Plumbing & Wiring in a Microsoft World : System Center Essentials

System Center Essentials 2007 SP1 is here!

infoz — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:01:00 GMT

Well, it's been a while in the baking, but SP1 for System Center Essentials 2007 has finally arrived, bringing with it a host of improvements to performance, GUI stability and memory consumption (decreased by up to 70%...yes that's right 70%!). Check out the SCE SP1 page for further details on the new and improved functionality and download SP1 today - it's going to make your SCE install fly! [RH]

Using Essentials 2007 to Monitor Network Devices

infoz — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:12:00 GMT

Stumbled across this interesting post on Pete's Management BLOG the other day - gives a good overview of how straightforward it is to get SNMP monitoring of network devices up and running with System Center Essentials 2007. For those looking for a bit more in terms of network monitoring, it looks like Jalasoft will be releasing Xian Network Manager for SCE in beta form later this month - worth checking out of you want to extend on the native capabilities of SCE. [RH]

SCE Hotfix Rollup

infoz — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 07:03:00 GMT

Quick post to highlight the new Essentials 2007 hotfix rollup - posted last week. Combines a couple of existing patches including the old disjointed namespace chestnut. Download here, apply before installation and remember....always read the label. [RH]

Ever fancied authoring your own Management Packs?

infoz — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 04:32:00 GMT

***Updated to correct typo on the hyperlink - thanks to Blake Handler for the heads-up***

With the recent launch of Operations Manager 2007 and Systems Center Essentials 2007, we've been getting a lot of queries about extending the native capabilities of the standard Management Packs. It all looks a bit daunting to start with, but there's some excellent guidance on Steve Wilson's AuthorMPs site that'll help to get you started with the key concepts through a selection of tutorials and sample MPs. So, pull back the boards and have a play with the plumbing and wiring! [RH]

Remote Operations Manager - partner guides

infoz — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 02:48:00 GMT

Some great resources and useful information, recently posted by the product group and specifically targeted at partners looking to deliver a managed service to customers using a combination of System Center Essentials and Operations Manager. With pricing, datasheets, FAQs and presentations, there's everything you need to understand the opportunity and get up to speed with Remote Operations Manager before General Availability - anticpated to be October 2007. [RH]

Another Aussie case study for System Center Essentials 2007

infoz — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 04:55:09 GMT

Check out this case study and find out how Perth-based Microsoft Gold Partner DSC-IT helped Westralia Airports to improve the efficiency and productivity of their IT environment through the implementation of System Center Essentials 2007 - great work from the guys in WA! [RH]

Remote Operations Manager - guidance notes

infoz — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 05:00:01 GMT

Just a quick link pointing off to Dustin J's blog for the latest in guidance for Remote Operations Manager - ROM. ROM provides the ability for service providers to remotely monitor and manage clients' systems as part of a managed services offering (combining System Center Essentials 2007 and Operations Manager 2007). Plenty of useful info here on deployment and support, so well worth tucking in your favourites as ROM is now RTM and looking at general availability in the not too distant future.... (RH)

Essentials 2007 - online training videos

infoz — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:38:28 GMT

10 short videos with demos of a range of System Center Essentials 2007's main capabilities - well worth checking out to ensure you get the most out of your Essentials deployment.... Working with Essentials is so simple that you can learn to distribute software or monitor a critical web site in less than 5 minutes! (RH)

System Center Essentials 2007 - New Australian Case Study

infoz — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 04:53:00 GMT

As part of the Rapid Deployment Program (RDP), Melbourne based partner TNS were involved in deploying System Center Essentials 2007 at Asian Pacific Building Corporation. Find out how Asian Pacific were able to gain control of their network and dramatically reduce the costs associated with the everyday management of their IT resources by checking out the written case study, or streaming the video case study. Great to see local partners at the cutting edge! (RH)

System Center Essentials 2007

infoz — Wed, 02 May 2007 08:50:00 GMT

Microsoft® System Center Essentials 2007 (Essentials 2007) is a new management solution in the System Center family of IT systems management products. Essentials is specifically designed for IT professionals working in midsize businesses who often face IT challenges similar to those of larger enterprises – troubleshooting end user problems, automating management tasks, managing multiple systems, and diagnosing and resolving IT problems.

SCE 2007 has now been released and is available from here - http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/sce/default.mspx

I just wanted to document these useful links for information on SCE 2007

Whitepaper on SCE 2007 - http://switch.atdmt.com/action/mrtpro_FY07SystemCenterEssentials3QWhitepaperL_9

Details on the Partner Solution for Remote Managed IT services - http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/sce/sceremoteit.mspx

Additional information locations:

SCE wiki - http://sce.editme.com/

Casey McKinnon Blog - http://blogs.technet.com/caseymck

Dustin's Blog - http://blogs.technet.com/dustinj/

Pete's Management - http://www.it-jedi.net/2007/04/network-device-monitoring-in-essentials.html

SCE Managed Forums - http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowForum.aspx?ForumID=1558&SiteID=17

(CM)