All things SMS, System Center Configuration Manager, Active Directory, Group Policy, Virtualization, Security, Gadgets, Technology, and the Daily Thoughts of an SMS Engineer named Anthony Clendenen.

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ConfigMgr SDK (final) Released

March 18, 2008

Microsoft released the ConfigMgr SDK yesterday. You can get the download here . It includes DCM Digest Authoring guide, DCM digest schema, a SUM gadget that gives you current status messages on patches you have deployed, samples on creating admin console extensions, OSD custom task sequences and more. Regards, Anthony Anthony Clendenen | Solutions Engineer | 1E http://configmgr.com © Anthony Clendenen Technorati Tags: ConfigMgr , SCCM , SDK , Gadget  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: , , , , , , , , , ,

How-To: Sequencing Office 2007 with SoftGrid

March 04, 2008

I wish Microsoft would standardize on either SoftGrid or Microsoft Application Virtualization. Here is a KB on sequencing Office 2007. http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;939796 INTRODUCTION This article describes one method that you can use to successfully sequence a 2007 Microsoft Office program for use with Microsoft SoftGrid. The method that is described in this article is not the only method that is available. Additionally, you may have to modify the information in this article...  ... Read the full post or  the 4 comments. Filed under: , , , , , ,

Repurpose That Old Laptop

February 23, 2008

Most IT related folks have an old laptop laying around that is too slow for what they need to do or they get a brand new one every six months. I know I have one that the hard drive has bad sectors on and don't want to spend the $40-60 to get a replacement drive since I have over half a dozen computers in my house and only four people. I have used it for testing in the past, setting up Server 2003 with SMS 2003 on it for upgrade testing to CM, testing the 1E products in different configurations...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: , , , , , ,

Visio 2007 ConfigMgr Connector Released

February 20, 2008

Download details here, direct download here , prereq download here . SCOM & SCCM Connector In Microsoft Visio 2007® diagrams, appropriate data can be attached to the shapes depending on the nature and domain for which the diagram is created for. The VisAd framework helps to retrieve data from multiple data sources to diagrammatically represent in Visio diagrams. The framework implements a ‘Provider’ model, in which multiple heterogenous providers can be configured, while the Visio diagram uses...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: , , , , ,

SoftGrid Sequencing Guidelines

February 01, 2008

Microsoft has released a Best Practices guide for Application Virtualization or SoftGrid v.4.2 app sequencing that was compiled from the MCS group. Here are some of the highlights in the first two sections followed be the TOC's. There is far too much information to be effectively summarized here. Great work! Get your pdf copy here and your xps copy here . Highlights of the Sequencer setup recommendations Sequence on a machine that is the oldest OS that the sequenced app will run on. If Office...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: , , ,

ConfigMgr Maintenance Windows Explained

December 03, 2007

In ConfigMgr there is a new feature that hasn't gotten much attention called Maintenance Windows. This is a feature that I have heard numerous requests for and it gets a bit closer to the infamous 'Big Red Button'. So what is a maintenance window? A maintenance window is a rule applied to a collection of ConfigMgr clients that prevents those clients from: Executing a program, including a standard program such as setup.exe Running Software Updates And launching any Operating System Deployments...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: , , ,

ConfigMgr Desired Configuration Management Objects versus Settings

November 01, 2007

In ConfigMgr these names sound very clear, objects , settings , right....Let's look at the description of these two. "Use the Objects tab of the Configuration Manager 2007 configuration item properties dialog box to view, add, edit, and delete objects that you want to include in this configuration item. Examples of configuration item objects are files, folders, and registry keys." "Use the Settings tab of the Configuration Manager 2007 configuration item properties dialog box to...  ... Read the full post or  be the first to comment. Filed under: , , ,