http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid1_gci1140770,00.html
Extrait :
SMS has a reputation for being a complex product. The new version will offer a setup and admin user interface that is template driven and offers improved configuration management. The Microsoft product managers explained that an SMS administrator can define a configuration model and be notified of any drift or deviation from that desired configuration.
"It's always a challenge to define how SMS should be operating, so improving the configuration management interface addresses this concern," Macehiter said.
Microsoft said the client will be architecturally similar to SMS 2003 but enhanced to support new SMS 4.0 features such as operating system deployment, Desired Configuration Monitoring and the ability to take SMS actions such as software distribution, software updates and inventory across the Internet without being connected through a VPN.
The ability to work without a VPN also exploits the capabilities of Vista, which has application-level firewalls. Administrators wanting to connect to an application through the Internet have historically needed a VPN tunnel to access the network. With application-level firewalls, the administrator can set up tunnels to connect to the application, Macehiter said.
"It' looks like SMS will behave in the same way as Vista," he said. "If you have 1,000 employees you don't want a VPN connection to all of them. By tunneling out with SMS it can reduce your overhead." SMS administers will need their clients to be running Windows 2000 SP4 for SMS 4.0.
Microsoft product managers made these additional notable points:
Active Directory Security Group Discovery will be added to SMS 2003 SP2 as well as SMS 4.0.
The ability to use System Center Capacity Planner to plan and manage SMS implementations will come in version 2.0 of Capacity Planner.
SMS has two security modes – an SMS compatible mode and a V. 4.0 security mode which lets administrators manage clients on the Internet. To use the Internet facing functions of SMS 4.0, certificates are required on all SMS servers and clients, which then require public key infrastructure. Servers in the perimeter need a method to validate trust of certificates from clients requesting access, Microsoft said.
Reporting will be nearly identical to what administrators have in SMS 2003.