"State message"? That's a typo for "status message", right?
No, it's not a typo. Configuration Manager 2007 has both status messages, and state messages.
State messages are sent by Configuration Manager 2007 clients, using a new messaging system built into the product that allows clients to send "checkpoints" of important changes of state. This messaging systems uses small packets of information that can be processed more quickly than status messages. State messages are not the same as status messages, so if you see an odd reference to state messages in the Configuration Manager documentation library, it's not a typo.
State messages are used with software updates, Network Access Protection (NAP), desired configuration management, and client deployment. So you might see some references to state messages in help topics that cover these areas. For example, in the desired configuration management help topic About Compliance and Compliance Information, I thought it was important to to explain that clients send compliance information in both state messages and status messages, and the differences between the two.
For the most part, administrators will not directly see or use state messages. The information they provide is gathered and made visible to the administrator in reports. For example, in the topic How to Assign the Fallback Status Point to Clients, it says that clients send state messages to the fallback status point (not status messages, despite the name of the new site system role) that are then forwarded to the site where the administrator can read them in the form of reports. There is no state message viewer in the way that you can view status messages.
State messages can be helpful when troubleshooting, to identify at which stage a process failed or stopped. And they can also be used to verify that processes are working correctly. For example, the NAP topic How to Verify Clients are Successfully Remediated includes information about state message changes in client logs.
Because there is nothing to configure with regard to state messages, and the administrator does not need to consider them when configuring or monitoring activities, the beta documentation doesn't yet provide much information on state messages. We plan to do so in subsequent revisions, making an appearance in the What's New section, comparing them with status messages, and included where relevant for the troubleshooting topics.
Until then, this is a quick primer to assure you that when you see the odd reference to "state messages", it isn't a typo - and you can expect to see more about state messages in future versions of the documentation.
- Carol Bailey
This posting is provided “AS IS” with no warranties and confers no rights.