Systems Management Server (SMS) - Updates & News, 5/11/04
SMS 2003 Service Pack 1 Beta
The Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Service Pack 1 (SP1) (Beta) offers enhancements to tighten security, increase reliability, and improve scalability of your SMS environment. Sign up and join the Beta today. For more information, please see the SMS website.
SMS 2003 Device Management Feature Pack Beta
If you manage devices running Windows CE 4.2 or Windows Mobile™ 2003 software for Pocket PC, the SMS 2003 Device Management Feature Pack (Beta 1 Refresh) can help you track software and hardware inventory and deploy software.
Released: Security Update Scan Tool
In addition to the English versions, International versions (Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Japanese, and Korean) of the Security Update Scan Tool are now available for both SMS 2.0 and SMS 2003. This new update leverages Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) version 1.2 and includes localized catalog files. Updated SMS 2.0 scan tools can be found here.
MBSA v1.1.1 SMS Support Ending – Update to MBSA v1.2
With the recent release of the MBSA v1.2 update for SMS, the security update catalog (mssecure.xml) was updated for MBSA v1.2 only as planned. Therefore any security updates released after April 13 will not be added to the MBSA v1.1.1 catalog, but will be added to the MBSA v1.2 catalog. In conjunction with the release, SMS switched to using MBSA v1.2 for scanning. As a result, it is imperative to obtain the SMS MBSA v1.2 update – please see Knowledge Base Article 837722 for details. For more information on MBSA, please see the MBSA website. For FAQ around patching with SMS, please see SMS on TechNet.
Additional benefits introduced with MBSA v1.2:
- Broader Range of Update Detection
MBSA v1.2 supports an increased number of technologies and products, and hence provides SMS with a more comprehensive view for detecting security vulnerabilities in your environment. See Knowledge Base Article 306460 for a list technologies supported by MBSA v1.1.1 and v1.2. Please note that the MBSA v1.2 catalog is not exhaustive, and continue to refer to the Deploying Software Updates Using the SMS Software Distribution Feature guidance on TechNet for managing updates not detected by MBSA.
- More Accurate Update Detection
For the MBSA v1.2 supported technologies, improvement have been made to MBSA’s ability to detect the status of update compliance on a system, which allows increased visibility for the SMS administrator into the security status of the systems in your environment.
- Increased Reliability
SMS uses a new interface with MBSA v1.2 that utilizes XML rather than text parsing. This increases the reliability of the scan catalog for the SMS user.
Released: SMS 2003 Whitepaper
SMS 2003 Software Update Management to Mobile Computers Whitepaper has been released. This white paper provides technical guidance on how to use SMS to deploy software updates, with special focus on mobile computers.
Released: SMS 2003 Scenarios & Procedures: Planning & Deployment Guide
This book provides you with a roadmap to develop a deployment plan for your Microsoft® Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 sites by offering a prescriptive guide with flowcharts, task lists, and job aids. In addition, this book directs you to the relevant conceptual, planning, and operational material that you might need to develop a deployment strategy.
Refreshed: Troubleshooting Flowcharts
SMS 2003 Troubleshooting flowcharts have been refreshed with 5 additional flowcharts. Please see the website for details.
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