Configuration Manager v.Next Beta 1 Released

On Monday Microsoft released the beta of the next iteration of Configuration Manager… v.Next. With Config Mgr v.Next there is shift towards user centric client management. It will be like going from Windows XP to Windows 7 as this release is going to have the longest development cycle since SMS 2.0. Since moving to v.Next is such a big step the only migration plan available is a side by side upgrade. Config Mgr v.Next will be fully 64-bit and include a completely new application delivery engine, a new UI (good-bye MMC console) based on the SCOM code base, SQL Reporting Services will replace SMS / SCCM reporting, and much more importance will be placed on the DCM engine. I was able to test drive v.Next at MMS and I was really impressed with what I saw. The v.Next beta is public so download it from Microsoft’s Connect site and get it into a lab.

Configuration Manager Dashboard

A great new addition to SCCM is the Config Mgr dashboard. The dashboard addition integrates with your SharePoint infrastructure so installation and configuration can be done in minutes. This highly flexible tool will allow you to customize near real-time information and display it in an interactive format. Access is all role based so it allows administrators to really tailor the information to their audience. There is a huge difference in the information required by a senior manager compared to someone on the Service Desk. Out of the box the dashboard is ready to display the top five day-to-day metrics:

• Software deployment metrics
• OS deployment metrics
• Software Update Management
• Asset Inventory Information
• Client & Server activity Information

You can download the dashboard add-on from http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=187322. Pre-requisites are a Configuration Manager 2007 site, SQL Server 2005 or above, Windows SharePoint Services 3.0 SP2, .NET 3.5 and Internet Explorer 7.0. For more information check out http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff369719.aspx

MMS 2010 - Viva Las Vegas

This post is long overdue – I’ve been back from MMS for a couple of weeks and feel that I’m still playing catch up at work. My first MMS was a great experience and I can’t for next year’s event. (Mandalay Bay March 21 – 25 2011) I attended every session that I could possibly fit into my schedule and brought back some fantastic information. Another bonus was a chance to meet other IT professionals that are either facing the same challenges that I am or have already worked through them.


Probably one of the most popular topics was Config Mgr v.Next. This is the next version of Config Mgr that is tentatively going to drop in 2011. Watch for a complete change in software distribution as we know it. It will be a user centric shift for Config Mgr.

One of my favourite types of session were the Birds-of-a-Feather sessions. These small loosely organized sessions that are really more about being interactive than anything. I was able to end are really good session with Dell IT and their use of SCUP and a Q&A session with Microsoft’s Config Mgr development team.

Overall I was able bring back some incredible knowledge from MMS and I will be posting more details here in the upcoming days. Also, kudos to the Microsoft event staff as they did a fantastic job.