Visio Stencil for Configuration Manager 2012
Over the years I have used the Visio stencil for Configuration Manager 2007 that is on myITforum.com (Thanks Rod!). It’s been great for creating diagrams of a Configuration Manager hierarchy for various clients. With Configuration Manager 2012 on the horizon, I’ve already done a design for a reasonably large client, and I’m prepping my session for MMS which is about hierarchy simplification…having a Visio Stencil for CM2012 would be really hand. I’ve looked multiple times…have not been able to locate a Visio stencil for 2012 anywhere. Had searched every search term I could think of…had called Brian Mason (Configuration Manager MVP) and he didn’t know where to find one. Basically I had completely struck out.
Last night I was emailing Stefan Schorling (another Configuration Manager MVP) about something unrelated and at the last second thought to ask if he knew where I could get one. SCORE!!! This morning Stefan had emailed back with a link to Jean-Sébastien DUCHÊNE’s blog (yet another Configuration Manager MVP) where he has posted a Visio stencil for Configuration Manager 2012! A huge thanks to Stefan for sending the link and to Jean-Sébastien for creating and posting the stencil!
The reason it never turned up in my searches was I kept searching on “visio stencil” (with the quotes). Because Jean-Sébastien’s site is in French, those words are reversed…a search for “stencil visio” would have found the link.
Speaking at MMS 2012
I just got the alert that one of my session proposals for MMS 2012 was approved! My session will be titled “Case Study: Hierarchy Simplification With ConfigMgr 2012“.
Session Abstract:
One company, 15000 systems, 70 locations…and 23 Primary Sites in ConfigMgr 2007. This may be the poster child for hierarchy simplification with ConfigMgr 2012. Working with ConfigMgr 2012 RC1, we were able to plan the architecture redesign to simplify this down to a single primary site while expanding the ability to safely delegate management across multiple business units. This case study digs into the decision process that took place through the architecture and management redesign process.
I’m super excited! See you in Vegas!
System Center Roadmap 2011
This was one of the slides from the second keynote at MMS last week. This is a slide they show every year to highlight what is coming in the System Center arena over the coming year. What is really exciting about this one is that a new version is coming for everything in the System Center family this calendar year. This is a lot of very exciting changes coming. This does come with a caution though…there’s a lot of work to be done ahead of time to be prepared for the launches!
Anti Malware–the landscape just changed
HUGE announcement at MMS just now. Forefront Endpoint Protection 2010 is now part of the Microsoft Core CAL. This means that all the customers who have a Core CAL already…which many who own ConfigMgr have it licensed via the Core CAL…ALREADY have the licensing in place for FEP…they already own it. If you have a Core CAL…it eliminates the need to purchase a separate AV license. You can just use FEP…which is managed via the ConfigMgr console…which eliminates a separate management infrastructure for malware…you simply manage it all via ConfigMgr.
This will likely have a big impact on AV vendors. I can hear clients asking the question now…”I already have FEP licensed via the Core CAL…and I can manage it with ConfigMgr which I already have deployed. Why should I renew my AV licensing with ______________?”
This is huge. It should be very interesting to see the full impact of this announcement over the next year or so.
ConfigMgr 2012 Beta 2–OSD Findings
I was poking around in one of the ConfigMgr 2012 Hands on Labs at MMS today to see what is new/different. I came across some pretty interesting things when looking at task sequences.
[Thanks to Torsten for pointing out an oversight on my part…that one of the “new things” I mentioned is already in ConfigMgr 2007. I’ve done plenty of OSD…I’ve never noticed the “Apply Data Image” task sequence step. Heck…I even pointed it out to two other people yesterday and they had never noticed it either.]
First, there is a new option for “Apply Data Image”. Not apply an OS Image…take a WIM file that does not include an OS…and apply that to a disk/partition. Definitely some cool options with that.
Second, I was looking at the “Options” tab on a task sequence item and found some new (and VERY cool) options there. The new options with their key components that were available as criteria on the Options tab are:
- File Properties
- Path
- Version
- timestamp
- Folder Properties
- Path
- timestamp
- Registry Setting
- Exists
- Not exists
- Equals
- Not equals
- Greater than
- Greater than or equals
- Less than
- Less than or equals
- Installed software
- Choose filename which fills out
- Name
- Version
- Product code
- Upgrade code
- Options for
- Match specific product (Product code and upgrade code)
- Match any version of this product (Upgrade code only)
- Choose filename which fills out
Over time I have written vbscripts to pull file properties, registry settings and installed software to then set a TS variable…which I could then use later as criteria in a “TS variable equals xyz” condition on a task. It is very cool that this will be part of the core functionality in ConfigMgr 2012.
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The Realm of the Verbal Processor 