How to Setup ConfigMgr 2007 on Windows Server 2008

Installing ConfigMgr 2007 onto a Windows Server 2008 based server can be a challenge. Having recently been through the process for my own lab environment I thought I’d share the process in the hope that it will save you some time when you need to create this configuration. Before you begin you will need to gather the following components:

    • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise RTM (x86) and Licence Key
    • SQL Server 2005 and Licence Key
    • System Center Configuration Manager 2007 and Licence Key

You will also need to download the following components:

Step 1 – Install Windows Server 2008

Install Windows Server 2008 (x86) Enterprise on a machine with the following minimum specification:

    • Memory: 2GB
    • Hard Disk 2 x 70GB disks

This could be a physical machine or a virtual machine based on Virtual PC, Virtual Server or Hyper-V

Step 2 – Configure Windows Server 2008

Once the Windows Server 2008 installation has completed, log in as Administrator and carry out the following initial tasks:

1. Set a static IP address for the server

2. Enable the AD role as a new domain controller for your chosen domain (not required for ConfigMgr - it's just that all my lab machines are DCs)

Step 3 – Add Additional Windows Server 2008 Roles and Features 

Additional Windows Server 2008 roles and features (through Control Panel > Programs and Features) are required to support the ConfigMgr 2007 installation:

1. Add the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) role with default settings (do not configure WDS as ConfigMgr will do that later)

2. Add the IIS role with the following settings (carry out the tasks in the order shown below):

  • Add ASP.Net Role. Accept defaults.
  • Add ASP (required for ConfigMgr Reporting Point to function - thanks to Jens Ole Kragh for pointing this out)
  • Add Windows Authentication
  • Add Static Content
  • Add IIS 6 Management Compatibility and all of the sub-components of it.

3. Add the Remote Differential Compression feature

4. Add the BITS Server Extensions feature

5. Install the Microsoft WebDAV Extension for IIS 7.0 (x86) (location for download listed at the beginning of this article)

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WebDAV UPDATE: In some circumstances, WebDAV may not configure correctly when installed as per the instructions. This then causes the issue that clients cannot install via the push method. In this case follow these steps:

1. Open %windir%\system32\inetserv\config\applicationhost.config in your favourite text editor

2. Between the entries <add name=”optionsverbhandler…> and <add name=”staticfile…> (you will find these entries in the <handlers></handlers> section) add the following line

<add name="WebDAV" path="*" verb="PROPFIND,PROPPATCH,MKCOL,PUT,COPY,DELETE,MOVE,LOCK,UNLOCK" modules="WebDAVModule" resourceType="Unspecified" requireAccess="None" />

Your section should look like this:

<add name=”optionsverbhandler…...

<add name="WebDAV" path="*" verb="PROPFIND,PROPPATCH,MKCOL,PUT,COPY,DELETE,MOVE,LOCK,UNLOCK" modules="WebDAVModule" resourceType="Unspecified" requireAccess="None" />

<add name=”staticfile…....

3. Close the file and save it back as %windir%\system32\inetserv\config\applicationhost.config

I'm indebted to one of my MCS colleagues - John Husband for finding a fix for this issue and letting us know)

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Step 3 – Add Additional Non Windows Server 2008 Components

Now that Windows Server 2008 is configured to install ConfigMgr 2007 we now have to add some additional software services for use by ConfigMgr 2007

1. Install Windows Software Update Services 3.0 SP1 32bit (location for download listed at the beginning of this article)

2. Install SQL 2005

3. Install SQL 2005 SP2 (location for download listed at the beginning of this article - carry out the tasks in the order shown below):

  • Stop the SQLServer service in preparation for SP2 installation. This is to avoid a system restart.
  • As suggested by SQL SP2 setup wizard, launch sqlprov
  • Run services.msc and re-start the SQL 2005 service.
  • Add a domain account to the SQL sysadmin role. This is unique requirement in Server 2008 environment.

4. Install SQL Critical Update 934458 (location for download listed at the beginning of this article)

Step 4 – Install ConfigMgr 2007

Now we are ready to install ConfigMgr 2007 – this is a two stage process to first install ConfigMgr 2007 RTM and then apply ConfigMgr 2007 SP1 – if you have access to the SP1 slipstreamed version of ConfigMgr 2007 then you can skip step 2 below.

1. Install ConfigMgr 2007

  • Extend the schema by running the \smssetup\bin\i386\extadsch utility. Run this under Enterprise Administrator credentials and review c:\extadsch.log for results.
  • Either use an Internet connection (for auto-download) or a pre-staged folder for setup update files required by ConfigMgr setup application.

2. Install ConfigMgr 2007 SP1 (location for download listed at the beginning of this article) and the ConfigMgr 2007 R2 components (if available via your licence agreement).

  • Either use Internet connection (for auto-download) or a pre-staged folder for setup update files required by ConfigMgr SP1 setup application.

NOTE: SP1 is the minimum requirement for running ConfigMgr 2007 on Windows Server 2008 - however ConfigMgr 2007 R2 will give you additional deployment features such as integration with Application Virtualization Management (APP-V), unknown computer support and multicast integration with Windows Deployment Services (Windows DS)

3. After installation, add the PXE Service Point and Reporting Point site system roles.

That's it - you are now ready to start using all the lovely features of ConfigMgr 2007 SP1 or ConfigMgr 2007 R2 based on a Windows Server 2008 platform - simple wasn't it? :-)

 

This post was contributed by Richard Smith a Senior Consultant with Microsoft Services, UK.