Management Updates

Management News - April 2006

Windows IT Pro Cover is Online

"Microsoft is finally providing a consistent management UI and experience throughout the Windows stack. Karen Forster explores this strategy in an interview with Microsoft's Kirill Tatarinov."
Windows IT Pro Magazine – Karen Forster

Gates on the speed of Windows updates

"Nobody ever said software development was easy. In the wake of Microsoft's decision to delay the widespread release of Vista, Chairman Bill Gates met with CNET News.com and discussed the software company's struggle to ship Vista, the burden of backward compatibility, and how new features will be constantly added to Windows. Below is an excerpt: ...The one nice thing we've seen with consumers is they really use Auto Update, and so we're sort of their IT department in terms of updating. It's more complex for businesses. But even there the progress over the last four years of getting SMS (Systems Management Server) to be deployed and used and understood – how they take the updates in and when they pass them along to their systems – we've done super well on that, but it's not as simple as somebody just choosing to have Auto Update come from us."
Ina Fried – CNET News.com

A practical approach to delivering ITSM

"[...]From a process perspective, Microsoft fully supports the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL). ITIL is a widely accepted approach to IT service management, providing a comprehensive and consistent set of best practices associated with systems management. In keeping with ITIL’s spirit to “adopt and adapt”, Microsoft has developed the Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF). MOF extends the ITIL code of practice to support distributed environments, and extends the ITIL guidance into practical operational application. One of the aspects provided by MOF is the definition of 21 service management functions (SMFs) describing the series of management functions that are performed when operating an IT environment, and detailing the ITIL-based best practice approach for how to perform these functions."

Microsoft System Center - April 2006

Microsoft packages server management licensing to simplify purchasing process

The inclusive offering from Microsoft, called System Center Standard Server Management License (SML), is an alternative to the current process of buying individual licenses for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005, Systems Manager Server 2003 and Data Protection Manager 2006. “This simplifies the acquisition process. You only have to purchase one SKU," Nina Sundberg, a senior product manager in Microsoft's management group. "We are taking the cost down 30% as opposed to purchasing the standalone licenses."
Joan Goodchild – SearchWinIT.com

MMS 2006 Keynote Sessions

Attend these exciting and insightful keynote sessions to learn about Microsoft’s future plans for IT Management and how Microsoft manages it own desktops, severs, and applications.

1. Tuesday, April 25: The opening keynote will be presented by Bob Muglia, Senior Vice President, Server and Tools Business at Microsoft Corporation. The session will cover the Windows Server System promises for simplifying IT, delivering on Self Managing Dynamic Systems and more.
2. Wednesday, April 26: The midweek keynote by Kirill Tatarinov, Corporate Vice President, Windows Enterprise Management Division at Microsoft Corporation will drill into System Center’s role in helping deliver on simplifying IT, including a scorecard review and a glimpse into the next wave of System Center deliverables.
3. Thursday, April 27: In the final keynote, Ron Markezich, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Managed Solutions at Microsoft Corporation will speak about how Microsoft IT is delivering services as a key business enabler for the Microsoft Enterprise.

System Center DPM & HP Proliant DPSS

Download this 24-page supplement that not only shows you how to implement a full backup, recovery and data protection service, but also explains how to incorporate DPM into an existing Windows Server environment (Windows Server, Active Directory, Microsoft Windows Storage Server 2003), while assessing in a practical way the working of DPM with HP Proliant Data Protection Storage Server.

Systems Management Server - April 2006

Now Available: Beta Program for SMS 2003 DCM Configuration Manifests

This program has been established to test and validate sample configuration files for Microsoft Internet Security and Acceleration Server 2004, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003. These manifests can help get you started with the DCM solution and save time in creating the initial configuration manifests required to use the DCM solution in your environment. Each manifest can be edited by the DCM authoring tool to meet your specific needs.

Holland & Knight Law Firm Improves Security and IT Efficiency with Systems Management Software Update

With 27 offices in the United States and additional offices in Asia, Europe, and South America, Holland & Knight is among the world’s 15 largest law firms. The firm wanted to improve its ability to report on the status of software deployments, deliver security updates, and accurately inventory hardware and software assets. In 2003, the firm implemented Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 to automate the delivery of software updates to its 3,500 desktop and portable computers and experienced a total savings of more than U.S.$400,000. However, time-consuming, manual processes were still used to track each update and to inventory assets. To improve those processes, the firm upgraded to Systems Management Server 2003. The time it takes to report on the status of each deployment has decreased by 99 percent, and the firm is now able to easily and accurately inventory its assets.

Microsoft Management webcasts - April 2006

TechNet Webcast: Understanding Group Policy (Part 1 of 3) (Level 200)
Friday, April 14, 2006: 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time
Michael Murphy, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

Group Policy in Microsoft Windows Server 2003 has almost 1,000 configurable settings. This first webcast in a three-part series begins by guiding you through the terms and concepts used in the Group Policy environment. It explains what Group Policy is, what Group Policy Objects (GPOs) are, and how GPOs are applied to users and computers. Join this webcast to find out the benefits of using Group Policy, how to create a test and staging environment, and how to use the two most common tools available to manage Group Policy, the Group Policy Management Console and the Group Policy Object Editor.

Management News - March 2006

Microsoft Management Summit 2006 Registration Open

The year’s MMS 2006 event will take place this April in sunny San Diego and will once again focus on technical content covering Microsoft management products, technologies, and solutions. The MMS 2006 web site is live and registration is open. Full details of the event including the outline agenda, sponsorship information, registration options, and hotel information can be found on the event web site.

As we start putting the plans for MMS 2006 together, we’d like to ensure that the event matches your needs and requirements. Our aim is to provide you with the information and resources you need to manage your organization’s IT assets safely and effectively.

Thanks in advance for helping us make MMS 2006 your IT event of the year!

MMS 2006 Keynote Sessions

Attend these exciting and insightful keynote sessions to learn about Microsoft’s future plans for IT Management and how Microsoft manages it own desktops, severs, and applications.

Tuesday, April 25: The opening keynote will be presented by Bob Muglia, Senior Vice President, Server and Tools Business at Microsoft Corporation. The session will cover the Windows Server System promises for simplifying IT, delivering on Self Managing Dynamic Systems and more.

Wednesday, April 26: The midweek keynote by Kirill Tatarinov, Corporate Vice President, Windows Enterprise Management Division at Microsoft Corporation will drill into the plans for delivering on IT Service Management through Microsoft’s System Center Management product family.

Thursday, April 27: In the final keynote, Ron Markezich, Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Managed Solutions at Microsoft Corporation will speak about how Microsoft IT is delivering services as a key business enabler for the Microsoft Enterprise.

MMS 2006 Breakout Sessions

All Breakout sessions have now been selected and scheduled. The full list of breakout sessions is available on the event web site.

Microsoft System Center - March 2006

DPM and Windows Server 2003 R2 Data Protection Solution

Learn how Microsoft is creating "better together" solutions for data protection through DPM and Windows Server 2003 R2. Combining these independent technologies, you'll have a comprehensive data storage and recovery solution that lets you increase availability and failover via windows Server 2003 R2, while centralizing backup and protection of branch office servers through DPM. Download trial versions of both products and read how you can get protected and stay productive.

Microsoft Operations Manager - March 2006

Latest Version of MOM 2005 Resource Kit Now Available for Download

This resource kit has been updated to support MOM 2005 SP1 and new tools have been added:

1. Alert to RSS Utility – Enable subscriptions to alert information via RSS.
2. DAS Role Update Utility – Tighten the security of MOM servers by removing the BUILTIN\Administrators group from the MOM Administrator role.
3. Computer Group Hierarchy Utility – Export and import the Computer Group Hierarchy, including using AD containers and hierarchy to create Computer Groups
4. Console Scope Utility – Automatically update Console Scope membership and mirror AD Security Group membership into console scopes.
5. Management Group Utility – List and cleanup Management Group membership data on individual agents.
6. MOM Remote Pre-requisite Checker – Verify the configuration of the services and ports required for agent installation and discovery.
7. Response Test Utility – Quickly test response scripts for minor errors from the command line, before finally saving them to an MP.

Systems Management Server - March 2006

Announcing the Release of SMS v4 Beta 1

Announcing Microsoft’s next generation in change and configuration management solution. Available today, SMS v4 Beta 1, is the lowest cost solution for managing changes to your Windows-based assets, including new advances in complete security management and system deployment.
Download SMS v4 Beta 1

Announcing Beta of SMS 2003 R2

Announcing beta availability of SMS 2003 R2. SMS 2003 R2 promises to simplify customers’ IT infrastructure by improving client security and simplifying the distribution of updates for line of business and 3rd party software applications. Also announced is: The release of SMS 2003 SP2 with immediate availability; End of mainstream support for SMS 2.0 on March 31st.

Support Statement for SMS 2.0 Software Update Services Feature Pack and SMS 2003 Security Update Inventory Tool

As documented in KB895660, the MBSA 1.2.1 catalog (MSSecure.XML) that is used to provide security detection and deployment information to MBSA 1.x will be no longer be updated for use with MBSA 1.2.1 after March 31, 2006. The SMS 2.0 Software Update Services Feature Pack and the SMS 2003 Security Update Inventory Tool leverage the MBSA 1.x scan engine and therefore the MSSecure.XML file. To enable customers using SMS 2.0 Software Update Services Feature Pack and the SMS 2003 Security Update Inventory Tool, MSSecure.XML will continue to be updated for use with these SMS tools. The MSSecure.XML file will be updated until SMS 2.0 reaches the end of Extended Support in December 2010.

Newer Microsoft products cannot be supported with either the SMS 2.0 Software Update Services Feature Pack or the SMS 2003 Security Update Inventory Tool due to limitations in the MBSA 1.x scan engine. The Microsoft products not supported by these tools include, but are not limited to: Internet Explorer 7, SQL Server 2005, Windows Vista, Windows Server codename “Longhorn”, and any 64-bit products or platforms.

Upcoming Microsoft Management webcasts - March 2006

TechNet Webcast: Planning and Deploying Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (Level 200)
Wednesday, March 22, 2006; 11:30 A.M.–1:00 P.M. Pacific Time
Keith Combs, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

"Plan your work and then work your plan," so the saying goes. This is particularly true when using Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 to install or upgrade a management solution. Join this webcast and learn how to plan your work more effectively. In our discussion, we cover best practices and deployment considerations when upgrading or installing a management solution using MOM 2005. This presentation also includes a review of MOM 2005 features, deployment scenarios, and upgrade tips.

TechNet Webcast: Managing Exchange 2003 with MOM 2005: Better Together (Level 200)
On Demand
Dale Koetke, Lead Program Manager, Microsoft Operations Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Learn how Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 and the Exchange Server 2003 Management Pack for MOM 2005 can help improve the health and performance of Exchange Server 2003 through specialized, proactive monitoring and alerting. This webcast explores the wide range of valuable tools and knowledge contained in this Management Pack and shows how you can use them to identify, understand, and resolve IT health issues to keep Exchange running and your organization's e-mails flowing.

TechNet Webcast: Active Directory Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (Level 200)
On Demand

In this webcast, we explore the features and capabilities of the Microsoft Active Directory Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005. This management pack monitors events that are placed in the Application, System, and Directory Service event logs by various Active Directory components and subsystems. It also monitors the overall health of Active Directory and alerts you to critical performance issues. Learn how the Active Directory Management Pack for MOM 2005 can provide you with valuable monitoring information for most implementations of Active Directory. We also show how Active Directory Management Pack reports make important information available to you in the areas of trending, user account problems, configuration, and service level availability.

SMS Training: How to Install and Run Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003
On Demand

Learn how to install and complete basic tasks with Systems Management Server 2003, including the deployment of software packages to workstations. This course includes a significant amount of hands-on lab time so you can actually work with the technology directly. This course will provide an understanding of: software and package management; processes, methodologies, techniques and tools available from Microsoft to assist in the planning and execution of a Microsoft SMS 2003 solution; management requirements associated with maintaining an SMS environment

Upcoming Microsoft Management webcasts - February 2006

Microsoft Operations Manager - February 2006

Microsoft Host Integration Server 2004 Management Pack for MOM 2005 The Microsoft Host Integration Server 2004 Management Pack provides monitoring functionality for Host Integration Server 2004 computers running on Microsoft Windows Server 2000 and Windows Server 2003, and is supported for use only with Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (MOM). This management pack provides monitoring of key Host Integration Server components, including SNA Connections and TN3270, TN5250, Print, and host transaction resynchronization services. IMPORTANT: Review the prerequisites section of the Management Pack Guide included with the Management Pack prior to deploying MOM 2005 agents to Host Integration Server 2004 computers. More information available at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=56694

Two New Books for MOM 2005 Chris Fox has written another outstanding book for the tools administrators. The Essential Microsoft Operations Manager (O'Reilly) February 2006 is a comprehensive tutorial gives system administrators a solid foundation for planning, implementing, and administering Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005. Learn how to program MOM so it automates burdensome and lengthy diagnostic tasks, making your life as a troubleshooter easier than ever. Features practical, real-world advice from MOM expert Chris Fox. It is currently available. Another book about MOM 2005, SMS 2003 and Microsoft Update written by Tim Kelly, Randy Holloway, and Telmo Sampaio will also be available in February 2006. This book teaches expert and best practice based security and patch management of Microsoft environments, using any of the three covered Microsoft offerings (Microsoft Operations Manager, Systems Management Server, and Windows Update Service). After detailing installation and configuration of each of the products, it goes beyond these basics to show the methods administrators should implement to keep their systems patched, secure, and up-to-date.

Systems Management Server - February 2006

Released: IBM Systems Update Tool for Systems Management Server 2003 The IBM Systems Update Tool for Microsoft SMS helps enable Microsoft SMS to manage IBM firmware and driver updates. This tool helps simplify the process of identifying and installing IBM firmware and driver updates needed for IBM® and IBM xSeries® servers.

Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Desired Configuration Monitoring Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 Desired Configuration Monitoring (DCM) is a powerful way to maintain a consistent configuration across all server roles and hardware types and to ensure that all servers have required software updates, service packs, and drivers installed. DCM requires Microsoft Windows Server 2003 or Microsoft Windows XP for component installation and will monitor most Microsoft Windows Server System applications and hardware configurations. DCM runs on any server application where configurations can be accessed through Microsoft Active Directory, Window Management Instrumentation (WMI), metabase, file system, and registries. DCM has three guides associated with it. You can download these guides from the Microsoft Download Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=49307

Microsoft System Center - February 2006

Introducing System Center Capacity Planner 2006 exclusively available via TechNet Plus Subscription SCCP 2006 employs state of the art modeling technology to bring unprecedented functionality and flexibility to performance analysis and planning of Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 and Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 deployments. SCCP provides IT professionals with guidance to plan an effective deployment, while also allowing for future planning "what-if" scenarios. To learn more visit http://www.microsoft.com/sccp and to find out more about TechNet including how to subscribe visit www.microsoft.com/technet

System Center Reporting Manager (SCRM) 2006 Release Candidate is Now Available System Center Reporting Manager (SCRM) 2006 is a data warehouse and reporting platform that will help IT managers better support corporate decision making, improve the quality of service provided and more effectively administer IT resources through improved reporting capabilities and management data integration. With SCRM 2006, customers will be able to solve important business scenarios like: 1. Monitoring the effectiveness of controls to make sure certain computers are adequately patched. 2. Correlating the impact of recent hardware or software changes with system performance. 3. Faster troubleshooting by easily comparing configurations between servers or desktops with a known baseline. 4. Associating systems management information with a customer’s unique organization structure by providing reports that show: 5. Status of critical patches or software updates on computers in a specific department or cost center 6. Servers supporting a specific division or application that are being managed by SMS and not MOM, or MOM and not SMS. 7. Alerts and other performance data for servers supporting a specific business application. 8. Opportunities to reduce costs for a business unit by identifying underutilized hardware. This Release is for evaluation use only and is intended to enable you to become more familiar with the product and provide valuable feedback to ensure we deliver a winning product to the market. The Release is available for download at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/systemcenter/evaluation/overview/reporting/beta.mspx We look forward to your valuable feedback on this new product. We encourage you to download the product, work with it, and openly share your thoughts with us!

Management News - February 2006

Softricity Working with Microsoft to offer Application Virtualization and Streaming within Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Boston, MA — February 6, 2006 — Softricity®, the on-demand application virtualization company, today announced the immediate availability of its SoftGrid™ virtualization platform within Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003. Now, Microsoft SMS 2003 customers can take advantage of Softricity's application virtualization platform to reduce the overall cost of application management. Softricity's new product, SoftGrid for Microsoft SMS 2003, helps IT administrators instantly gain all the benefits of the SoftGrid platform – including application virtualization, on-demand streaming and self-provisioning – from within the SMS infrastructure. "By integrating Softricity's application virtualization and on-demand software streaming with SMS 2003, customers can accelerate their SMS application deployments and reduce costs by shortening some potentially lengthy management processes - such as compatibility testing - while helping IT offer software in the context of services to the business." — Felicity McGourty, Director of Product Marketing in the Windows Enterprise Management Division at Microsoft Corp.

MOM Wins Gold Award for Systems Management from TechTarget 2005 Products of the Year! “Simplicity, ease of use and configuration were the qualities that made the performance management software known as Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 worthy of the Gold Award in the SearchWinSystems.com systems management category. Designed to reduce the complexity associated with managing today's IT infrastructure environments, MOM 2005 helps simplify the identification of performance issues. It also streamlines the process for determining the root cause of the problem and facilitates quick resolution to restore services and to prevent potential IT problems. MOM 2005's integrated framework provides Web-services-based interconnection with other management systems already in place. With its new console, you can view the systems' health and access the integrated reporting server. MOM 2005 supports an expanded set of configurations and architectures over and above those offered by MOM 2000. […]A new multi-homing feature allows information collected by MOM 2005 agents to be forwarded to and monitored by multiple and separate IT groups requiring visibility into the health of the same servers.” Read more on TechTarget's 2005 Products of the Year!

Microsoft Management Summit 2006 Registration Open! The year’s MMS 2006 event will take place this April in sunny San Diego and will once again focus on technical content covering Microsoft management products, technologies, and solutions. The MMS 2006 web site is live and registration is open. Full details of the event including the outline agenda, sponsorship information, registration options, and hotel information can be found on the event web site at: http://www.mms2006.com. Thanks in advance for helping us make MMS 2006 your IT event of the year!

IT’s Showtime! by TechNet-IT Pro On-Demand Service New videos are available in IT’s Showtime! by TechNet - our IT Pro video on-demand service featuring top rated presentations filmed in live Microsoft events and conferences. The following videos are from the MMS Roadshow: Windows Server System: Kiril Tatarinov, Bill Anderson Microsoft Management Product Roadmap Bill Anderson SMS 2003 Technical Drilldown   And also Best of MMS: MOM 2005 Technical Drilldown - Starring Vladimir Joanovic Best of MMS: The Dynamic Systems Initiative - Starring Michael Emanuel

Upcoming Microsoft Management webcasts - January 2006

TechNet Webcast: Active Directory Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 (Level 200)
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Pacific Time
Keith Combs, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

In this webcast, we explore the features and capabilities of the Microsoft Active Directory Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005. This management pack monitors events that are placed in the Application, System, and Directory Service event logs by various Active Directory components and subsystems. It also monitors the overall health of Active Directory and alerts you to critical performance issues. Learn how the Active Directory Management Pack for MOM 2005 can provide you with valuable monitoring information for most implementations of Active Directory. We also show how Active Directory Management Pack reports make important information available to you in the areas of trending, user account problems, configuration, and service level availability.

TechNet Webcast: Planning and Deploying Systems Management Server 2003 (Level 200)
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM Pacific Time
John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

Planning the deployment of your Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 environment is an important step towards ensuring that your installation is successful and stable. In this webcast, we offer best practices for deployment and look at various tools that are available to assist you with your SMS 2003 installation.

TechNet Webcast: An In-Depth Analysis of Self-Managing Dynamic Systems (Level 200)
Wednesday, January 18, 2006 - 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM Pacific Time
Peter Meister, Lead Product Manager, Windows Server, Microsoft Corporation
Jeff Woolsey, Lead Program Manager, Microsoft Corporation

Self-managing dynamic systems are information technology (IT) infrastructures that abstract, or virtualize, computing resources to help IT professionals deploy business services more nimbly and respond quickly to business requirements. Self-managing dynamic systems can have a powerful effect on how you approach your business. This webcast provides an in-depth analysis of self-managing dynamic systems. Learn how to create highly available, highly reliable server operations by combining key management technologies with virtualization and coupling them with the Microsoft Windows Server operating system.

TechNet Webcast: Troubleshooting Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 (Level 200)
Monday, January 23, 2006 - 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Pacific Time
John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

Troubleshooting Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 installations can be difficult unless you know where to look and what to look for. This webcast describes some of the common problems with SMS 2003 environments and illustrates straightforward solutions with practical demonstrations. We cover common problems and solutions, including those related to installing SMS management points and advanced clients, communication between the components in your SMS hierarchy, management point security, and Microsoft SQL Server access.

TechNet Webcast: Best Practices for Security Update Management with Systems Management Server 2003 (Level 200)
Wednesday, January 25, 2006 - 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM Pacific Time
John Baker, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

Join this webcast to learn about the best practices you should consider when you develop an update management solution using Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003. Get detailed recommendations for all parts of a software update solution, including the setup stage and the software update cycle. We provide specific guidance on updating desktop, mobile, and server computers. We also discuss using the Dell inventory tool to update Dell servers.

TechNet Webcast: Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 for Exchange Deployments (Level 200)
Friday, January 27, 2006 - 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM Pacific Time
Keith Combs, TechNet Presenter, Microsoft Corporation

In this webcast, we explore the Microsoft Exchange 2003 Management Pack for Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 and show how it can help your organization proactively identify problems. We discuss the monitoring capabilities provided by this management pack and demonstrate how they can help you to identify problems and quickly solve them. We also examine the reporting capabilities provided by this management pack and explain how they can help you avoid problems.