System Center 2012 Archives

Free ebook: Introducing Microsoft System Center 2012 R2

Microsoft System Center is one of the three pillars of Microsoft’s Cloud OS vision that will transform the traditional datacenter environment, help businesses unlock insights in data stored anywhere, enable the development of a wide range of modern business applications, and empower IT to support users who work anywhere while being able to manage any device in a secure and consistent way. The other two pillars of the Cloud OS are, of course, Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Azure, and Microsoft Press has recently released free Introducing books on these platforms as well.

Whether you are new to System Center or are already using it in your business, this book has something that should interest you. The capabilities of each component of System Center 2012 R2 are first described and then demonstrated chapter by chapter. Real-world and under-the-hood insights are also provided by insiders at Microsoft who live and breathe System Center, and those of you who are experienced with the platform will benefit from the wisdom and experience of these experts. We also included a list of additional resources at the end of each chapter where you can learn more about each System Center component.

Download the PDF – here

System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager Toolkit Now Available!

The Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager Toolkit contains fifteen downloadable tools to help you manage and troubleshoot Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager. The following list provides specific information about each tool in the toolkit.

Note: Items with an * are new in the R2 Toolkit and require Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager for full functionality.

Server Based Tools:

• DP Job Manager – A tool that helps troubleshoot and manage ongoing content distribution jobs to Configuration Manager distribution points.
• Collection Evaluation Viewer – A tool that assists in troubleshooting collection evaluation related issues by viewing collection evaluation details.
• Content Library Explorer – A tool that assists in troubleshooting issues with and viewing the contents of the content library.
• Security Configuration Wizard Template for Microsoft System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager – The Security Configuration Wizard (SCW) is an attack-surface reduction tool for the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system. Security Configuration Wizard determines the minimum functionality required for a server’s role or roles, and disables functionality that is not required.
• Content Library Transfer – A tool that transfers content from one disk drive to another.
• Content Ownership Tool – A tool that changes ownership of orphaned packages (packages without an owner site server).
• Role-based Administration Modeling and Auditing Tool – This tool helps administrators to model and audit RBA configurations.
• Run Metering Summarization Tool – The purpose of this tool is to run the metering summarization task to analyze raw metering data

Client Based Tools:

• Client Spy – A tool that helps you troubleshoot issues related to software distribution, inventory, and software metering on System Center 2012 Configuration Manager clients.
• Configuration Manager Trace Log Viewer – A tool used to view log files created by Configuration Manager components and agents.
• Deployment Monitoring Tool – The Deployment Monitoring Tool is a graphical user interface designed help troubleshoot Applications, Updates, and Baseline deployments on System Center 2012 Configuration Manager clients.
• Policy Spy – A policy viewer that helps you review and troubleshoot the policy system on System Center 2012 Configuration Manager clients.
• Power Viewer Tool – A tool to view the status of power management feature on System Center 2012 Configuration Manager clients.
• Send Schedule Tool – A tool used to trigger a schedule on a client or trigger the evaluation of a specified DCM Baseline. You can trigger a schedule either locally or remotely.
• Wakeup Spy – A tool that provides a view of the power state of Configuration Manager client computers and which operate as managers or manages.

WIM image has deployed to wrong partition using SCCM 2012

When you’re deploying an WIM image using System Center Configuration Manager 2012, by default the installation is done on the D:\ partition of your system. Huh….D:\ partition?? But my task sequence say C:\?? Yes indead!! During the task sequence you’ll see “applying image 1 to C:\”, but after rebooting the system, there is no C:\ drive!! Only a D:\ drive!!

To fix this problem, you’ll need to add a new task within the task sequence.

1.) Open the System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Console
2.) Navigate to the task sequence and click Edit
3.) After the partition task, add a new task named Set Task Sequence Variable
4.) The name of the Task Sequence Variable is: Disable Disk Drive Letter (this can be anything you want!)
5.) The Task Sequence Variable will be: OSDPreserveDriveLetter
6.) The value will be: False
7.) Just PXE boot the machine again and watch te result!