[Today's post is provided by Chaohao Xu]
If a Configuration Manager client has received and started an advertised operating system deployment task sequence, attempting to start another operating system deployment advertisement within a certain period of time might result in the deployment being ignored and failed to start. In this case, the client ignores the PXE boot request and falls back to the local hard disk when booting up.
This is an expected behavior in both Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and SP2 based on the value of the PXE cache expire setting, which controls how long before a PXE advertisement expires. The default value is set to 60 minutes. This setting is useful when unknown computer support in R2 is turned on. If the value is too short, an unknown computer running a mandatory operating system deployment will repeatedly begin the same advertisement when rebooting in WinPE. For deployments that do not use unknown computer support, setting the value to a shorter period of time can help them quickly recover from failures that occur during operating system deployment and restart the advertisement.
For Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 hotfix KB969113 will set the default value from 60 minutes to 2 minutes. Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 improved functionality to make this value configurable in a registry key. The default value is 60 minutes in Configuration Manager 2007 SP2.
To set the registry key for the cache expire value for the PXE service point role, open the following registry key on the computer with PXE service role installed:
On a x86 machine
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\PXE
On a x64 machine the registry key is under WOW6432Node
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\SMS\PXE
Create a new DWORD value CacheExpire, and set the desired value in seconds. For example, if you prefer the cache expired in 2 minutes, set the value to 120. If the value is set to 0, then the default 60 minutes value is used.
Note: Setting the value in CacheExpire is only supported in ConfigMgr 2007 SP2.
--Chaohao Xu
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties and confers no rights.
[Today's post is from the Configuration Manager Writing Team]
The Configuration Manager documentation library (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680651.aspx) has been updated on the Web and the latest content on the Web has Updated: May 1, 2010 at the top of the topic.
This month's updates incorporate customer feedback and has a new footer, which still has our SMSDocs email address but also links to additional information and support options for Configuration Manager. We got the idea of creating this new page of resources after talking to customers at MMS last month. We found that many customers did not know about the additional resources that were available for Configuration Manager, such as the Configuration Manager team blog, or the TechNet forums. We also had a lot of interest in our new Twitter account.
We do value customer feedback and try to incorporate it when possible. Although we can't promise to make the docs perfect for everybody, we are committed to continual improvement. So, keep that feedback coming, and feel free to contact us about anything related to the documentation by using our usual address of SMSDocs@Microsoft.com.
What's New in the Configuration Manager Documentation Library for May 2010
The following information lists the topics that contain significant changes since the March 2010 update.
About Task Sequences
- Updated to clarify that task sequences cannot be advertised to users. Task sequences must be advertised to computers.
How to Capture and Restore the User State
- Updated to clarify how to create a task sequence to capture a user state.
About Configuration Manager Discovery
- Updated to include information about how to configure a specific domain controller for Active Directory discovery rather than the default setting of the nearest domain controller to the site server.
About Standard and Branch Distribution Points
- Updated to clarify that branch distribution points require advertisements to be configured for the option Download content from distribution point and run locally. Branch distribution points do not support the advertisement configuration of Run program from distribution point. This clarification is also added to Choose Between a Standard and Branch Distribution Point.
Step-By-Step Example Deployment of the PKI Certificates Required for Configuration Manager Native Mode: Windows Server 2003 Certification Authority
- Updated to clarify that when you specify the certificate Subject for the site server signing certificate, the exact text string in English must be used, in the same case, without a trailing period, and the site code must be specified at the end of the string in the same case as it appears in the Configuration Manager console.
System Health Validator Point Component Properties: General Tab
- Updated to correct the maximum value for the Validity period (hours) to 168.
Program Name Properties: Advanced Tab
- Updated to clarify that the "Allow this program to be installed from the Install Software task sequence without being advertised" option is required only when you are using a task sequence to install multiple applications.
-- The Configuration Manager Writing Team
[Today's post is provided by Rob Stack]
The latest downloadable quarterly update for the Configuration Manager 2007 Documentation Library has been posted to the download center. The March 2010 version is the newest downloadable update available and contains new material and fixes to documentation problems reported by customers since the last update was published for the October 2009 version. This includes updates for April 2010 and May 2010.
The January, April and October 2009, and also the March 2010 versions of the downloadable documentation help updates are now available on the Configuration Manager 2007 Help File Update Wizard download center page and additional, future quarterly updates will also be posted to this location.
To get the most recent downloadable Configuration Manager Documentation Library help, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=71816b0f-de06-40e0-bce7-ad4b1e4377bb&displaylang=en.
For more information about the Configuration Manager 2007 Help File Update Wizard, see this post: "Need the Latest Configuration Manager 2007 Help File?" at http://blogs.technet.com/configmgrteam/archive/2009/02/03/need-the-latest-configuration-manager-2007-help-file.aspx .
Please contact smsdocs@microsoft.com if you have any questions or comments about this downloadable update.
-- Rob Stack
The Configuration Manager Information Experience (iX) team has just published an update to the Configuration Manager 2007 Quiz Application. The quizzes are a fun way to learn about some of the features in the product. Each quiz contains 10 questions that can be answered Yes or No. Regardless of your answer, the quiz will display the correct solution and provide links to the Configuration Manager online documentation.
This new version of the application contains a number of general improvements and also includes two new quizzes:
The quizzes are compatible with any computer running Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7 and will download the correct version of Silverlight if it is not installed.
You can download and install this new version of the quiz application from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=b9fb478a-ec98-47f2-b31e-57443a8ae88f&DisplayLang=en
As usual, we love to hear your feedback about our content. Send an email to smsdocs@microsoft.com or click the Feedback icon in any of the quizzes to contact us.