TechNet Magazine: System Center
System Center: Windows PowerShell in System Center Operations Manager
Marco Shaw - August 2008
Windows PowerShell has been integrated into System Center Operations Manager 2007, offering a powerful way to perform and automate common administrative tasks. Get an overview of how you can use Windows PowerShell in OpsMgr to perform routine maintenance, manage agents, and more.Special Coverage: Windows Server 2008: Deploying Windows Server 2008 with System Center
Tim Mintner - March 2008
It used to be that server administrators would install Windows Server manually using the CD or DVD and then spend several hours configuring the server. With the release of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and the new Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, server administrators can now use the same tools that desktop administrators have been using for years to automate deployments.Utility Spotlight: SMS Cmdlets for Windows PowerShell
Don Brown - November 2007
Find out how you can start using Windows PowerShell cmdlets to manage SMS 2003 clients from the command line.System Center: New Software Update Management Tools
Steve Rachui - October 2007
With System Center Configuration Manager 2007, you'll find a completely new mechanism for dealing with update management that ensures better compliance and enforcement on each client. Learn how this improved approach can help you get all of your machines up-to-date.System Center: New Software Update Management Tools
Steve Rachui - October 2007
With System Center Configuration Manager 2007, you'll find a completely new mechanism for dealing with update management that ensures better compliance and enforcement on each client. Learn how this improved approach can help you get all of your machines up-to-date.System Center: SMS Evolved: A Powerful New Solution to Manage Your Systems
John Orefice - August 2007
Systems management is about to get a lot easier. Take a guided tour of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and see how it can simplify key tasks, such as deploying software updates, managing mobile devices, and maintaining system configurations.System Center: Deploy Apps and Updates to Your Branch Offices
Steve Rachui - August 2007
Branch distribution points, one of the new features in Configuration Manager 2007, might appear at first to be a fairly minor addition. But if you take a closer look, you’ll find that it offers new, indispensible capabilities for managing software distribution to branch offices.System Center: Deploy Apps and Updates to Your Branch Offices
Steve Rachui - August 2007
Branch distribution points, one of the new features in Configuration Manager 2007, might appear at first to be a fairly minor addition. But if you take a closer look, you’ll find that it offers new, indispensible capabilities for managing software distribution to branch offices.System Center: Keep an Eye on Your Servers with Operations Manager 2007
Pete Zerger - August 2007
Operations Manager 2007, the newest incarnation of MOM, introduces some major improvements, including new management interfaces, better reporting, support for line-of-business applications, new security options, and more.System Center: Migrating from MOM to Operations Manager 2007
Andy Dominey - August 2007
Ready to make the switch to Operations Manager 2007? Due to architectural changes, there’s no simple in-place upgrade path from a previous version of MOM. Instead, follow one of the migration plans presented here.Utility Spotlight: SMSMap
Jeff Tondt - July 2007
Seeing the whole SMS hierarchy as a picture can help you quickly understand how your infrastructure is laid out. This handy tool automates creation of your infrastructure diagram in Visio via COM.Management: Advanced Client Inventories with SMS
Wes Dobry - April 2007
Out of the box, Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 collects a lot of information, but it doesn’t collect nearly as much as you may need. Find out how the right combination of scripting, WMI, and SMS knowledge can help you expand SMS inventories to collect and report almost any morsel of information.Management: Deploying Custom Software Updates with SMS 2003 R2
Steve Rachui - April 2007
Systems Management Server 2003 R2 lets you use managedupdate features to deploy custom updates. Explore two new tools—the Inventory Tool for Custom Updates and the Custom Updates Publishing Tool—and see how they can help you deploy your own updates as well as updates from thirdparty developers.Management: Deploying Custom Software Updates with SMS 2003 R2
Steve Rachui - April 2007
Systems Management Server 2003 R2 lets you use managedupdate features to deploy custom updates. Explore two new tools—the Inventory Tool for Custom Updates and the Custom Updates Publishing Tool—and see how they can help you deploy your own updates as well as updates from thirdparty developers.Windows Administration: Monitoring Active Directory with MOM
John Hann - February 2007
Management packs for Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 allow you to more effectively monitor your IT infrastructure. See how these five management packs can help you keep an eye on the health, security, and reliability of your Active Directory environment.System Management: Unlocking the Mystery of WMI Events in MOM
Brian Wren - September 2006
Virtually every noteworthy Windows event generates a WMI event. Find out how you can monitor WMI events with MOM to provide an even more powerful solution for systems management.System Management: Zero Touch Installation: Automating Operating Systems Migrations
Jason Cross - September 2006
Get an overview of how SMS 2003 and some powerful new tools can make your next desktop OS deployment a no-touch operation. We’ll take a detailed look at the process involved for three common migration scenarios.System Management: Monitoring Security Events with MOM
John Orefice - September 2006
Looking for ways to maintain regulatory compliance? Learn how you can use MOM Management Packs to monitor security events and report data as required by HIPAA and Sarbanes-Oxley.System Management: Essential Tools for MOM Administration
Dave Cristini, Matt Goedtel, and Eric Kamor - September 2006
The MOM 2005 Resource Kit was recently refreshed and some handy new tools were added. Here’s a quick overview of some of the best utilities that will help you get a lot more out of MOM.System Management: Integrating MOM into Your Existing Infrastructure
Andrzej Lipka - September 2006
A solid monitoring solution must be highly available and it must integrate with existing systems. From fault tolerance to connectors, here’s what you need to know for planning a MOM deployment that meets both of these requirements.System Management: Customize SMS Using Local Policies
Jeff Tondt - September 2006
Do you need to override SMS site settings for just a few machines or configure specific settings for only some clients? Find out how SMS 2003 local policies let you configure custom policy on a per-client basis.System Management: Set High Standards: Powerful Tools for Configuration Management
Jeremy Chapman - September 2006
Problems with system configuration can be disastrous. These tools and best practices can help you keep a handle on system configurations throughout your enterprise computing environment.Beta Box: System Center Operations Manager 2007
Stewart Cawthray - September 2006How IT Works: Roaming in SMS 2003
Steve Rachui - August 2006How IT Works: SMS Client-Side Software Installation
Steve Rachui - July 2006
When configuring a software package for distribution in Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003, the administrator must choose the user context under which the software will be installed—either the logged-on user or the administrative context.Desktop Deployment: Zero Touch Windows Deployment With SMS
Adam Gordon - March • April 2006System Management: No Desktop Left Behind: SMS Troubleshooting Basics
John Baker - March • April 2006System Management: Measure Twice, Roll Out Once With The SMS Capacity Planner
Craig Morris - March • April 2006System Management: Five Solution Accelerators to Lend MOM a Helping Hand
Steve Rachui - March • April 2006System Management: Cut Through The Noise: Better Reporting with MOM and SMS
Richard Threlkeld - March • April 2006System Management: Cut Through The Noise: Better Reporting with MOM and SMS
Richard Threlkeld - March • April 2006Patch Management: Next-Generation Patch Management: Introducing Windows Server Update Services
Jason Leznek - November • December 2005
Vulnerability assessment and remediation can be a time-consuming task. However, it’s an important one that every company, big and small, needs to focus attention on. As thePatch Management: A Hands-On Guide to Hands-Off Updates with WSUS
Jeremy Moskowitz - November • December 2005
An essential, though sometimes time-consuming, task for protecting your computing environment is to keep systems current with the latest software updates and patches. To help streamline this process, Microsoft recently releasedPatch Management: Maximize the Power of SMS with New Tools for Managing Updates
Bob Lawler - November • December 2005Patch Management: Maximize the Power of SMS with New Tools for Managing Updates
Bob Lawler - November • December 2005Utility Spotlight: RunUpdates.cmd
Joshua Hoffman - November • December 2005
A great deal of time is often invested in determining the best ways to keep an infrastructure current, and rightfully so. In this month’s Utility Spotlight I take a look at a great way to make sure that desktops are as current as possible from the day they are deployed.