Learn System Center Configuration Manager in a Month of Lunches / Edition 1

Learn System Center Configuration Manager in a Month of Lunches / Edition 1

by James Bannan
ISBN-10:
1617291684
ISBN-13:
9781617291685
Pub. Date:
07/19/2016
Publisher:
Manning
ISBN-10:
1617291684
ISBN-13:
9781617291685
Pub. Date:
07/19/2016
Publisher:
Manning
Learn System Center Configuration Manager in a Month of Lunches / Edition 1

Learn System Center Configuration Manager in a Month of Lunches / Edition 1

by James Bannan
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Overview

Summary

Learn System Center Configuration Manager in a Month of Lunches is a super-practical guide to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. In this book, you'll cut to the chase and learn the administrative procedures and techniques that will keep your systems humming smoothly.

Purchase of the print book comes with an offer of a free PDF, ePub, and Kindle eBook from Manning. Also available is all code from the book.

About the Technology

Businesses rely on a complex patchwork of client computers, physical and virtual servers, middleware, mobile devices, and cloud services. Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) sits in the middle of this mix, providing a single administrative control center to deploy and manage Windows servers and applications across your entire infrastructure, including cross-platform management of Mac OS X, Linux, and UNIX. To get up to speed with the day-to-day tasks of managing a system with ConfigMgr, all you need is this book—and a quiet place to eat your lunch.

About the Book

Learn System Center Configuration Manager in a Month of Lunches is a super-practical guide to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager. In this book, you’ll cut to the chase and learn the administrative procedures and techniques that will keep your systems humming smoothly. Whether you’re a new sysadmin or you already understand the inner workings of Active Directory and Windows Server, you’ll be productive immediately as you work through the 22 self-contained lessons in this handy tutorial.

What's Inside
  • Covers the latest build of Configuration Manager
  • How to simplify updates, operating system deployment, and reporting
  • Cross-platform and mobile management including Linux, OS X, and Windows
  • Smart application delivery

About the Reader

No prior experience with System Center Configuration Manager needed.

About the Author

James Bannan is a Cloud and Datacenter Management MVP based in Australia.

Table of Contents
  1. Before you begin
  2. Setting up your lab environment
  3. Making ConfigMgr aware of your environment
  4. Managing ConfigMgr devices and users
  5. Organizing devices and users
  6. Configuring ConfigMgr clients
  7. Creating and configuring applications with the AppModel
  8. Deploying applications and packages to ConfigMgr clients
  9. Ensuring that ConfigMgr clients can access content
  10. Keeping ConfigMgr clients patched
  11. Preparing to deploy Windows
  12. Deploying Windows
  13. Advanced deployment of Windows with ConfigMgr and MDT
  14. Managing Linux clients
  15. Deploying to Linux and Mac clients
  16. Managing anti-malware with ConfigMgr
  17. Making sure clients are healthy
  18. Reporting in ConfigMgr
  19. Keeping an eye on your clients
  20. What to do when things go wrong
  21. Securing ConfigMgr
  22. All engines full steam ahead

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781617291685
Publisher: Manning
Publication date: 07/19/2016
Edition description: 1st Edition
Pages: 320
Product dimensions: 7.30(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

James Bannan is a Cloud and Datacenter Management MVP based in Australia.

Table of Contents

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xvi

About this book xvii

About the author xix

1 Before you begin 1

1.1 Why Configuration Manager? 2

1.2 Is this book for you? 3

1.3 How to use this book 4

The main chapters 4

Try It Now sections 4

Above Of Beyond sidebars 4

Working with PowerShell 4

Labs 5

Further exploration 5

Which Log? sections 5

1.4 Setting up your lab environment 5

1.5 Using online resources 5

1.6 Being immediately effective with ConfigMgr 6

2 Setting up your lab environment 7

2.1 Create the virtual environment 8

2.2 Download the prerequisite software 11

Sysinternals BgInfo 11

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2013 Update 2 12

Microsoft Assessment and Deployment Kit for Windows 10 (Version 1.511) 12

Microsoft SQL Server 2014 SP1 12

Windows Server 2012 R2 12

Windows 10 Enterprise x64 (Build 1511) 12

System Center Configuration Manager and Endpoint Protection 13

System Center Configuration Manage Prerequisites 13

Git repository 13

2.3 Install and configure MDT 2013 Update 2 14

Populate MDT with required software 15

Use MDT to generate an automated build image (ISO) 16

2.4 Build the virtual machines 19

DC01 19 - CM01 20

CLIENT01 21

2.5 Verify the ConfigMgr installation 22

3 Making ConfigMgr aware of your environment 24

3.1 Discovery concepts 25

Looking at log files 26

3.2 Discovery methods 26

Active Directory Forest Discovery 27

Active Directory System Discovery 30

Active Directory User Discovery 32

Active Directory Group Discovery 33

3.3 Boundaries 34

Creating a boundary 35

Creating a boundary group 36

Linking the boundary group with ConfigMgr 36

3.4 Lab 38

3.5 Ideas for on your own 38

Controversy over boundaries 39

4 Managing ConfigMgr devices and users 40

4.1 Understanding devices and the ConfigMgr client 41

Installing the ConfigMgr client on remote systems 41

4.2 Preparing for a client push 43

Set the client push account permissions 43

Open the Windows Firewall 44

Configure the client push account 46

4.3 Performing a client push 48

4.4 Working with users in the ConfigMgr world 51

4.5 Creating relationships between users and devices 52

Understanding a UDA scenario 53

Creating UDA relationships 53

4.6 Lab 55

Discover DC01 55

Disable the Windows Firewall on DC01 56

Push the ConfigMgr client to DC01 56

5 Organizing devices and users 57

5.1 Understanding collection concepts 58

Collection membership 60

Collection limiting 63

5.2 Creating a new collection 64

Creating a new device collection 65

Creating a new user collection 67

5.3 Understanding the WMI Query Language 69

Creating a basic query 69

Using multiple attributes 70

Querying multiple sources 71

Combining data from multiple sources 72

5.4 Managing collections 73

Use folders 73

Be aware of collection updating 74

Move collections between hierarchies 75

5.5 Lab 77

5.6 Ideas for on your own 77

6 Configuring ConfigMgr clients 78

6.1 Exploring client settings 79

Using Default Client Settings 80

Knowing when to change the Default Client Settings 83

Changing the Default Client Settings 83

6.2 Creating custom settings 85

Create custom device settings 85

Create custom user settings 87

6.3 Deploying custom settings 89

Deploying device settings 89

Deploying user settings 90

Verify deployed settings 91

6.4 Forcing policy updates 92

Forcing a policy update via a local client 93

Forcing a policy update remotely via a console 94

6.5 Lab 95

7 Creating and configuring applications with the AppModel 96

7.1 Exploring the ConfigMgr AppModel 96

ConfigMgr vs. ConfigMgr 2007 96

Applications vs. packages 98

7.2 Creating a ConfigMgr application 98

Preparing the application source 99

Creating your application 100

7.3 Configuring your application 102

Deployment types 102

Requirements 105

Detection methods 107

7.4 Lab 109

8 Deploying applications and packages to ConfigMgr clients 110

8.1 Deploying applications 111

8.2 Deploying applications to devices 111

Step 1: Distributing application content 112

Step 2: Deploying the application to a device collection 114

Step 3: Installing an application on a device 116

8.3 Deploying applications to users 118

Installing the Application Catalog 119

8.4 Creating and deploying packages 120

Creating a package 121

Deploying a package 123

8.5 Turning packages into applications 124

8.6 Labs 127

9 Ensuring that ConfigMgr clients can access content 128

9.1 Understanding distribution points 129

9.2 Distributing content 131

9.3 Working with distribution point groups 134

9.4 Keeping content healthy 136

Validating an individual package 137

Automating content validation 138

Spotting validation errors 139

9.5 Lab 139

9.6 Ideas for on your own 139

10 Keeping ConfigMgr clients patched 141

10.1 Install the software update point 142

Install WSUS prerequisites 142

Install and configure WSUS 143

Install post-WSUS hotfix 145

Install the software update point 145

10.2 Configure software updates in ConfigMgr 147

10.3 Download updates into ConfigMgr 149

10.4 Deploy updates to ConfigMgr clients 151

10.5 Lab 154

11 Preparing to deploy Windows 155

11.1 Importing an operating system image 156

11.2 Starting your deployment with WinPE 158

11.3 Handling different hardware platforms 159

11.4 Creating a new task sequence 163

11.5 Lab 165

12 Deploying Windows 166

12.1 Creating a new client system 167

12.2 Preparing for network booting 168

12.3 Customizing the deployment task sequence 169

Customizing disk partitions 170

Specifying TS variables 172

Applying device drivers 173

12.4 Deploying Windows 174

Making content available from Windows PE 174

Deploying the task sequence 174

Installing Windows 176

12.5 Lab 178

12.6 Ideas for on your own 178

13 Advanced deployment of Windows with ConfigMgr and MDT 179

13.1 Integrating MDT with ConfigMgr 180

Installing MDT 180

Building MDT packages within ConfigMgr 182

13.2 Making sure that MDT is awesome 185

Verifying MDT packages 185

Exploring MDT functionality 186

13.3 Lab 189

14 Managing Linux clients 190

14.1 Installing an Ubuntu server 190

14.2 Installing the ConfigMgr client for Linux 193

14.3 Navigating ConfigMgr for Linux 195

Connecting to Ubuntu remotely 196

Exploring ConfigMgr logs for Linux 197

14.4 Lab 198

15 Deploying to Linux and Mac clients 199

15.1 Linux client functionality 199

Working with the Linux client 200

Inventorying Linux systems 201

Deploying Linux packages 203

15.2 Working with Mac OS X 205

Introducing internet-based client management 206

Installing the OS X client 207

Deploying OS X applications 209

16 Managing anti-malware with ConfigMgr 214

16.1 Enabling System Center Endpoint Protection 215

Configuring software updates 215

Enabling the Endpoint Protection server role 219

Configuring Endpoint Protection on clients 220

16.2 Using anti-malware policies 221

16.3 Dealing with malware outbreaks 224

16.4 Labs 227

17 Making sure clients are healthy 228

17.1 Understanding common client health issues 228

17.2 Administering client health 232

Active clients 233

Inactive clients 234

17.3 Using Client Center for Configuration Manager 235

Monitoring 238

Inventory 238

Software Distribution 238

Agent Settings 238

17.4 Labs 239

18 Reporting in ConfigMgr 240

18.1 Enabling Reporting Services 240

18.2 Executing reports 243

18.3 Subscribing to reports 246

18.4 Building custom reports 248

18.5 Labs 249

19 Keeping an eye on your clients 250

19.1 Enabling software metering 250

19.2 Configuring compliance 254

Configuration Items 254

Configuration baselines 255

19.3 Seeing compliance in action 256

19.4 Labs 258

20 What to do when things go wrong 260

20.1 Assessing site health 260

20.2 Understanding common environmental issues 264

Disk space 264

Active Directory 266

DNS 267

Admin rights 269

Internet access 270

20.3 Labs 271

21 Securing ConfigMgr 272

21.1 Administrative users 274

21.2 Security roles 276

21.3 Security scopes 277

21.4 Granular permissions 279

21.5 Labs 282

22 All engines full steam ahead 283

22.1 Advanced ConfigMgr projects 283

More infrastructure 283

Use HTTPS 284

Go to the cloud 284

Take control of your database 284

Advanced client configuration 285

22.2 Learn from the community 285

Index 287

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