With the introduction of Configuration Manager 2012 SP1, we now have rich management capabilities for iOS devices. One of the apple requirements in order to manage their iOS devices is to request an Apple Push Notification Certificate.

We can request and apply this certificate right from the ConfigMgr console.

In the ConfigMgr console, select Administration > Hierarchy Configuration

Right-Click the Windows Intune Subscriptions and select Create APNs certificate request 

 

Select a location to save the APN request file, and select Download

 

A small file is downloaded.

 

Now browse to the Apple APN Certificates portal (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=264215) and logon with your Apple ID

 

After signing in, select the Create a Certificate button

 

Upload the certificate request file we created from within the ConfigMgr console

 

The certificate will be created and available to download

 

You’ll get a MDM_Microsoft Corporation_Certificate.pem file. This is the file you’ll use when you setup your Intune connection in ConfigMgr

 

Matt Shadbolt

I promised in my last post to provide you all with my scripts for modifying all your package and application source paths… well that was over two months ago now!

http://blogs.technet.com/b/configmgrdogs/archive/2013/02/18/moving-your-package-source-after-migration.aspx

Note: These scripts are provided “as-is” and no guarantees are provided. Please TEST these in a non-production environment beforehand.

 

ApplicationSourceModification.ps1 (Version 1.0)

First is my script will modify the source paths for all of your Deployment Types within all Applications that are Script or MSI installers (you can modify this to do your App-V Deployment Types too)

Write-Host "#######################################################################" -f Green
Write-Host "##        Matts ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 Application Source Modifier       ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##                blogs.technet.com/b/ConfigMgrDogs                  ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##                                                                   ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##                                                                   ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##  Please ensure your package source content has been moved to the  ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##          new location *prior* to running this script              ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##                                                                   ##" -f Green
Write-Host "#######################################################################" -f Green
Start-Sleep -s 2

Write-Host ""
Write-Host ""
## Import ConfigMgr PS Module
Import-Module 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Configuration Manager\AdminConsole\bin\ConfigurationManager.psd1'

## Connect to ConfigMgr Site
$SiteCode = Read-Host "Enter your ConfigMgr Site code (XXX)"
$SiteCode = $SiteCode + ":"
Set-Location $SiteCode
Write-Host ""

## Set old Source share
Write-Host "NOTE: This is the location your 2007 packages are stored. It must be correct"
$OriginalSource = Read-Host "Enter your source ConfigMgr share (\\2007Server\Source$)"

## Set new Source share
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "NOTE: This is the location your Applications are stored. It must be correct"
$DestinationSource = Read-Host "Enter your destination ConfigMgr Source share (\\2012SERVER\Source$)"
Write-Host ""
Write-Host "Working.."
Write-Host ""
## Get your Application Deployment Types

$ApplicationName = Get-CMApplication
$ApplicationName = $ApplicationName.LocalizedDisplayName

ForEach($x in $ApplicationName)
{
$DeploymentTypeName = Get-CMDeploymentType -ApplicationName $x
#$DeploymentTypeName = $DeploymentTypeName.LocalizedDisplayName

    ForEach($DT in $DeploymentTypeName)
    {
    ## Change the directory path to the new location
    $DTSDMPackageXLM = $DT.SDMPackageXML
    $DTSDMPackageXLM = [XML]$DTSDMPackageXLM
   
    ## Get Path for Apps with multiple DTs
    $DTCleanPath = $DTSDMPackageXLM.AppMgmtDigest.DeploymentType.Installer.Contents.Content.Location[0]
   
    ## Get Path for Apps with single DT
    IF($DTCleanPath -eq "\")
    {
        $DTCleanPath = $DTSDMPackageXLM.AppMgmtDigest.DeploymentType.Installer.Contents.Content.Location
    }
   
    $DirectoryPath = $DTCleanPath -replace [regex]::Escape($OriginalSource), "$DestinationSource"

    ## Modify DT path
    Set-CMDeploymentType –ApplicationName "$x" –DeploymentTypeName $DT.LocalizedDisplayName –MsiOrScriptInstaller –ContentLocation "$DirectoryPath"
   
    ## Write Output
    Write-Host "Application " -f White -NoNewline;
    Write-Host $x -F Red -NoNewline;
    Write-Host " with Deployment Type " -f White -NoNewline;
    Write-Host $DT.LocalizedDisplayName -f Yellow -NoNewline;
    Write-Host " has been modified to " -f White -NoNewline;
    Write-Host $DirectoryPath -f DarkYellow
    }
}

PackageSourceModification.ps1 (Version 1.0)

My second script is much simpler, as we are changing only the Package source location, with no need to cycle through each Deployment Type

Write-Host "#######################################################################" -f Green
Write-Host "##        Matts ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 Package Source Modifier           ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##                blogs.technet.com/b/ConfigMgrDogs                  ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##                                                                   ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##                                                                   ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##  Please ensure your package source content has been moved to the  ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##          new location *prior* to running this script              ##" -f Green
Write-Host "##                                                                   ##" -f Green
Write-Host "#######################################################################" -f Green
Start-Sleep -s 2

$SiteCode = Read-Host "Enter your ConfigMgr Site code (XXX)"
$SiteCode = $SiteCode + ":"
Set-Location $SiteCode

$PackageArray = Get-CMPackage
$OldPath = "\\2007SERVER\source$"
$NewPath = "\\2012SERVER\cmsource$"
ForEach ($Package in $PackageArray)
{
$ChangePath = $Package.PkgSourcePath.Replace($OldPath, $NewPath)
Set-CMPackage -Name $Package.Name -Path $ChangePath
Write-Host $Package.Name " has been changed to " $ChangePath
}

Matt Shadbolt

UPDATE: I’ve posted my Package and Application scripts (http://blogs.technet.com/b/configmgrdogs/archive/2013/05/09/package-amp-application-source-modification-scripts.aspx)

 

If you haven’t checked out the Package Conversion Manager for ConfigMgr 2012 RTM/SP1 yet, you’re missing out.

http://www.microsoft.com/en-au/download/details.aspx?id=34605

The PCM is provided by Microsoft to help you convert those migrated ConfigMgr 2007 Packages, into the newer (and better) ConfigMgr 2012 App Model Applications.

While PCM is really cool, this article is not going to show you how to use it, because frankly, it’s way too easy to use!

 

One of the limitations of PCM, is while it’ll do a great job converting your Packages to Apps, it does not do anything with your package/application source. This can be a major problem if your migrated package source was hosted locally on your old ConfigMgr 2007 server. Of course you should all be using UNC paths for your source, however even if you’re doing the right thing, if you want to decommission the old 2007 server, somehow you’ll need to move that package source.

I’m here to help!

Let’s use our favourite test application – Adobe Reader – and we’ll quickly convert the package, and then move the package source to the new ConfigMgr server.

In my demo, I’m using two package source shares to imitate a common environment

\\SP1RTM\OldSource$ This would be our old 2007 package source share

\\SP1RTM\Source$ This will be our new 2012 package source share

I’ve converted my old package to a shiny new 2012 Application

And if we open the single Deployment Type, we’ll see that the source is still on the old package source share

Now, this will actually work quite nicely. Having an external package source is not only supported, but recommended in larger environments. BUT, in small to medium environments you’ll want to decommission the old 2007 to save on licensing and management.

In 2007 there was two supported ways to move this package source. You either raised a Microsoft PSS case and they supplied you with a VB Script, or you manually went through each package source and changed the share path.

In 2012 SP1, we now have Powershell to do the work!

We’ve now got a myriad of Powershell cmdlets available for ConfigMgr 2012 SP1. (NOTE: Powershell support was added at SP1 so none of the following is applicable to RTM)

Anoop C Nair has a great write up of all the cmdlets available

http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/CM-2012-SP1-List-of-Cmdlets-a7bce79d

 

First, we need to import the ConfigMgr Powershell Module (NOTE: the module will only run in the x86 Powershell console)

Import-Module 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Configuration Manager\AdminConsole\bin\ConfigurationManager.psd1'

Next, connect to the Central/Primary site where you’ll be targeting your commands

Set-Location PRI:

Now that we’re connected, we can take a look at that Adobe Reader Deployment Type (DT)

Get-CMDeploymentType –ApplicationName “Adobe Reader” – DeploymentTypeName “Install Reader”

Whoa, lots of info! But the relevant part for this tutorial is the <Location></Location> tags

Luckily, we don’t have to modify the SDMPackageXML because the product group have given us a cmdlet to modify it without touching it directly.

Set-CMDeploymentType –ApplicationName “Adobe Reader –DeploymentTypeName “Install Reader” –MsiOrScriptInstaller –ContentLocation “\\SP1RTM\Source$\Applications\Adobe Reader”

If we now open up the DT, we can see the source location has changed to our new share.

Voila! With Powershell integration, doing these manual admin tasks is a whole lot easier, especially if you start using programming logic and piping information from one cmdlet to another.

In my next post, I’ll be posting a script to move *every* package source of applications that you’ve migrated.

 

Matt Shadbolt

 

Hi All, it’s been a while since my last post and one of Matts posts hit-count just past my article on Auto Deployment Rules  (Unashamed plug of my old blog post to try and get the numbers up). So I decided, okay it’s time to get another one done.

NOTE: This is not meant to be a step by step guide merely some general advice and run through. I always recommend doing any upgrade process in your test lab environment before even considering upgrading in production. If you don't have one create one.

The environment I'm working with is a lab that was setup when ConfigMgr 2012 RTM came out. It sits on Server 2008 R2 SP1 and SQL 2008 R2 SP1 CU4. Probably not too dissimilar to most 2012 RTM environments.
I have a one CAS, one Child Primary and one Secondary Site.

The first thing I want to do is run the prerequisite checker.
On the ISO I have Prereqchk.exe sits in the folder SC2012SP1_RTM_SCCM_SCEP\SMSSETUP\BIN\X64.

The advantage of running this instead of running through the setup GUI and then seeing what prerequisites are required, you avoid having to have to exit the setup and run through the entire setup process again. To get the command line switches simply run prereqchk /?

Let's run it on each server separately to see what is needed.
CAS Server (CM12CAS.Contoso.com)
Open an administrative command prompt and run the following command

prereqchk /CAS /SQL <FQDN of the SQL Server>  /SDK <FQDN of the SDK Server>

Feel free to add any other switches that you would like to but this will server our current purpose.

OK so we can see a couple of Warnings which I expected in our lab environment, and number of things we need to fix.
Anything that is a warning is usually just a best practice alert such as the WSUS on site server warning, or for you to be aware of a potential issue such as verifying site server permissions to publish to AD.
Let's go through the errors.

1) We can ignore the two errors Existing Configuration Manager server components on site server and Dedicated SQL Server Instance because the prereqchk is assuming we are trying to do a fresh install on this site server, not an upgrade.
2) User State Migration Tool(USMT) installed, Windows Deployment Tools installed and Windows PreInstallation Environment installed are all part of the latest Window Assessment and Deployment Toolkit which you can download from here http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=30652
3) SQL Server version I need to upgrade SQL from 2008 R2 SP1 CU4 to either CU6 or SP2. (See Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager.)

NOTE : f you are going to upgrade from 2008 RTM/R2 to SQL 2012 post upgrading to ConfigMgr 2012 SP1, you need to upgrade in the following order.
1st - CAS
2nd - Secondary Site
3rd - Child Primary of that secondary site.

From Technet - http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg682077#BKMK_SupConfigUpgradeDBSrv

For Configuration Manager SP1 only: Configuration Manager with SP1 supports the in-place upgrade of SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2 to SQL Server 2012 with the following limitations:

•        Each Configuration Manager site must run service pack 1 before you can upgrade the version of SQL Server to SQL Server 2012 at any site.

•        When you upgrade the version of SQL Server that hosts the site database at each site to SQL Server 2012, you must upgrade the SQL Server version that is used at sites in the following order:

o        Upgrade SQL Server at the central administration site first.

o        Upgrade secondary sites before you upgrade a secondary sites parent primary site.

o        Upgrade parent primary sites last. This includes both child primary sites that report to a central administration site, and stand-alone primary sites that are the top-level site of a hierarchy.

Important

Although you upgrade the service pack version of a Configuration Manager site by upgrading the top-tier site first and then upgrading down the hierarchy, when you upgrade SQL Server to SQL Server 2012, you must use the previous sequence, upgrading the primary sites last. This does not apply to upgrades of SQL Server 2008 to SQL Server 2008 R2.

4) If you haven't already done so, the following WSUS Updates may also need to be applied.
An update for Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 is available (KB2734608)
An update for Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 is available (KB2720211)
PLEASE read and understand what may occur in your environment before applying these hotfixes. and of course test in your lab environment first.

 

Install WADK

Ok so let's install the WADK components to my CAS
Download it from the link above
Run adksetup
Download the Kit to a network location so it is available for installation. (Note this may take a while)

From that location on your server share
Run adksetup.exe
Specify your installation directory and click Next

Select Yes or No depending on your preference and click Next

Accept the license agreement

All you should need is the Deployment Tools, Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) and User State Migration Tool (USMT) select these and click Install

Again, this may take a while to install.

NOTE: Check your build via PXE after this is done as you may potentially need to remove and redistribute your x64 Boot Image. Ensure you refer to the SMSPXE.log file for any errors.

 

SQL Upgrade
I'm going to upgrade to SQL 2008 R2 SP2.
(If you wish to do the same you can get SP2 from here How to obtain the latest service pack for SQL Server 2008 R2)

Run the SP2 executable

Click Next

Accept the license agreement

Click Next

After the file check click Next

Click Update

Click Close

Click OK and restart the server
I'd suggest checking the SQL Logs after the reboot to ensure there are no errors that you may need to look into.

Upgrade to ConfigMgr to SP1

Now we can start the SP1 Upgrade

Double click on splash.hta to bring up the splash screen

You'll see a familiar screen Click Install

Click Next

Select Upgrade this Configuration Manager Site and Click Next

Enter your product key and click Next

Accept the license agreement and click Next

Accept the license agreement and click Next

You can either download the latest prerequisite files from the internet and save them on a network location, or use an already downloaded copy. In this case they are available on my copy of the ISO so I'll just grab them from there. Obviously over time I'd suggest you download the latest version from the internet.

Click OK and Next

Select your Server Language and click Next

Select your client language and click Next.

Click Next again at the Summary screen

Finally we reach the prerequisite check screen (You can now see the value in using prereqchk.exe)
For more detail you can look at the ConfigmgrPrereq.log file in the root of C.

Click Begin Install

You should now see a log file called C:\ConfigmgrSetup.log open this up to watch how the upgrade process is going.

We can see that after a successful connection to the database we are about to Upgrade the CAS Server

After about 40 minutes in my lab the upgrade process is complete. See the entry in the setup log file above

We can now click Close on the splash screen

Now let's check and see if the Site has upgraded successfully.
Open the ConfigMgr console and select Administration > Site Configuration > Sites > CAS right click and select Properties

As per Matt’s previous blog we can now see that our CAS is at Version 5.00.7804.1000 and Build number 7804

I'm also going to check my database replication and ensure everything is functioning correctly. .
One other thing that is interesting to note is the change in the change in the configure Client Installation Settings under Administration > Sites and in the ribbon Hierarchy Settings

RTM

SP1

We now no longer have a choice to select the latest version for the Automatic Client Upgrade option.

Child Primary

OK, so let's now move onto the Child primary

Open an administrative command prompt and run the following command

prereqchk /PRI /SQL <FQDN of the SQL Server>  /SDK <FQDN of the SDK Server>

So we can see the exact same prereqs as the CAS, so I will run through the same process as per the CAS of installing the latest WADK and upgrading SQL.

Upgrade to SP1

The screen shots are exactly the same for the child primary so I won't bore you with those

Once we start again, we can see in the Setup log file after the SQL connections are successful the upgrade will begin

Then after about 30 minutes we can see that the setup is now complete

We can also see a few extra tasks have been done on the Child Primary.

Let’s check some of the logs and the console to ensure it has upgraded successfully.

To see if the components have reinstalled without issue, we can check the sitecomp.log under <SCCMInstallFolder>\Logs
We can see where the bootstrapper starts successfully after SP1 finishes installing. You can also see as it successfully reinstalls each component.

See the figure below for all of the entry’s filtered in the log file.

You may also notice a few new components being installed.

Mpcontrol.log shows us that the management point is communicating successfully.

Now jump into the console and check the site version and database replication. We also essentially check that the provider is functioning since we need it to be to get into the console.

All looks good. Also the picture of the Cloud is a bit of a giveaway.

DB Replication also looks nice and healthy.

Secondary Site

OK, so now lets look at our Secondary site

Open an administrative command prompt and run the following command

prereqchk.exe /SECUPGRADE

We can see that there are 2 points I need to fix before attempting an upgrade.

1) The upgrade process will not automatically install a supported version of SQL so we need to do it manually first
2) SQL Express does not have a static port set so we will need to go into SQL to set a static port of 1433.

The upgrade of SQL we have already run through so I will just go through setting the static port
On the secondary server open up SQL Server Configuration Manager

Ensure the local Secondary server is selected (Or remote server name if you've started it from another server)

Expand SQL Server Network Configuration and select Protocols for CONFIGMGRSEC
Then double click on TCP/IP under protocol name

You will notice that SQL has both Dynamic and a static port set for IPAll

Lets delete the Dynamic entry and click Apply

Click OK and restart the appropriate services.
After I have upgraded SQL and changed the port I run my prereq check again.

We can now see that the errors are gone and we should be able to upgrade our secondary site successfully. You also may have noticed that I have warnings on all of the servers for SQL Server process memory allocation. That is because SQL requires a minimum of 8 GB of RAM for a CAS and Primary, and 4GB for a secondary. It will still run with less as per my Lab VM’s but you will get a performance hit.

Upgrade to SP1

As most of you will now know we install and we upgrade the Secondary site via the ConfigMgr console and not directly on the box itself.
So we can open the console on either our CAS or our Child Primary. I'll do it from the Child primary just to speed things up.

Go to Administration > Sites and select the secondary site. You will now see an Upgrade option available on the ribbon.
When your upgrading you have two choices to monitor what is happening.
1) Click on Show Install Status

This brings up a step by step guide to let you know at what stage the installation is at. Here we can see that the prereq’s have already occurred and the Bootstrap service has already been installed ready for the upgrade.

2) Look at the local log files sitting in the root of C:\

As with the CAS and the Child primary, we have the exact same prereq Wizard and setup log files that go into much more depth should there be any issues with the installation. Although we will need to watch the logs initially on the Child Primary before the setup and bootstrap begins on the secondary site.

I will click on Upgrade get the above warning then click Yes.

This log file is from the Child Primary

With each action we can see the corresponding action in the appropriate log file if we wish.
Once prereqs are finished we can see that the bootstrapper begins its process

And on the secondary site we can see the upgrade process begin

And we can see that now the installation is complete

I'm going to check the SMSEXEC.log to see if my components have started.

I'm also going to check MPControl.log to see if my management point is functioning as expected.

Now ill check the version and database replication status from the console.

We can see that we are on build 7804

And we can also see that database replication is working as expected.

I would suggest checking that all of your components on each server, are functioning correctly. Keep your eye on the status messages and alerts, in case any of them fail and need further attention. You can do this from Monitoring > Site Status and Component Status. Below we can see an example of an issue with my Software Update Point after the SP1 update  that needs attention.

   
Looking at the WCM.LOG you can see that I haven't applied the WSUS updates I mentioned earlier in this blog.

An update for Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 is available (KB2734608)
An update for Windows Server Update Services 3.0 Service Pack 2 is available (KB2720211)

I will download and apply these updates.

after a restart of the WSUS Configuration Manager component (This isn't necessary the next time it polls it would do this anyway) you can see that it now has a supported version and is now running though setting up the updated component.

Conclusion and next steps.

So what we have seen here are various methods to run through the upgrade process and various log files and GUI settings in the console that we can use to follow the process. If you plan and get the prerequisites setup correctly before you begin you should have a fairly smooth SP1 upgrade.

Next steps.
1) Update your ConfigMgr Client package to all of your Distribution points and plan out the client upgrade.
2) Think about and potentially plan an upgrade to SQL 2012.

George Smpyrakis

I have been doing a number of customer engagements recently around Windows 8 deployments through ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and one question I often ask our customers during the planning phase is “Will you be integrating MDT 2012 Update 1 into your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 environment?” The general response I get is “What are the benefits…?” Well the short answer is A LOT!!, but one of the cool new reasons is MDT 2012 Monitoring and the ability to use this to monitor your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 OSD deployments.

There are a few pre-requisites that are required to get the FULL functionality of what is offered in MDT 2012 monitoring in particular the option to DaRT Remote Control to your client machine during the build, even while in PXE. This will require a custom boot image to be created that includes the DaRT 8 utility embedded. As DaRT is part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) you will need an MDOP subscription.

However if you do not have MDOP subscription you can still utilise the MDT 2012 Monitoring feature for your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 deployments.

In this session I will step through both configuring MDT 2012 Update 1 Monitoring for ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 OSD deployments as well as how to create a DaRT 8 embedded boot image to get the full power of MDT 2012 Monitoring.

Section 1 – Configuring MDT 2012 Update 1 Monitoring

Step 1: Install MDT 2012 Update 1 & Integrate it into your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 Site

Step 2: Configure a MDT 2012 Update 1 Deployment Share

- Open the MDT management MMC

- Right Click Deployment Share \ New Deployment Share

- Complete the Wizard

Step 5: Enable MDT Monitoring

- Right Click your Deployment Share and select Properties

- Select the Monitoring Tab

- Enable Monitoring for this Deployment Share

Step 6: Modify your CustomSettings.ini file to use MDT Monitoring

- Navigate to your source directory that your set for your MDT Settings Package

- If you are not sure where it is check your ConfigMgr Package

- Open your CustomSettings.ini file using notepad

- Add the following text to the end of the file: EventService=http://<server>:9800

- Update your Distribution Point to ensure the Settings Package is updated.

NOTE: If you want to confirm your DP has been updated you can follow the steps outlined in one of my previous blogs – ConfigMgr 2012 Content Library Overview

Step 7 – Deploy your MDT Client OSD Task Sequence

Step 8: Monitor your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 OSD deployment through MDT 2012 Monitoring.

- Open the MDT 2012 Update 1 Management Console

- Expand your MDT Deployment Share

- Select the Monitoring Node

- Select the build you want to monitor and select Properties

Note: You will not see your deployment appear until after the first “GATHER” has run during the Task Sequence.

That’s all that needs to be done to start monitoring your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 OSD Deployments using MDT 2012 Update 1 Monitoring.

In the next section I will show you how to take monitoring further by using DaRT 8…

Section 2 – Creating a DaRT8 Embedded Boot Image

You will need to have integrated MDT 2012 Update 1 with your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 environment and have a MDT 2012 Deployment Share configured before proceeding.

Note: After Integrating MDT 2012 Update 1 with your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 environment you will have the option to create a new MDT Boot Image directly out of the ConfigMgr UI Management console. However you will not have the option to select DaRT 8. The following steps will be required to make this option available.

The image above is what options you have out of the box when creating a custom MDT Boot Image in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1.

NOTE that DaRT 8 is not an available option.. YET!!

Step 1: Install DaRT 8 on your Server

This is only available for DaRT 8

- Complete the DaRT 8 Installation wizard

Step 2: Prepare MDT 2012 Update 1 for DaRT 8

- Using File Explorer, navigate to the C:\Program Files\Microsoft DaRT 8\v8 folder.

- Copy the Toolsx86.cab file to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Deployment Toolkit\Templates\Distribution\Tools\x86

- Copy the Toolsx64.cab file to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Deployment Toolkit\Templates\Distribution\Tools\x64

Step 3: Create a New ConfigMgr 2012 MDT Boot Image

- Open the ConfigMgr 2012 Management Console

- Select Software Library \ Operating Systems \ Boot Images

- Right Click Boot Images and select “New MDT Boot Image”

- Complete the wizard

- You will now notice we have a DaRT 8 option..

Step 5: Configure your MDT Client Task Sequence to use your DaRT Boot Image

Step 7: Deploy your MDT Client Task Sequence using your DaRT 8 Boot Image

Step 8: Open MDT Monitoring and connect to your machine using DaRT Remote Connect

- As we have deployed with a DaRT 8 embedded Boot Image we now have the option to connect to your client machine using DaRT Remote Control

You can now view your deployment status for any machine from start to finish even while it is in WinPE..

I hope you have found this information useful and will consider the benefits of integrating MDT 2012 Update 1 into your ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 environment, even if it is just for the monitoring components.

Until next time…

If you need to distinguish whether or not a site has been upgraded to ConfigMgr 2012 SP1, here is the process and version numbers.

 

1. Open the ConfigMgr console

2. Browse to Administration > Site Configuration > Sites

3. Right-click on the site you need information for, and select Properties

4. You’ll find the site version and build number here

ConfigMgr 2012 RTM

Version:  5.00.7711.0000
Build number: 7711

 

ConfigMgr 2012 SP1

Version:  5.00.7804.1000
Build number:  7804

Matt Shadbolt

 

The long awaited System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 has officially hit General Availability!

http://blogs.technet.com/b/systemcenter/archive/2013/01/15/system-center-2012-sp1-is-generally-available.aspx

---

Travis Wright MSFT

This morning we announced the general availability of System Center 2012 SP1!  While the RTM bits have been available for a few weeks already to TechNet/MSDN subscribers and volume licensing customers, today marks the broad availability of System Center 2012 SP1 to all customers.

The System Center 2012 SP1 release is chock full of new features to light up the new functionality found in Windows Server 2012.  The combination of System Center 2012 SP1 with Windows Server 2012 provides the foundation of what we call the ‘Cloud OS’.

---

 

We’ll be doing our very best to get some SP1 related posts up and going (we’re very busy guys), however here are some good places to start.

 

Official announcement

What’s new in SP1

ConfigMgrDogs SP1 Articles

 

Matt

Microsoft have recently released a Windows 8 and Server 2012 cumulative update KB2770917.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2770917

One of the important features of this update is the ability to customize the Windows 8 lock screen with corporate branding and set this across your domain joined computers using Group Policy.

From the KB:

This cumulative update includes the following performance and reliability improvements:

• Enable enterprise customers to customize the default lock screen.
• Improves the performance when you wake the computer and when the computer is asleep, in order to improve battery life
• Resolves an issue that may prevent Windows Store Apps from being installed fully
• Other software updates and performance improvements

After installing the update, you get four new Group Policy settings

Force a specific default lock screen image
Provide a UNC or local path to your corporate lock screen logo, and all of your users will receive that as their lock screen.

Prevent changing lock screen image
After setting the corporate lock image, enable this option if you don’t want your users to have the ability to personalize the lock screen image.

 

Prevent changing start menu background
Use this option to stop your users from changing the Start Menu background colour. This means whatever the colour of the Start Menu background was when the machine was deployed will not be changed.

 

Do not display the lock screen
Enabling this setting will remove the lock screen for any user who isn’t required to press CTRL+ALT+DEL to login.

 

---

 

After configuring all the settings and applying the GPO, my corporate machines lock screen now looks like this, and my users are stuck with it!

 

 

Matt Shadbolt

With all of the excitement surrounding the Beta 1 release of ConfigMgr 2012 SP1, there’s been a fairly big feature that's been rarely spoken about… Deploying iOS/Android apps to ‘un-managed’ devices!

This post wont be a deep dive into creating and deploying iOS/Android apps, it will just take you through the high-level announcements and give you something to start thinking about before SP1 hits RTM.

Firstly, you’ll want to check out the iOS app demo from the presentation made by Brad Anderson at TechEd Europe. The demo shows an iOS device using the Intune service to access and install a custom LOB (Line of Business) application.

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Europe/2012/KEY01 (1 hour 27 into the video for those playing at home)

Secondly, you’ll want to download and test the Beta 1 release of ConfigMgr 2012 SP1

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34607

NOTE: This is full installation media. You don’t need to build an RTM server and upgrade. You do however, need to install the new WADK separately, otherwise the prereq check will fail.

ConfigMgr 2012 makes the deployment a snap, because all we need to do is add a new Deployment Type to our current applications. This means we can have a user receive the LOB app via MSI if they’re in Windows, and the iOS app if they request it on their iPhone. You can really see the benefit of the new ConfigMgr 2012 App Model when you think about all your users utilizing different devices and different deployment types… it’s really rather exciting.

 

The process flow would be:

 

In terms of installing the application, the application would be delivered via a pull function. That is, we can’t forcibly install the application on a target iOS device, but instead we make the application Available for our users to install.

The process flow would be:

 

Finally, I wanted to add a couple of screenshots – one from the iOS client and one from the ConfigMgr console.

1. Creating a new iOS Deployment Type

2. Installing the App on an iOS device

 

There will be HEAPS more details coming soon… so stay tuned!

Matt

Well the PFE team are now back from TechEd 2012 held on the Gold Coast, Australia. As nice as it is to be home, we all had a terrific time on the GC – great weather, great sessions and great speaking with all the ConfigMgr engineers Australia wide.

The official TechEd Australia 2012 site is now up with all of the videos from the (literally) hundreds of sessions, and they’re all free to view!

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Australia/2012/

But here are the videos of your friendly ConfigMgrDogs engineers

George Smpyrakis and Matt Shadbolt – Implementing Security Compliance Manager for Compliance in SCCM 2012

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Australia/2012/SIM424

Ian Barlett and Mohnish Chaturvedi – Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0: Introduction

http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/TechEd/Australia/2012/WCL312