Houston Area Systems Management User Group Email List

2007-03-16T20:55:00Z

The Houston Area Systems Management User Group now has an Email Distribution list. Here is how to sign up.

Please forward this to anyone you think might be interested.

We hope to have the next meeting mid April. If you have a topic preference please email it to the group via the email list below.

Regards,

Todd Hemsell

1. Create a new, blank email.
2. Address the email to: command@lists.myitforum.com
3. Skip all the way down to the BODY of the new email (leaving the subject line blank) and enter the following: subscribe hasmug
4. Send the email.

In a few minutes you’ll receive a subscription confirmation back. Save this email, as it contains information on how to manage your subscription to the list.

If you have problems receiving or sending emails from the email discussion list, first check with your email folks to make sure that myITforum.com is whitelisted. If you still have problems after this step, contact: admin - AT - myITforum.com

Houston Area SMS User Group (HASMUG) Q1 2007 Meeting

2007-01-05T19:11:00Z

The Houston Area SMS User Group (HASMUG) Q1 2007 Meeting being held January 15, 2007 at the Lyondell Conferencing Center, 4th Floor of One Houston Center in Downtown Houston Texas.

Both Sessions will be aimed at level 300 - 400. For those new to SMS We encourage you to attend. There will be plenty of experienced people on hand to answer questions and mentor you. and provide practical, real world information.

The meeting will feature Michael Niehaus - MS Systems Design Engineer.

Michael is currently working as the developer for the Solution Accelerator for Business Desktop Deployment, creating new tools and guidance for deploying Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Office 2007. Prior to joining Microsoft, Michael spent ten years working as an enterprise IT infrastructure architect, focusing on deploying and operating Microsoft products such as Windows, Office, Systems Management Server, Active Directory, and Exchange, and before that was a mainframe systems programmer and database analyst.

Michael is also very active in the SMS community at MyITForum and on the MS Newsgroups. Michael initially developed the BDD solution while working for the MS Deployment Center of Excellence. The solution was so successful he was drafted into the Solution Accelerator group to work on the BDD solution full time.

Meeting Agenda - "Official" Meeting time is 11 - 2:30

10:00 - Doors Open

11:00 - 12:30: Michael Niehaus on BDD 2007 & Vista

12:30 - 12:45: Lunch & Break

12:45 - 2:15 Intellinet & SMSEXPERT on Automating Software Delivery options

2:15 - 2:30 Meeting Close and Door Prizes

2:30 - ? All presenters will hold an informal Open Q & A Session

Session 1 - Michael will be presenting on BDD 2007 and Deploying Vista using SMS OSD from 11:00 AM until 12:30

"Many changes have been made for Windows Vista to significantly ease deployment, including new out-of-the-box imaging technologies, XML-based migration scripts, new tools for image engineering (ImageX and System Image Manager), and new unattend XML format. Another huge breakthrough with Windows Vista is Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) independence and language neutrality; this means that organizations can get to a minimal number of standard images without major efforts to consolidate hardware.

BDD 2007 also introduces the new Deployment Workbench, which enables users to build and manage multiple OS configurations, define network deployment points and network shares, inject drivers, attach language packs, and chain applications. It even helps generate ISO and WIM images using Windows PE that can be deployed in a networked environment or using DVDs offline. BDD 2007 also alleviates much of the scripting requirements of previous BDD versions by incorporating a stand-alone task sequencer derived from System Center Configuration Manager 2007. BDD continues to offer the flexibility for Zero Touch Installation with Systems Management Server 2003 and Lite Touch Installation with minimal infrastructure requirements."

Session 2 - Marshall Sweeney (Intellinet) and Dave Jaffe (SMS Expert) 12:45 - 2:15

Marshall and Dave will be presenting deployment strategies built around their service and product offerings to extend SMS and BDD functionality. Dave and Marshall have consulted on some of the largest SMS accounts in the country and will be a great resource for the Q&A sessions. Topics they will cover include

Best practice and lessons learned from current BDD 2007 implementations.
New methods available for fine-grained control over SMS Advertisement scheduling.
Automated self service mechanisms for the help desk and end users.
Extensions to the BDD Solution such as zero touch backup solutions.
Demonstrate methods for reducing workload and daily SMS administrative tasks using their processes and products.

We currently do not have the registration link up. We will send a follow up email with the registration link later, however Registration is not mandatory. Feel free to just "Show up" and join us on January 15th.

Driving directions are attached and information will be updated on the HASMUG Blog site http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/hasmug/default.aspx

We will send a reminder email including more detailed directions later.

This meeting is being sponsored by Intellinet and SMSEXPERT.

Intellinet: http://www.intellinet.com/ Providing Speaker & Lunch

Intellinet is one of the most highly certified Microsoft consulting firms in the United States and holds six Gold partner certifications including Advanced Infrastructure Solutions, Custom Development Solutions, Data Management Solutions, Information Worker Solutions, Networking Infrastructure Solutions, and Security Solutions. With our Intelligent Enterprise (i.e.) integration solution, clients benefit from systems that meet current needs and can scale to future demands. Intellinet’s proven approach integrates enterprise systems including networking, security, messaging, collaboration, custom applications, data and mobility. Celebrating more than 10 years as a professional technology services firm, Intellinet is headquartered in Atlanta, GA with regional offices throughout the east coast and here in Houston.

SMSEXPERT: http://www.smsexpert.com/ Providing Speaker and door prizes

SMS Expert, a Microsoft Certified Partner, creates software which allows you to concentrate on the mission-critical issues crucial to your success by automating routine processes, speeding up response time to commonplace issues and leveraging the potential of Microsoft’s System Management technologies.

- Todd Hemsell