The Realm of the Verbal Processor

SCCM 2012 R2 Coolness

Okay…so I’m a month behind on looking through the new features that are coming in SCCM 2012 R2…it’s been a busy month. But in looking through the features…there are some really cool ones that I wanted to highlight. The full breakdown of what’s new in R2 is here.

• You can now select where to put the DB files when you install. No need to tweak stuff on the back end any more!
• Certificate Registration Point (along with Certificate Profiles)…you can now use SCCM to deploy certificates. This is one of those items that are typically done via Group Policy…but it’s surprising how many of my clients have to fight/negotiate with another department/silo in order to get a GPO created or modified. This will simplify that process…which is a very welcome addition!
• Ability to merge one SCCM 2012 R2 hierarchy with another.
• Mac computers can use an enrollment wizard instead of having to install from command line!
• Resultant Client Settings…kind of like RSOP for SCCM client settings.
• Numerous Mobile Device improvements.
• Enrollment of iOS and Android without requiring Windows Intune.
• Wipe/Retire functions can be configured to only wipe company data.
• Enrolled devices can be configured as either “company owned” or “personally owned”…with different configurations for each.
• VPN and Wi-Fi Profiles…again something that has historically fallen to GPO for configuration.
• Software Updates Preview…kinda like the Search Filter function of Software Updates in SCCM 2007. Nice to know what an ADR will do before it actually creates the deployment!
• New Application deployment type…”web application”. It just deploys a shortcut to a web-based app.
• A few OSD improvements:
• Support for Server 2012 R2 and Windows 8.1
• Check Readiness – VERY nice to see this “sanity check” step that has been available via the MDT integration become a native step! So many accidental OS deployments could have been prevented by this simple step.
• Set Dynamic Variables – this brings some of the common steps that are possible via the customsettings.ini file to the masses…putting the cookies on the bottom shelf.
• New report – “Distribution point usage summary”. Shows how much a given DP is used…number of clients connected and data transfer info.
• Multiple Network Access Accounts
• Content distribution improvements
• SCCM “learns” which DPs are connected by faster connections…and uses that info to prioritize content deployment.
• Improved content validation…validates 50 files per WMI call instead of just one!
• Reports can now be controlled via role-based administration. I’ve had multiple clients ask about this.

Those aren’t all of the additions…but they are the ones that I can see my clients being the most excited about. Looking forward to R2!

August 5, 2013 - Posted by Jarvis | ConfigMgr 2012