SP1 Setup Changes – System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

The CTP for System Center 2012 SP1 is now available. What’s new in Service Pack 1 for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager? I’ll walk through a few things that will get you acquainted with the changes in this release over the next couple blog posts.

Setup changes 

 

Starting with SP1 we will add support for managing and deploying Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 (for the CTP you need to use the release preview). As we add this support we moved from using the Windows AIK (WAIK) that was used for deploying Windows 7 and previous versions to the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK). So what does that mean to the IT Pro? Let me walk through the changes……

First, the setup experience is going to change. In previous releases we included the WAIK on the Configuration Manager media. Starting with SP1 this will no longer be included with the media. The Windows ADK will need to be downloaded and installed prior to running Configuration Manager SP1 setup. The pre-req check component will check to ensure the required ADK components are installed on the server and halt setup if the required components are not present. This is similar to what we do for things like SQL.

What parts of ADK do I need? There are few components needed depending on the role being setup.

Top Level site – (Central Administration Site or Standalone primary site)

  • Windows Deployment Tools
  • Windows PE
  • User State Migration Tool

Primary Site Server

  • Windows Deployment Tools
  • Windows PE

Provider

  • Windows Deployment Tools
  • Windows PE

When you first install the ADK there is an option to download and reuse it the files for other installations, this is an easy way to perform setup quickly throughout your environment.

Note: If you are installing a remote provider, make sure you have the pre-reqs in place prior to running the new site role wizard. Since this wizard does not setup the role interactively you will not know that the installation failed until you read the logs.

Another change you will see in setup is the package is automatically created for the User State Migration Tool for Windows 8. The package is created at the top level site and the content source is also referenced to the top level site.

For the SP1 release we will be adding support for the following OSD server roles:

  • Windows Server 2012 - Distribution Point with PXE and Multicast
  • Windows Server 2012 – State Migration Point
  • Windows 8 Enterprise x86 and x64 – Distribution Point

I expect to have some more posts on Configuration Manager OSD for Service Pack 1 shortly….

John Vintzel Microsoft Corporation | Sr. Program Manager | System Center Configuration Manager
| twitter: jvintzel http://blogs.technet.com/b/inside_osd

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.