Announcement: Configuration Manager Documentation Library Update for June 2012

[Yvette O'Meally]

First published on CLOUDBLOGS on Jun 29, 2012

The Documentation Library for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and the Configuration Manager 2007 Documentation Library have been updated on the web and the latest content has Updated: June 1, 2012 at the top of the topic.

We value customer feedback and try to incorporate it when possible.  Although we can’t promise to make the docs perfect for everybody, we are committed to continual improvement.  So, keep that feedback coming, and feel free to contact us about anything related to the documentation by using our usual address of SMSDocs@Microsoft.com .

What's New in the Documentation Library for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, June 2012

The following information lists the topics that contain significant changes since the May 2012 update.

Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager

- Updated the SQL Server Requirements section with information about database collation, that at each site, both the instance of SQL Server in use for the site database and the site database must use the following collation: SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS. Also added to the Function-Specific Requirements section that the minimal screen resolution supported for client computers to run Software Center and the Application Catalog is 1024 by 768.

Planning for Security in Configuration Manager

- Updated the Planning for PKI Client Certificate Selection section with the additional information that certificate selection now skips certificates that are created with the version 3 certificate template that is not compatible with Configuration Manager.

Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager

- Updated the Planning for Internet-Based Client Management section to clarify that secondary sites do not support client connections from the Internet.

Install Sites and Create a Hierarchy for Configuration Manager

- Updated the Configuration Manager Unattended Setup section with the tip that because an unattended installation does not run the Prerequisite Checker, manually run the Prerequisite Checker before starting an unattended installation. Also corrected the command line entries in the entries in the Using Command-Line Options with Setup section that were missing a preceding slash character. This topic now also notes that you can open the ConfigMgrPrereq.log file in the root of the system drive to review the prerequisite checker results. This log file can contain additional information that does not display in user interface.

Technical Reference for Cryptographic Controls Used in Configuration Manager

- Updated to clarify that data stored on state migration points for operating system deployment is always encrypted by the User State Migration Tool (USMT) by using 3DES. Configuration Manager does not support changing the encryption algorithm to AES.

Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Privacy Statement

- Updated for a new section about email notification alerts to confirm that Microsoft does not collect information related to this feature that you can configure for Endpoint Protection.

How to Install Clients on Computers in Configuration Manager

- Updated to clarify that automatic upgrade is not designed to be the main method to install or upgrade clients because it cannot be scheduled and might result in flooding the network. In addition, this topic adds examples for How to Install Configuration Manager Clients Manually, How to Install Configuration Manager Clients on Workgroup Computers, and added an explanation to the example in How to Install Configuration Manager Clients on Workgroup Computers.

How to Install Clients on Mobile Devices and Enroll Them by Using Configuration Manager

- Updated Step 10: Enrolling Mobile Devices with the nformation that the mobile device enrollment process prompts to enter a company email address and password. If the user does not have a company email account that is integrated with Active Directory Domain Services (for example, in a test environment), you can enter the UPN for the email address (or use domainuser name format ), and enter the password for the Active Directory account

About Client Settings in Configuration Manager

- Updated the Endpoint Protection section to clarify that setting Install Endpoint Protection client on client computers to False will not uninstall the Endpoint Protection client. To uninstall the Endpoint Protection client, you must set the Manage Endpoint Protection client on client computers client setting to False , and then deploy a package and program to uninstall the Endpoint Protection client.

Configuring the Application Catalog and Software Center in Configuration Manager

- Updated Step 4 instructions to include setting permissions explicitly on the CMApplicationCatalogContentImagesAppIcons folder, because this folder does not inherit permissions from the parent folder, CMApplicationCatalog . If the permissions are not set correctly, users are prompted for credentials. This topic is also updated in Step 6 with the tip that one of the most typical reasons for the Application Catalog to not operate correctly after installation is missing prerequisites. Check and confirm the site system role prerequisites for the Application Catalog site system roles by using the Site System Requirements section of the Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager topic. The footnotes for the table include important information about configuring WCF activation and the requirement to explicitly enable ASP.NET.

How to Create Queries in Configuration Manager

- Updated with some example WQL queries that you can easily import and modify for your own use. For example, you could create your own collections by using these queries.

These examples are also published on the TechNet wiki , where you can add your own queries as additional examples to help other customers. Thanks to Saud Al-Mishari , a Senior Premier Field Engineer in the UK, this page is updated with his changes and additions. The additions include examples to identify computers without a specific software package installed, identify laptops, and identify virtual machines.

Information and Support for Configuration Manager

- Updated with information about the Configuration Manager suggestion box where you can share ideas for documentation and vote on suggestions.

Frequently Asked Questions for Configuration Manager

Updated for the new entry:

• To support computers in an untrusted forest, do I have to create a new primary site and configure a two-way forest trust?

What's New in the Configuration Manager 2007 Documentation Library for June 2012

The following information lists the topics that contain significant changes since the May 2012 update.

Configuration Manager Site Capacity Planning

- Updated with the information that the maximum number of management point servers that can be configured as part of a NLB cluster is limited by number of supported nodes that the operating system supports for the NLB cluster.

How to Add Windows Device Drivers to a Boot Image

- Update to clarify that if you’re running Configuration Manager 2007 SP2, you must add only valid NIC and mass storage device drivers that are intended for use with Windows 7 because the version of Windows PE that is provided by Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 is based on Windows 7 rather than Vista.

How to Install Configuration Manager Clients on Workgroup Computers

- Added examples for CCMSetup.exe that are suitable for installing the client on workgroup computers. We see from the forums that many times, customers specify properties that are not necessary for a successful installation. Unfortunately, CCMSetup.exe is not very smart about how it handles incorrectly specified properties and the more properties you specify, the more likely you are to introduce a problem such as a typo.

-- The Configuration Manager Writing Team

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