To troubleshoot SCCM Task Sequences we use the smsts.log located on the SCCM client. Unlike other SCCM components, the size of the smsts.lg is not configurable in the registry. Keep in mind that Task Sequences can run even before we get the SCCM client on a computer, so the above registry key might not exist. …
Green Computing with SCCM 20007 and Vista
The current global economy is prompting corporations to do everything possible to save money. Employees are being asked to turn off their computers and monitors when they leave the office, but we know that for one reason or another not everyone complies with this request. As an SCCM administrator you have a unique opportunity to…
How To Check If A BITS Enabled Distribution Point Is Up And Running
To check if a Management Point is up and running we have the mplist and mpcert http URLs that we can open in Internet Explorer. We don’t have such URLs to test if a Distribution Point (DP) is up. Management Point and Distribution Point servers are very different roles. The Management Point is a conduit…
Where is the software updates data in the SCCM database?
If you had a custom report or a SQL query in SMS 2003 to find what machines installed an update or what machines were missing it, and you upgraded to SCCM, you probably found out that your report or query no longer works. This is because there are new tables in the SCCM database to…
How do we refresh a package located on a Branch Distribution Point?
The short answer is, we can’t. That does not mean that we don’t have a way to update that package on the Branch Distribution Point (BDP), it just means that we can’t refresh them. In SCCM refreshing vs. updating a package has different meanings. When we run the Manage Distribution Points Wizard and select the…
Preload Package Tool for Configuration Manager 2007 Released
The Preload Package Tool (PreloadPkgOnSite.exe) is used to manually install compressed copies of software distribution package source files on Configuration Manager 2007 sites. After package source files are installed, a status message is sent up the site hierarchy indicating the presence of the new package source files. This avoids sites higher in the hierarchy from…
How Can We Enable Basic Proxy Authentication On The Software Update Points?
The SCCM admin console does not support configuring the Software Update Point WSUS servers to use basic proxy authentication. One could run the WSUS administration console and enable basic proxy authentication, but SCCM will overwrite those settings. The following workaround is untested and not supported in any way by Microsoft, but will allow for basic proxy…
Can We Use SCCM To Deploy Updates To Windows Vista SP2 Beta Clients? Yes We Can!
One of my customers is in the TAP program for Windows Vista Service Service Pack 2. They wanted to use SCCM/WSUS to deploy updates to the Vista SP2 Beta clients that they have in production. This is how we got the Vista SP2 updates in WSUS and SCCM: 1. Open the WSUS server console and…
System Center Documentation Search Gadget
Do you want an easy way to search the online SCCM 2007 documentation? You need to try the System Center Content Search gadget for the Windows Vista Sidebar. The gadget is also good for searching the documentation of other System Center products.
MMS 2009 Highlights
This is for the benefit of those that missed MMS this year: Stuff you might have missed since the R2 release: SCUP 4.5 released Synchronization command line tool (SCUPSync.exe) which enables you to import and publish updates without using the Updates Publisher console interface. Ability to publish updates as “metadata only” Ability to configure proxy…