Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

There are several steps to preform before you install SQL and SCCM. This video will demonstrate how to create the proper Active Directory users and groups required for installation as well as how to extend the schema in advance of the SCCM installation.

Some organizations will need to install SQL on another server either as a requirement or company policy. This video walks you through the steps to install SQL remote to the SCCM primary server.

I find this to be the best solution in my opinion. However as mentioned in the previous video, sometimes you have to install SQL remotely due to license costs. This video will walk you through the entire installation of SQL 2005 SP2.

Many of you will be installing SCCM on top of your current environment rather than a side by side migration. This is a great video that shows how to make sure you are prepared to begin the upgrade. Remember, always upgrade from the top of your hierarchy, then down the chain. If you have the ITMU installed, make sure you remove any extra ITMU scan tools such as the extended scan tool and any others before the upgrade. The video also demonstrates how to enable SMS 2003 client support because by default, they are not supported. Leave your comments and let's talk about this one as I think a lot of you will have questions.

This is by far the most difficult configuration to get up and running. PKI or "Certificate Authority" setup can be confusing, but is required by SCCM when running in Native mode. The video shows how to setup PKI and secure IIS on the SCCM server. After we have that running correctly, we install SCCM in native mode and validate that everything is running properly. This should be another fun video to watch and gain some great in-site to Native mode requirements. You can download the PKI scripts here: http://blogcastrepository.com/files/folders/sccm/entry42281.aspx 

Upgrading to SCCM SP1 requires more than the expected configurations. You need to make sure you have a proper backup and have backed up some of the existing files before the upgrade. The guide shows what files to backup and the proper prerequisite checks required before upgrading the site server. The video is well in depth and runs almost 42 minutes compared to some other videos on the Internet. I have taken several steps to make sure you have all the information you need to “properly” upgrade your central server and those sites below in the SCCM hierarchy. Despite your desire or need to upgrade to SP1, the prerequisite checker will advise you on updates you may not know are available to you. I strongly advise you to follow the instructions in the video and at “minimal” install the updates required so that the base configuration of SCCM and the consoles run properly. To download SCCM SP1, Click Here to get started!

Whether a clean install, In-place upgrade or a side by side install, you need to know what to setup to configure after the installation or upgrade. this video shows all the steps you need to do to get up and running for a base install. More detailed videos will be provided as needed.

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!

Deploying the client is a simple task, but we look at the different configurations and ways to deploy. We also look at the log files and verify the security account we have provided has the necessary access to the Admin$ share on the target machine.

While we have to know how to install the client, we also have to know how to remove the client. the video shows how to remove manually and also by making a package that you can deploy to the clients you want to be removed.