System Center Writing Staff at MMS 2008! (Steve Kaczmarek)
I am pleased to announce the many ways in which your System Center writing teams are participating at the Microsoft Management Conference (MMS) 2008 this year, and how you can engage with us to talk about your content needs and requirements!
The content managers for Configuration Manager and SoftGrid Application Virtualization (yours truly), Operations Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, Data Protection Manager, System Center Essentials and others will be available all week to collect your feedback, as well as select writers from their teams.
Please consider signing up for one or more of the following sessions. Also, look for me, Doug Eby, and Jeff Gilbert as we sign copies of the newly published System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Administrator’s Companion at the myITforum booth! Doug and Jeff will also participate in Rod Trent’s Ask The Expert panel on Wednesday at the conference.
Breakout Session:
SU21 – System Center Documentation: Content Innovations, Content as a Service, and Other New Architectures – Monday, April 28, 2008 – 3:00 – 4:15 – Bellini 2105
Kim Field, Director; Steve Kaczmarek, Dionysia Sofos, Deb Lewy, John Merrill, Jonobie Ford, Content Managers; Elise Morrison, Managing Editor
This session, conducted by the content management team, will demonstrate current innovations in content delivery, and describe future architectural directions including Content as a Service offerings and Health Models. This session will provide detailed demonstrations of new content deliverable including the System Center SuperFlow, Configuration Manager Feature Quizzes , the System Center Content Search Gadget , and Virtual Machine Manager How-To videos. We’ll also discuss our Content as a Service and Community Jam initiatives. Finally, we will close with a Q&A session during which the content management team will seek feedback on these new solutions.
Focus Groups:
Content as a Service – Tuesday, April 29, 2008 – 2:00 – 4:30 – Bellini 2001B
Prescott Klassen, Senior Program Manager; Kim Field, Director
Are you interested in providing feedback to Windows Server Systems Division User Assistance on scenarios and prototypes for next generation content delivery systems? Attend our Focus Group session and help us set the future vision for our Content As A Service (CaaS) project.
Goals of Focus Group:
- Review customer scenarios and prototypes for next generation Content Services
- Discuss current state of User Assistance in our products and get feedback from attendees
- Gather additional requirements and scenarios from attendees
Operations Manager Community Jam – Tuesday, April 29, 2008 – 2:00 – 4:30 – Bellini 2001A
Chris Fox, Senior Technical Writer
Are you interested in learning more about the new Operations Manager Community Jam site and providing your feedback? This is a community-oriented site to facilitate the sharing of Management Pack (MP) solutions and learning about other unique implementations. Site content includes customer-authored MP’s, managed code, command shell scripts, featured articles, forums, and a unified search across the best of Operations Manager content sources.
Goals of Focus Group:
- Introduce Operations Manager administrators and customers to the site
- Describe the current and future direction of this and other sites and get feedback from attendees
- Gather additional requirements and scenarios from attendees
Side Meetings:
Configuration Manager SuperFlow Usability and Update – Tuesday, April 29, 12:00 – 1:00 – Titian 2301A
Doug Eby, Senior Technical Writer; Steve Kaczmarek, Content Manager
This meeting will demonstrate the most recent Configuration Manager SuperFlows, discussing the progression of this interactive content model since its presentation at MMS 2007, and our plans for future development.
Goals:
- Solicit customer feedback on the interface design and presentation
- Collect suggestions for future development
- Determine the value of a customer tool for creating your own models
Configuration Manager SuperFlow Usability and Update – Wednesday, April 30, 2:00 – 3:00 – Titian 2301A
Steve Kaczmarek, Content Manager; Elise Morrison, Managing Editor
This meeting will gather feedback, questions, and suggestions concerning the current and future architecture of the Configuration Manager local and online help.
Goals:
- Gather customer feedback for consideration as we develop a future content strategy to help us ensure that future help models will meet the needs and expectations of our customers
Labs of Note:
IY15 - Using Configuration Manager to Create Custom Reports
Monday, April 28 4:30 PM - 5:45 PM, Lido 3005
Thursday, May 1 2:30 PM - 3:45 PM, Lido 3005
(Also available as a hands-on lab)
Doug Eby, Senior Technical Writer
Configuration Manager ships with many very useful reports, but many customers have a need to modify these reports or create new ones to provide the data needed by their management. This hands-on lab takes a couple existing reports and demonstrates how to modify them to provide additional information. It goes on to show users how to create new reports, focusing on new features that rely heavily on reporting, such as software updates. Examples are provided that are be useful in many environments and tips are presented for creating the queries used behind Configuration Manager reports, such as using Query Designer in SQL.
IY16 How to Configure SQL Server Site Database Replication for Configuration Manager 2007
Tuesday, April 29 10:15 AM - 11:30 AM, Lido 3005
Thursday, May 1 4:00 PM - 5:15 PM, Lido 3005
(Also available as a hands-on lab)
Jeff Gilbert, Senior Technical Writer
SQL Server site database replication can be used to improve the performance and efficiency of Configuration Manager 2007 sites in certain situations. This lab explains when and how to configure SQL Server 2005 site database replication for SMS 2003 or Configuration Manager 2007 sites.
YY17 How to Configure Network Load Balancing for Configuration Manager 2007 and SMS 2003 Site Systems
Hands-on lab
Jeff Gilbert, Senior Technical Writer
Using network load balanced site systems in SMS 2003 or Configuration Manager 2007 sites can improve the performance and reliability of certain site systems. This lab explains when and how to configure
network load balancing for SMS 2003 or Configuration Manager 2007 site systems.