricted to in-person and on-line attendees up to 3 months post-event.
**Breakout session recordings for most topics will be posted within 24 hours of the live session.

The "MMS 2009 Online" registration package is available for only $350. To register as an Online Attendee of MMS 2009 click on the following link:

“MMS 2009 Online“ Attendee Registration

The username and password you create during registration will give you immediate access to all the online content available to attendees at the event – and without leaving your desk!

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Adaptiva Client Health for ConfigMgr/SMS: Beta Test Invitation

2009-04-27T12:09:00Z

Extensible health check and remediation framework that will help ensure 100% success of your computer management services

Adaptiva^TM, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, is inviting participation in the beta test for its Configuration Manager 2007 and SMS 2003 client health product.

Adaptiva Client Health^TM performs scheduled and instant health checks, on either a PC or on collections, helping you to maximize the success of your computer management services. Proactively identify issues, remedy them and view detailed reports. Extend health checks and remediation mechanisms to ensure an available and updated desktop environment.

Key Features and Benefits:

· Independent Monitoring Framework: No use of ConfigMgr/SMS client side infrastructure as the purpose is to detect defective client side infrastructure.

· Tests End-to-End Functionality: Test end-to-end functionality rather than construe the lack of known errors to imply health. E.g. A hardware inventory ping proves that hardware inventory is sent from the client and received at the server.

· Extensible and Exportable: Extend the client health framework as per your needs. Custom scripts are treated as in-built ones. Scripts can be exported and shared.

· 26 scheduled or instant health checks with auto remediation:

o ConfigMgr/SMS agent checks

o Operating system checks: WMI, BITS, WSUS

o System performance checks

o Security checks

· Health check failure based collections, machines removed on successful remediation

·         Integrated wake-on-LAN

·         Detailed reports: Per PC and collection, per health check, instant health check success, remediation success

                        Sign up now: Client Health Beta Test About Adaptiva

Adaptiva, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, extends Microsoft’s System Center Configuration Manager and Systems Management Server to provide PC power and configuration management solutions. Our solutions help organizations reduce the impact of desktop computing on the environment, improve manageability of distributed Windows environments and increase end-user productivity. Adaptiva is trusted by over 80 customers in 11 countries. Learn more at http://www.adaptiva.com.

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Adaptiva’s Peter Burnham to Speak at MMS 2009

2009-04-22T12:13:00Z

Adaptiva’s Peter Burnham to Speak at MMS 2009

WHO: Peter Burnham, Co-founder of Adaptiva, a Microsoft Gold Partner focused on lowering the TCO of Windows desktops, will present “Extending ConfigMgr: Go Green and Save Money”.

WHAT: Peter will demonstrate real-world experiences on saving PC energy and reducing carbon emissions while increasing productivity. Adaptiva’s Green Planet and OneSite products will feature:

Power Management

· Power policy governance: Administrator vs. end-user control

· Granular user profiles: custom work and vacation schedules

Site Consolidation

· Consolidating your ConfigMgr/SMS hierarchy into one site

Detailed Reporting

· Wake-on-LAN for ConfigMgr/SMS actions

· Energy savings and Wake-on-LAN reporting

WHEN: Wednesday, April 29, 2009

2:15pm – 3:30pm

WHERE: MMS 2009

Veronese 2405, Venetian Hotel
Las Vegas, Nevada

WHY: Peter has 24 years of experience in bringing ideas to profitability. He specializes in software that improves operational effectiveness for systems administrators and end-users.

Adaptiva™, a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, extends Microsoft's Configuration Manager and Systems Management Server to provide PC power and configuration management solutions that help you

· Reduce the environmental impact of desktop computing

· Increase desktop manageability and end-user productivity

· Save IT operations cost

For more information, visit www.adaptiva.com

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SMS 2003 to SCCM 2007 SP1 R2 Side by Side Migration X64 Style

2009-01-27T23:12:00Z

There have been a few really good posts about how to do a side by side migration, but I ran across a bit of a different scenario recently and wanted to share the process with you if it fits into what you are looking to do. It's actually quite painless and you keep everything you have including collections, packages, advertisements, reports and queries.

Requirement: Perform a Side by Side upgrade from SMS 2003 with SQL 2000 on a X86 2003 server to Server 2003 Enterprise X64 & SQL 2005 X64

Problem: SMS 2003 is not only unsupported, but will NOT install on a X64 server. So, how do we accomplish this task?

While I had a few ideas, I finally came up with the following scenario that has worked 100% and will for you if this is your intended goal.

Backup your current SMS 2003 server 100%.
Build a standard Server 2003 box and load SQL 2005 SP2 (or SQL 2008 with the supported hotfix). Install all the IIS requirements that SMS 2003 requires.
Install SMS 2003 SP(X) as a new primary server to match what you currently have as a SMS 2003 Central Primary. Configure all the settings. Create an address from the new server to the old and one on the old to the new. Add the Server$ name to the local admin group on each server and give the new server permission as required on the System container in AD. Change the settings on the new SMS server not to be a Central Primary and have it report to the old (current) Central Primary site code. Now you have your current Central Primary and a new child primary in the hierarchy. Allow the collections, packages and advertisements to transfer to the new child. Once all has been replicated, you can proceed.
On the child primary, run the SCCM prerequisite checker and fix ALL warnings and or errors. Once you have all the prerequisites resolved, extend the AD schema for SCCM. Once SCCM is installed, configure the server as required. Make sure you don't have ANY overlapping boundaries between both sites.
Delete the address you created on the SCCM and SMS boxes to break the hierarchy. Change the SCCM server from being a child primary to be a central primary. Wait for all the padlocks to remove on all the replicated objects. The collections, advertisements and packages will NOT be orphaned by this process. They will still hold all the ID's from the old SMS server.
Now you have a Central Primary SCCM server with a new site code. At this stage, you have 2 central primary servers in your environment. Now we want to do the same process, but on the final X64 server with SQL X64 (optional, but suggested). On the X64 server, install SCCM the same way you did before and give it a unique site code. During the install process, make it a primary server... Once you have SCCM installed, do the same process you did on your last server by making it a child primary of the SCCM Central Primary. Allow time for the replication of all the objects, just like before. Once they are all there and padlocked, remove the addresses and make the X64 SCCM server a central primary again. That's the basics of the process, but here are a few more things you should know.

Note:

As stated, all your collections, adverts and packages will be migrated with the SAME old ID's. This is actually good to keep things working. This entire process can almost be considered an "in-place" upgrade!
Queries and Reports do not migrate. You will have to export them from the old SMS server into .mof files and import them on the SCCM server. Queries seem to import well, but if you have a lot of reports, you might want to export them in multiple files. If you had 1,000, they would export ok, but the import would hang forever. Watch out for duplicates from what was in SMS and what''s in reports and queries in SCCM.
Another key thing to note is that for all objects: collections, packages, advertisements, reports and queries... if they are in a folder that you have made, they will not replicate or able to be exported. All replicated objects and imported objects will go direct to the root folder for that given object.
Package source directories will remain as they were. If you package source was NOT on the SMS server, then you don't have to worry about anything. However, if they were on the old server, then you have to do a little fix. Copy the entire package source folder over to the new SCCM server. I have attached a script written by Francisco Merizalde (with his permission) which will simply change the server name for all packages. The command line is included in the attached text file.
You can delete all collections for the ITMU if you had it installed with SMS as this will not be an option in this scenario. To continue patching, you will need to install WSUS 3.0 SP1 (current release at the time of this post) and setup your SUP role.
Of course you will have to remove all the boundaries of your old SMS server and add them to your SCCM server.
Since all your clients are still SMS 2003, they may not get the new site code until you decommission your SMS server. If the SMS server is still up and running, you can use one of the 3rd party tools to change the site code.

This was an interesting upgrade and I don't think that it's been documented this way, but it's easy and works 100%. If you have any questions, just post a comment. If I think of anything I missed in the process, I will update this post.

If the attachment is not listed, below are the instructions for the script.

Throw this in a .vbs file and run from the command line using cscript. Make sure and put the servername that should be the source for the packages after the script name on the commanline.Cscript <Script Name> <SERVER Name>i.e.cscript packagemodify.vbs SERVER123 (where SERVER123 is the new server you have copied the source to)

Copy code below this line---------------------------------------------------

Dim oWbemServices
If UCase(Right(Wscript.FullName, 11)) = "WSCRIPT.EXE" Then
    Wscript.Echo "This script must be run under CScript."
    Wscript.Quit
End If
If WScript.Arguments.Count <> 1 Then
    WScript.Echo "Wrong number of arguments were passed."
    WScript.Quit
End If

CONNSCCM()

For Each oPackage In oWbemServices.execquery("select * from sms_package")
sOldPathString = oPackage.pkgsourcepath
If InStr(sOldPathString,"\\") Then
                iStart = InStr(3,sOldPathString,"\")
                sNewPathString = Right(sOldPathString,(LEN(sOldPathString)-iStart))
                sNewPathString = "\\" & WScript.Arguments(0) & "\" & sNewPathString
                WScript.Echo "Setting Package Path for " & oPackage.Name & " from " & sOldPathString & " to " & sNewPathString
                oPackage.pkgsourcepath = sNewPathString
                oPackage.put_
End If
Next

WScript.Echo "Done"

Sub CONNSCCM()
Set oWbemLocator = CreateObject("WbemScripting.SWbemLocator")
Set oWbemServices = oWbemLocator.ConnectServer(".", "root\sms")
Set oSCCMProvLoc = oWbemServices.InstancesOf("SMS_ProviderLocation")

For Each oLoc In oSCCMProvLoc
        If oLoc.ProviderForLocalSite = True Then
            Set oWbemServices = oWbemLocator.ConnectServer(oLoc.Machine, "root\sms\site_" + oLoc.SiteCode)
        End If
Next
End Sub

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Happy Thanksgiving: See me in New York City

2008-11-25T03:18:00Z

This week will be busy for me as I will be in NYC for the holiday week. I wanted to wish everyone at TBR a Happy Thanksgiving in advance and my family will keep all of you in our thoughts on Thanksgiving Day (we do that every day, but will make a special point to wish all of you and your families the best).

That being said, if you have any interest, we will be at the following locations to be seen on TV and the Internet.

1. Tomorrow night at 8:00 pm EST we will be at Times Square and you can watch us on the cam link here. We will wave to the camera if you want to see us.

2. We will be outside at the Today (NBC) Show on Wednesday morning and Beyonce Knowles will be there. Look for us and possibly a TBR sign!

3. If you watch the Macy's Thanksgiving parade, look for us on TV as we will try and be insight on the TV cameras on NBC.

This is the first time my family has been to NYC and since I was born and bread in the area, I take great pride in our trip. We will see a ballet, The Nutcracker at Lincoln Center on Friday night and on Saturday night we will see the Blue Man Group. This should be a great trip and will also see my sister who lives in Brooklyn.

New videos for Level 5 SCCM will be released after the holiday. I have a lot of requests to make video 4 on Software Updates and I will focus on that for my next round of videos.

Once again, Happy Thanksgiving to all and while I will be dormant the next 7 days, expect new content next week.

If you are in the NYC area and want to hook up, call my cell at 314-504-8941 and we will se what we can do.

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What SCCM Videos do You Want to See?

2008-11-11T04:06:00Z

I sent an email to all the people who are subscribers to the SCCM Level 5 Guide asking this same question here. What do you want to know and what topics should I cover next? I will take all replies and make a list based on the number of people who have a topic by popular demand and then publish a schedule for the release of the videos. This way I know what YOU want and YOU know when to expect it to be released. Please don't email me your request, I would rather you make a comment to this post and I will go from that list and the list I get replies from the current subscribers to make the new outline and schedule.

Note: Anything on SCCM and App-V, don't request it to me, send an email to Troy Wich who is developing his Level 5 Guide as I type this. His free intro guide is 20 minutes and made me want to subscribe after I watched the whole video tonight! TroyW @ intellinet DOT com

For those of you who have not subscribed, I want you to see the email (which is one of many) I received today about the SCCM guide. Microsoft, eat your hearts out.... I REALLY like to see these emails..... Thanks Lyle! Emails like this make me confirm why I made this website for everyone to learn from. Thank you!

"Also, I was thinking about your site this morning and the work you do, have you ever thought of approaching Microsoft for them to commission you to do the same kind of work as you are now, but just under their banner. Their webcasts are definitely nowhere near your quality of work and explanation, and that is why I would rather pay you the subscription fees then go and get free webcasts from them that quite frankly don’t help as much as your webcasts do! On the flipside if they did agree, they would probably publish the webcasts for free to users, and at least you get paid properly for your services!!!!"

Sent by Lyle DeGroot who is a subscriber of the SCCM Level 5 Guide.

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SCCM Ranger Training Revisited - Help make it a Reality

2008-11-11T02:42:00Z

I have had the distinct pleasure of having a LOT of people interested in the SCCM Ranger Training class I mentioned a bit a go. So, people from all over the world are interested in this. Help me help you!

1. Where should the training facility be?

2. Should there be more than 1 facility or should there be one in the US and more in other countries? What other countries?

3. Who would YOU want to be the trainer(s)? Be specific and it probably won't be me, but I want an honest answer. You want Wally, Cliff Hobbs, Rod Trent, Marcus Oh, Kim Oppalfenss, any MVP or someone else? Give me a list of names and I will make a new poll and then we can start to work on it. If I named you, be prepared... or if the public wants you, be prepared for me to call on you! I know a guy in Dallas (VERY WELL) who wants this and wants to be a trainer and would be 100% on the mark. He's an ex-MCS consultant and one of the best SMS / SCCM people I know.

If you had read the linked post above, you have to remember that this is 100% unique. 100% personal with all people in your class 24 hours a day for 5 days. Not in a office building, but a private facility to increase knowledge transfer and promote cross training and lessons learned by each person in each class.

PLEASE! This is a reality if I have the comments to back this up! Speak now or forever hold your peace...

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Support for SCCM on VMWare

2008-11-11T02:32:00Z

While there has probably been some news about this in the last month, I wanted to give you Microsoft's "official" answer to the question, "Does Microsoft support SCCM on VMWare?".

Microsoft expanded application support on hardware vitalization environments for the products listed in this KB article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957006. It states that the virtualization environments are as follows: · Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V · Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 · Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) The SVVP is defined here: http://windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvp.htm. It states that the Microsoft solution on the supported products above needs to be validated by the Microsoft, and that vendor participating in the program. VMWare is part of the SVVP (for VMware ESX 3.5 update 2) but customers will probably have to check with them as to whether SCCM SP1 (or R2) is a validated solution.

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Microsoft Application Virtuilization Level 5 Guide Coming Soon

2008-10-14T15:46:00Z

I'm very pleased to welcome Troy Wilch as a new member of our Level 5 IT Guide section of the website. Troy will be leading the effort to deliver videos on App-V 4.5 and how it works independently and how it integrates into SCCM. This is going to be a very informative group of videos and the content is being recorded soon. Troy is not a newcomer to the community by any means. He has been writing articles on myITforum.com and has a blog on The Blogcast Repository and has made tons of videos. Application Virtuilization is becoming a very hot topic and with the experience Troy brings to the table will be an excellent way to learn all you need to know to implement and use App-V. Here are some of Troy's accomplishments:

Troy Wilch, MCSA, MCSE, MCTS:MDOP/ConfigMgr/DDPS10 years experience in Enterprise level networks3 years with App-V/Softgrid on versions 3.2/4.0/4.1/4.5MDOP Charter program memberSoftricity certified professional (before acquisition)App-V blog columnist on MyItForum.com and BlogcastRepository.com

Level 5 author on BlogcastRepository.com for App-V video instruction (releasing soon)

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SCCM 2007 & SQL 2008

2008-10-04T16:07:00Z

While I recently stated that using SQL 2008 with SCCM was a 'no-no", I did some testing and came up with some interesting information. I will share this info in greater detail as I redo what I did to verify the steps. However, I built a pure Server 2008 domain (every server is 2008) and added a SCCM box. I installed SQL 2005 WITH SP1 and then ran R2. Since R2 requires Reporting Services and RS being configured, I made the required configurations to RS and everything was running great. Now, WebDAV on 2008 is a whole ball of wax an I will be making a video to walk you through all the configurations as they are not straight forward.

Once I had every thing installed, I added the proper KB hotfix (there are 2. One for RTM and one if you are running SP1) and it installed without issue. I then upgraded to SQL 2008 and it's been running nonstop for 3 days without any issues. I wanted to simply point out that since MSFT had released the hotfixes, I was skeptical about the upgrade, but had to test it to see for myself. If I see any issues with SQL 2008, I will be sure to let you know, but for now, it seems to be fully functional, Even with WSUS 3.0 SP1 on the servers DB and reporting services.

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SCCM 2007 Using SQL 2008

2008-09-28T15:13:00Z

In various places, recently I have been suggesting that you do not use SQL 2008 with SCCM 2007. The reasons that I say this is because a very knowledgeable resource at Microsoft stated that the code for SCCM 2007 was not written to work with SQL 2008. SQL 2008 has been completely redone and (from what I was told in person) is that "don't do it". Now, I have full respect for my friend Cliff Hobbs, but his post to his site suggests the following.

While though I was told that this was unsupported, I wonder if anyone has attempted to see if this will work (outside Microsoft). I think the way to do it is to try it out in a lab if you feel the need to go to SQL 2008. SCCM 2009 is almost ready to be available for TAP and unless you plan on being a TAP program organization, I would suggest sticking with SQL 2005. I was told that SCCM 2009 is designed to run under SQL 2008, so in my opinion, I would stick to what the code was written for. Updates are great and a workaround can be good, but unless you FULLY understand WHY you want to run SQL 2008, then why bother for now? On a side note, any organization running SQL 2005 should be testing SQL 2008. Remember, SQL is not only used by SCCM, but also for WSUS 3.0 SP1 for Software Updates. If you have the WSUS DB on the same SQL server if running 2008, then will WSUS work and what fixes will you need for that.

Simply put, think about what you need and don't jump the gun to a new version of SQL unless you fully understand all the issues that surround it. I don't think Cliff is suggesting you junp the gun either, he is giving updated information as we all do and I simply want to make you think about it before you find yourself in hot water.

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Configuring SCCM R2 SQL Reporting Services Role

2008-09-19T20:00:00Z

Another great new feature of R2 is the addition of SQL Reporting Services. This rich new tool will allow you to have greater speed and flexibility with your reports. Not only can you convert your reports that come with the standard version of SCCM SP1, but you can also make new reports much easier than previous methods. Since Reporting Services also has a IIS website associated to it, users can subscribe to specific reports and have the report emailed to them rather than going to the website. This is a great advantage with Reporting Services. The video demonstrates how to setup Reporting Services in SQL 2005, add the role in the SCCM admin Console, copy the current reports into Reporting Services and takes a look at the new web page. While I do not demonstrate in this video how to make a new report, simply right click the server name and choose “New Report” and you will see how easy it is to create dynamic reports which were much more cumbersome previously. I also strongly suggest you refer to Microsoft’s SCCM Library for SQL Reporting Services in R2. NOTE: Do not ever use SQL 2008 with SCCM 2007. The next version of SCCM is designed to function with SQL 2008.

Click the image below to watch the video. Enjoy!

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Deploying Office 2007 with SCCM 2007

2008-09-18T10:55:00Z

Deploying Office 2007 with a custom transform (.MSP) is a complex task due to all the possible configurations. To create the transform, you need to install the AdminTemplates.exe and then copy the admin folder to the Office 2007 CD source folder to open the custom configuration tool which is what saves the configurations to the .MSP file. The video shows how to make the configurations and setup the package and deploy it to a workstation.While the video shows the install visible, there are also ways to deploy the application silently so the end user is unaware of the package being installed. Despite the method you choose, the .MSP will hold all the configurations you will need to standardize your deployment as well as removal of previous versions of office. The video is about 30 minutes and covers all the tasks you need to deploy Office in your organization.Here is a link to the command line options and you can download the AdminTemplates.exe here.

The video can be viewed here and runs about 30 minutes.

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Level 5 SCCM R2 Introduction

2008-09-17T02:59:00Z

Now that SCCM R2 is available, we should discuss the features associated with the upgrade. R2 has a few key features that were once available in SMS 2003 as a Feature Pack (such as Client Health Monitoring) and also some new functionality that was not available in SMS 2003 SP3. The Level 5 video is an introduction to R2 and the features included with the update. In order to obtain and install R2, you have to purchase a license and if you don’t, you will lose out on some great features. The key features of R2 are integration with Application Virtuilization (App-V), Forefront Client Security Integration, SQL Reporting Services (a new role in SCCM), Client Status Reporting which is a much improved version of the SMS 2003 Client Health Reporting Tool (which I show you how to configure and import the reporting MOF file for canned reports) and finally OSD enhancements.

The ability to utilize these new (or updated) features makes the value of SCCM R2 very valuable to your organization. The video shows the installation procedures along with the new features you see immediately once it’s installed. I will make a video for each section in the near future with a strong attention to App-V as this is a HUGE investment to SCCM. You should be aware that App-V can now be inventoried by basic hardware inventory even though the application runs in the sandbox (or “bubble”) as some refer to.

Here is a link to the eval version of R2 which can ONLY be used with an eval version of SCCM. The evaluation version of R2 will last 180 days, but can be upgraded with a license key once purchased. There is a lot more to come in the near future in the Level 5 SCCM Guide.

The video is 33 minutes, so enjoy as always! Click the image below to view the video.

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How to Deploy & Configure a SCCM Secondary Site

2008-09-16T11:54:00Z

Secondary sites are used for many reasons and can only report to a primary server in the hierarchy. A secondary site can be used at smaller sites that don't require the power of a primary or have a smaller number of systems to manage. Also, one of the great things about a secondary is when you have a very saturated WAN link between sites, you can configure an address which will allow you to determine the package priority times and how much of the bandwidth will be (or can be) used during specific hours and or days of the week. Secondary sites have less roles available to you and in the video I demonstrate how to setup initial configurations to prep for the secondary site, deploy the secondary site, how to monitor the Bootstrap service and where the logs are located. After the install, we configure the site and validate that the site is "Active" on the primary above. If you find your primary showing that the secondary is pending after a long while, there may be something configured incorrectly. Here is a great link to Microsoft's technical library for more information on secondary sites. As always, my videos are not short as this one runs about 58 minutes. Post comments and or questions below. Enjoy!

Watch the video here!

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Jerry Seinfeld & Bill Gates TV Commercial

2008-09-05T12:13:00Z

I beleive this was just released yesterday. I was watching the republican national convention and they showed this video of Bill & Jerry several times. It goes to show that Bill is still the poster boy for Microsoft. Despite what many thought, I think Bill was great with Microsoft and I don't think he should have stepped down when he did. He has a lot of market support and the ones like us who have been with him since the beginning know that it's great to see him back even if it's another video.... If you don't already know, the TV ad is a plug for the next version of Windows (codename: Windows 7) which will come into beta VERY soon. Not only is Windows 7 gearing up, but watch out for Windows Server 2009 and SCCM 2009 to be available for beta just around the corner. Can you keep up with this pace?

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Do Not Open Ecard Emails!

2008-08-26T16:21:00Z

I just received this information:

Please DO NOT open any greeting card messages which look like the screen clip below: From IT: This is a known issue, and Microsoft is aware of it. This came through the MS Campus about two weeks ago. It isn’t a virus, but it does contain your typical host of mal/spy/adware, and opens your machine up to bot usage. There is no cure for it through official channels at this time. You must do a wipe and load if you are affected. Data is not compromised.

As this is not a virus, eTrust will not detect it. Like with any suspicious email, simply don’t open it and delete it unread.

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Help Us Become Better Trainers: Customer Satisfaction Surveys (CSAT)

2008-08-19T06:06:00Z

For those of you who have subscribed to any of the Level 5 guides, we would very much appreciate you taking a 5 minute survey to rate out training. Our commitment to your success can only be measured by your answers to the independent survey Microsoft uses to rate our Partner performance. So, if you have 5 minutes to help us out on this very important step, please email me at btucker @ smrllc.net and I will send you the information we need to send the survey to you.

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Own a Handgun? Want to Conceal in More than your own State? Love Florida!

2008-08-19T05:09:00Z

Illinois is about the WORST state in the Union for gun owners. Since I travel all the time, I have always wanted to take my gun with me, but would have had some problems.... not anymore in 32 states! Florida has an agreement with 32 states where even if you don't live in Florida, you can use this anyway. Below are the details.....

I filled out the form on this link and got the paperwork in 2 days. http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/license/forms.html

Add in your personal info and then select the Concealed Weapon of Firearm Application, Quantity 1

Fill out the form PER THE INSTRUCTION BOOKLET! Go to your local police department and have them fingerprint you, get a passport photo from the Post office for $15. Get a money order and send to Florida in the amount of $117 and in 90 days you have a permit to carry in 32 new states.

Here are the states where you can use your concealed license. http://licgweb.doacs.state.fl.us/news/concealed_carry.html

Also, a guy said that Utah has a similar program which adds a few states to the list. I have not looked into it yet.

I bought a holster for my Glock 32 and light / laser and am going to buy a Springfield Armory 1911 Sub-Compact .45 to replace the .45 Glock I don’t like. I should have t by the end of the month. I can’t wait. Awesome for small power and conceal carry. It felt perfect in my hands today.

Above: Loaded PC9802LP Loaded Micro-Compact LTWT Bi-Tone Operator w/Light Rail, with XML Frame: Forged Aluminum Alloy with Integral Accessory Rail, Black Hardcoat Anodiz Caliber: .45ACP Sights: Fixed Low Profile Combat Rear, Dovetail Front, Tritium 3 - Dot Trigger: Long Aluminum Match Grade, 5 - 6 lbs.Magazines: 2 - 6 Round, Stainless Steel Grips: Thinline Cocobolo HardwoodBarrel: 3" Stainless Steel Match Grade, Fully Supported Ramp, BullSlide: Forged Stainless Steel, Satin FinishRecoil System: Dual Spring with Full Length Guide rodHeight: 5"Length: 6.5"Weight: 26 ozs. Without X-treme Mini Light (XML) Here's my Glock 32 below:

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