Schema Extension in SCCM - Demystified Complete

In one of my earlier posts I have given a lot of Details about SCCM Schema Extension , However In this Post I want to Demystify this topic Completely .

As we are already aware of that when we Extend the AD schema a set of 4 classes and 14 attributes are added in Active directory .

Now , Let us say that I do not Extend the Ad schema , The very First question that will come to our minds will be " How would ccmsetup.exe Discover the Management Point and get the specific retirements . As a workaround to this , what we do is that in the Command line used to install client we give management point , site code etc like CCMSetup.exe /mp:SMSMP01 /logon SMSSITECODE=S01 FSP=SMSFSP01.

You May also use SLP

It is very Important to note that if we do not extend the AD schema global roaming and NAP will not be implemented .

SCCM 2012 and SCORCH( System Center Orchestrator Manager) Intergration

Off Late , With System Center , a lot of new things have happened which have made life easy for Admins !! One such kind i SCCM 2012 and Orchestrator Integration . With this Integration you can achieve a lot of new things , Streamline Processes , Automate them and a lot .

One such example is being discussed in the Post below :

http://blogs.technet.com/b/neilp/archive/2012/08/08/configuration-manager-and-orchestrator-2012-using-status-message-as-a-runbook-trigger-mechanism.aspx

 

SCCM Interview Questions , HCL, WIPRO, TCS , COGNIZANT , ITC INFOTECH

Off Late I have been in touch with a lot of SCCM Admins who have been giving Interviews in Various Companies . I have noticed a pattern which is specific to specific companies . Some of the generic questions being asked are :

What is the difference Between Query and a Report ?
What is difference between Refreshing a collection and updating a collection ?
What are the log files to check for software distribution ?
What is the difference between Program and Application ?
Why do we Extend AD Schema ? Is it a Mandatory Step ?
What is the Difference Between Hardware Inventory and Software Inventory ?
What are log files for Inventory ?
How can we check if the SCCM Server management Point is Up and Running ?
What are SCCM management Point Log Files ?
What is the Difference Between Distribution Point and Secondary Site ?
What is Branch Cache ?
What are Log Files for Patch Management ?
What is the Concept of Content Library ?
What is the Log Files which you will check to Trouble Shoot OSD Issues ?
Some Reporting Related Questions Could be :

Write a SQl Script to find all the programs in Add Remove Programs

Write a SQl to find Xp machines in the Environment

 

Trust me !! If you have Answers to these questions , you will get 50 % questions similar to ones mentioned above ( Unless the Interviewer sees this post ;-) )

Application /Software Deployment SCCM – Part # 5( Application Request - Contd.)

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/applications-demystified-part-1/   - Part 1

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-requirement/ - Part 2

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-detection-rules/   Part 3

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-4-application-request/ Part 4

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-5-application-request-contd/  - Part 5

As an Extension to my Last post on SCCM Application request , I am Using A link to a Good Link here where you can get a Tool ( In case you do not have Other Components of System center - 2012 Like Service manager ) , Which can be used to Send Emails to a set of people who would Approve the requests for Software / Application :



Usage : Let us Say that a user requests for an Application ( Which is a Good Practice ) , Now Under the Standard SCCM 2012 Capability you will not be able to Send Emails to Anyone who can approve  the request . The Only way left was to refresh the SCCM Console regularly .

Now you can use this Link to Download Tool To Send Emails :

http://blog.coretech.dk/kea/enabling-email-approvals-for-your-requested-applications-in-configuration-manager-2012/

Errror - File Not Found - Application Catalog Error

If you have Faced this Error then In this Post you will find the solution to the problem .

 

Go to Site Server Roles and Add New role 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once you have Done all this , Open CMApplicationCatalog and you will be all fine 

 

Application /Software Deployment SCCM – Part # 4 ( Application Request)

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/applications-demystified-part-1/   - Part 1

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-requirement/ - Part 2

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-detection-rules/   Part 3

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-4-application-request/ Part 4

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-5-application-request-contd/  - Part 5

As has always been , I am trying to Demystify Some of the Coolest new features of SCCM 2012 . One such feature in this series of SCCM Applications Demystified I am Taking up Application request By Client in SCCM .

In SCCM 2012 , You can Deploy a Software on USers Machine and let the User see if he needs the Software . Once the user identifies the Software he Needs , He will request the software via Application Catalog and the software request will then go to SCCM Admin who will then approve or reject the Request .

 Now Isn't that a Cool Feature :

Screen Shots Attached Below :

Simulate Deployment - SCCM 2012 - A real Cool Feature

Guys !! here I am , Back with my Posts .

Well !! This time we will discuss a new topic which was not there with Previous Versions of SCCM . Now Consider a scenario where you are not sure How a Deployment would behave on Users machine Like dependencies, Requirements , Detection Methods .

In such a case , we wish we had a method of Actually checking how this application/ software would have behaved . But Yes !! with SCCM 2012 We have what we Call Simulated Deployments .

Below are the steps to create and check Simulated deployment !!

Note **** An Important note is that once you have checked the results by Simulated deployment , delete it before you deploy the actual Software . actual Deployment will not work unless Simulated deployment is not deleted . 

 

 

 

Click on Simulated deployment in Upper Tray .

 

 

SCCM Site Server Roles - SCCM 2012

SCCM Site Server Roles :

Found this On Facebook Posted by Some SCCM admin. Thought of Sharing it with you Guys . The actual Source is Microsoft Website :

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Application and Software Deployment SCCM – Part # 3 ( Detection Rules)

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/applications-demystified-part-1/   - Part 1

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-requirement/ - Part 2

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-detection-rules/   Part 3

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-4-application-request/ Part 4

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-5-application-request-contd/  - Part 5

While we are done with the Concept of Applications in SCCM 2012 , We are aware that what are requirements in SCCM 2012 , We will now take up the concept of Detection Rules .

Detection Rules : A Detection rule is a concept by which we can find out if a Software has already been present on the user's machine . If the software is present we may not want to install it again . As a direct benefit of this would be that we are not Utilizing the Network bandwidth for the software deployment which the user machine already has !!

Sample Flow Chart :



SCCM Detection Rule Window:

There are Three Types of Detection Rules in SCCM :

• File System – This method allows you to detect whether a specified file or folder exists on a client device, thus indicating that the application is installed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  The File system setting type does not support specifying a UNC path to a network share in the Path field. You can only specify a local path on the client device.

  
  


• Registry – This method allows you to detect whether a specified registry key or registry value exists on a client device, thus indicating that the application is installed.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

  Select the option This registry key is associated with a 32-bit application on 64-bit systems to check 32-bit registry locations for the specified registry key first. If the registry key is not found, then 64-bit locations will be searched.

  
  Windows Installer – This method allows you to detect whether a specified Windows Installer file exists on a client device, thus indicating that the application is installed.
  
  

Application and Software Deployment SCCM – Part # 2 ( Requirement)

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/applications-demystified-part-1/   - Part 1

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-requirement/ - Part 2

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-detection-rules/   Part 3

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-4-application-request/ Part 4

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-5-application-request-contd/  - Part 5

In the Last Section ( Part 1 of this Series ) we Talked about What is the difference between the Traditional method of Deploying Software( i.e package) in SCCM 2007 and Application Deployment in SCCM 2012 . And I am sure that now you have a feel of what we can do with the new version of SCCM .

Let us now move to Few of the Important Components of SCCM 2012 Applications : First of them Being :

Requirements : Now try and recollect those days when you used to or for that matter you still do this ; Create a Collection and then deploy a software onto that collection ( Example : If you need to deploy a software onto machines which have 4 GB of RAM , then you create a collection first and then deploy the software onto that collection ) . Wasn't that a pain !!

Well !! it Was . 

But now with SCCm 2012 requirements , you need not do this ! All you need to do is to stabilish a Requirement and then SCCM 2012 will take care of all that . No Collections !!

To Sum up : SCCM 2007 Software distribution was Collection Driven but in SCCM 2012 it is not.

Below Screen Shots will give you an understanding of what will happen : Here we have created a requirement rule that if free space in D Drive is equal or greater than 110 MB , only then install the software

Application and Software Deployment SCCM - Part # 1

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/24/applications-demystified-part-1/   - Part 1

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-requirement/ - Part 2

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/25/sccm-applications-demystified-part-2-detection-rules/   Part 3

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-4-application-request/ Part 4

http://sccmconfighelp.wordpress.com/2013/07/29/sccm-applications-demystified-part-5-application-request-contd/  - Part 5

In this series of SCCM 2012 Applications Concept , I will Demystify the concept of Applications in SCCM 2012 . To start with here is a brief snapshot of the new offerings in SCCM 2012 Applications :

For administrative users, the benefits of application management include the following:

• Applications in Configuration Manager support user-centric management so that you can associate specific users with specific devices. Instead of having to remember the name of a user’s device, you can now deploy software to the user and to the device. This functionality can help you make sure that the most important software is always available on each device that a specific user accesses. If a user acquires a new computer, you can automatically install the user’s applications on the device before the user logs on.


• You can send application deployments to users, devices, groups of users, or groups of devices.


• You can use requirements to control the deployment of applications to devices. For example, you can specify that an application can be installed only on computers that have more than 2 gigabytes (GB) of RAM, or specify that you want the application to install only on computers that run Windows 7. Applications are installed only on the computers that meet the specified requirements. Configuration Manager contains a set of built-in requirements called global conditions, and you can also define custom requirements.


• Users can install Windows software directly from the Application Catalog self-service website.


• Users can request approval to install software from a self-service website, the Application Catalog.  Administrative users can approve or deny these requests.


• An administrative user can configure a deployment purpose and action for an application. This configuration controls whether the application is required or optional and whether the application must be installed or uninstalled. Configuration Manager periodically monitors the state of the deployment. For example, if an application has a deployment purpose ofRequired and the user uninstalls it, Configuration Manager automatically reinstalls the application.

How To add Site Server Role in SCCM - 2012

The Below Guide Will help you understand on how to add a Site Server role in SCCM 2012 .

 

 

Hardware Inventory SCCM 2012 .

 

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As we all know that SCCM is a wonderful Tool for Getting the Hardware Inventory from its clients , Howevere there are cases where we might need some extra utilities to get information :

This Includes : IDMIF and NOIDMIF Files :

IDMIF Files ; There are certain cases where SCCM cannot find hardware Information from its Client , Under these cases we use IDMIF files to collect information :

For example,  projectors, photocopiers and network printers.

 

NOIDMIF Files : Use NOIDMIF files to collect information about client devices that cannot be inventoried by Configuration Manager. For example, you might want to collect device asset number information that exists only as a label on the device. NOIDMIF inventory is automatically associated with the client device that it was collected from.

Use the below Link on how to create these files :

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg712290.aspx#BKMK_NOIDMIF

Hardware Inventory Process SCCM

Hardware Inventory SCCM:

Figure: 1

 

 

 

Flow Chart for hardware Inventory:

SCCM Replication Process

SCCM Software Distribution Working - Step by Step

SCCM Software Distribution Working

WMI and BITS Services - Auditors Observations

It has been seen in a lot of cases that Auditors without having core knowledge of the subject come up with strange things . Once of my SCCM Fellow faced a problem wherein the auditors asked him to stop BITS and WMI on all the machines . In case you face the same kind of issue in your projects , Please make sure that you ask the auditors the questions " What are the bad impact do you see when we keep these services running "

 

And By the way , We cannot live without BITS and WMI being stooped. BITS being stopped would mean our network will choke .

SCCM Interview Questions , HCL, WIPRO, TCS , COGNIZANT , ITC INFOTECH

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Off Late I have been in touch with a lot of SCCM Admins who have been giving Interviews in Various Companies . I have noticed a pattern which is specific to specific companies . Some of the generic questions being asked are :

• What is the difference Between Query and a Report ?
• What is difference between Refreshing a collection and updating a collection ?
• What are the log files to check for software distribution ?
• What is the difference between Program and Application ?
• Why do we Extend AD  Schema ? Is it a Mandatory Step ?
• What is the Difference Between Hardware Inventory and Software Inventory ?
• What are log files for Inventory ?
• How can we check if the SCCM Server management Point is Up and Running ?
• What are SCCM management Point Log Files ?
• What is the Difference Between Distribution Point and Secondary Site ?
• What is Branch Cache ?
• What are Log Files for Patch Management ?
• What is the Concept of Content Library ?
• What is the Log Files which you will check to Trouble Shoot OSD Issues ?

Some Reporting Related Questions Could be :

Write a SQl Script to find all the programs in Add Remove Programs 

Write a SQl to find Xp machines in the Environment 

 

Trust me !! If you have Answers to these questions , you will get 50 % questions similar to ones mentioned above ( Unless the Interviewer sees this post ;-) ) 

 

However If you are getting Interviewed by me Do not expect even a Single question from the above list .

SCCM Design Questions ?

 

Are you Working on a SCCM Design and Architect Project ?

Are you wandering on how to get relevant Information ?

Well !! Below are some set of question you Must ask your Client before you proceed with the SCCM Design and Architecture ?

 

• What are the company expectations for growth or contraction?
• Are there any non-Domain clients that should be managed
• Will 3^rd Party Software be considered as part of the project? (ie. 1E Nomad)

 

 

Inventory Question ( HARDWARE + SOFTWARE)

 

•  How often should it be updated?
•  Classes that should be collected

 

How Often Software Distribution will take place 

What is the size of Software to be pushed 

How Frequently OSD will be done

Do we have a big OSD plan in place ?

Do you require Cloud DP's

 

Similarly , a lot of other Important Design questions needs to be asked before you start !!

 

SCCM Data Flow to Client From Primary Site

It is very important to understand that with SCCM 2012 , Distribution Points have the capability to Throttle and Schedule the Network Traffic coming towards it . However still , the Network data flow between DP and clients cannot be managed using Throttling and Scheduling feature of Distribution Point . For this various ways you may use are :

Place a Distribution point at a location which is closest to other branches where you cannot place a DP . Make sure that there is a direct link between these locations .

Place as many DP's as you can .

Latest on SCCM R2 !!

Since the preview release of Configuration Manager 2012 R2 earlier this week I found finally some time to look around and see what is changed and added in this release. The next couple of blogs I want to point out and test some new or renewed features that may be helpful.

 

For More Information : http://configmgrblog.com/2013/06/29/new-features-in-configmgr-2012-r2-tested-and-pointed-out-part-1/