Announcement: Configuration Manager Documentation Library Update for August 2012

[Yvette O'Meally]

First published on CloudBlogs on Sep, 12 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: August 1, 2012 at the top of the topic. A few topics are also updated for September and show Updated: September 1, 2012 .

August updates see the beginning of some prerelease documentation for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, and we will continue to make regular updates as we get that information from the product group. If you are interested in SP1 changes (such as support for Windows 8, Mac computers and Linux/UNIX, PowerShell, new hierarchy management options, and distribution points for Windows Azure), check out What’s New in Configuration Manager SP1 and updates to Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager .

As with our previous prerelease documentation, we write for the released product, rather than for any pre-release version, such as Beta. As such, there might be some discrepancies with the pre-release version that you are testing and the documentation.

If you have questions or feedback about the documentation, you can contact us by using our usual address of SMSDocs@Microsoft.com .

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

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

What’s New in Configuration Manager SP1

- New topic that lists the changes in Configuration Manager SP1, with links to more information.

Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager

- Updated with information for Configuration Manager SP1. Includes:

• Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012
• Support statements for SQL Server 2012, and a redesigned table for Supported SQL Server versions
• Changes to prerequisites for site system roles for Configuration Manager SP1, which includes additional updates for management points that support mobile devices
• New section added for the client for Mac computers
• New section added for the client for Linux and UNIX servers

PKI Certificate Requirements for Configuration Manager

- Updated with information about the client certificate that is required to support Mac computers in Configuration Manager SP1.

Determine Whether to Extend the Active Directory Schema for Configuration Manager

- Updated for the information that there are no new schema changes in Configuration Manager SP1. The topic also lists the clients that do not use the Configuration Manager schema extensions.

Planning for Sites and Hierarchies in Configuration Manager

- Updated for the new Planning to Expand a Stand-Alone Primary Site section for Configuration Manager SP1 information about expanding a stand-alone primary site into a new hierarchy with a central administration site.

Planning for Cloud Services in Configuration Manager

- New topic that contains planning information for using distribution points for Windows Azure.

Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager

- Updated for new information related to Configuration Manager SP1, which includes how to use database replication controls and distributed views.

Expand a Stand-Alone Primary Site into a Hierarchy with a Central Administration Site

- New topic for Configuration Manager SP1 that contains instructions for how to expand an existing stand-alone primary site into a hierarchy with a central administration site.

Configuring Security for Configuration Manager

- Updated the Configure Signing and Encryption section with a note that if you do not see the Signing and Encryption tab, you are likely connected to a secondary site or a central administration site. This tab is available on a primary site only.

Install and Configure Site System Roles for Configuration Manager

- Updated for the new section to support distribution points for Windows Azure in Configuration Manager SP1: Install Cloud-Based Distribution Points in Windows Azure

Configuring Alerts in Configuration Manager

- Updated with the new information that for Configuration Manager SP1, you can configure email subscriptions for all alerts (no longer restricted to just Endpoint Protection).

Monitor Configuration Manager Sites and Hierarchy

- Updated for Configuration Manager SP1 information about how to monitor the new replication controls.

Technical Reference for Ports Used in Configuration Manager

- Updated with for the following port information:

• Application Catalog website point to Application Catalog web service point
• Enrollment proxy point to enrollment point
• Mac computer to enrollment proxy point
• SQL Server connections that are required for the Application Catalog web service point and the enrollment point

Technical Reference for Accounts Used in Configuration Manager

- Updated for the following information:

• Endpoint Protection SMTP Server Connection Account : This account is for Configuration Manager with no service pack
• SMTP Server Connection Account : This account is for Configuration Manager SP1 only and replaces the Endpoint Protection SMTP Server Connection Account

Technical Reference for Log Files in Configuration Manager

- Updated to include the AppDiscovery.log and AppEnforce.log log files, which are used with application management.

Step-by-Step Example Deployment of the PKI Certificates for Configuration Manager: Windows Serv...

- Updated with a section for the client certificate for a Mac computer if you use Configuration Manager enrollment with the CMEnroll tool. Note that you do not have to use this procedure and Active Directory Certificate Services with an enterprise CA to deploy the certificate on a Mac computer.  As with most of the PKI certificates that Configuration Manager uses, you can use an alternative PKI solution if it installs the certificate with the requirements that Configuration Manager needs.

Migrating Hierarchies in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

- This guide has been renamed (previously, was called “Migrating from Configuration Manager 2007 to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager”) to reflect the new functionality in Configuration Manager SP1 that lets you migration from one SP1 hierarchy to another SP1 hierarchy, in addition to migrating from Configuration Manager 2007. Changes have been made throughout this guide to include the new functionality.

Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager

- Updated with new information for Configuration Manager SP1, which includes information about Mac computers, Linux and UNIX server, and Windows Embedded devices.

Prerequisites for Client Deployment in Configuration Manager

- Updated for SP1 information, which includes:

• You no longer have to configure Internet Explorer to exclude the ActiveX control Microsoft.ConfigurationManager.SoftwareCatalog.Website.ClientBridgeControl.dll from ActiveX filtering and allow it to run in the browser
• Silverlight 5 is automatically downloaded and installed

In addition, as a result of customer feedback, we’ve added more links to the Installation Method Dependencies information, to help you configure these.

How to Install Clients on Mac Computers in Configuration Manager

- New topic for installing and managing the Configuration Manager client on Mac computers in Configuration Manager SP1.

How to Manage Clients in Configuration Manager

- Updated the Initiate Policy Retrieval for a Configuration Manager Client section for a new procedure that uses client notification (Configuration Manager SP1 only).

About Client Settings in Configuration Manager

- Updated throughout for the True/False settings in Configuration Manager with no service pack now showing Yes/No for Configuration Manager SP1 settings. In addition, the following settings are updated or added:

• Client Policy : Client policy polling interval - The client policy interval in SP1 now applies to mobile devices that are enrolled by Configuration Manager, to Mac computers, and to computers that run Linux or UNIX.
• Computer Agent : Additional software manages the deployment of applications and software updates – this setting in Configuration Manager with no service pack was called Agent extensions manage the deployment of applications and software updates and has been renamed for clarity. There is no change in behavior. Typically, you select this option if you have installed a vendor add-on for Configuration Manager or use the SDK to install applications and software updates.
• Computer Agent : Allow Silverlight applications to run in elevated trust mode – new setting to support Silverlight 5 in SP1.
• Endpoint Protection : For Windows Embedded devices with write filters, commit Endpoint Protection client installation (requires restart) – new setting for SP1 that supports Windows Embedded devices that have write filters enabled.
• Metered Internet Connections : Specify how clients communicate on metered network connections – new group and client setting in SP1 to support Windows 8 clients.
• Mobile Devices : Mobile device enrollment profile – updated for SP1 to support Mac clients that use Configuration Manager enrollment.

About Client Installation Properties in Configuration Manager

- Updated to correct the example for CCMSetup.exe /skipprereq:silverlight.exe and remove an erroneous space.

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Client for Linux and UNIX

- Temporary section that contains all the new information about the client for Linux and UNIX servers in SP1. In future publications, expect this section to be removed and the information added to existing topics in the library.

Planning for Content Management in Configuration Manager

- Updated for a new section, Planning for Cloud-Based Distribution Points , to help you plan for distribution points for Windows Azure in Configuration Manager SP1.

Introduction to Application Management in Configuration Manager

- Updated for the following Configuration Manager SP1 items:

• New App-V virtual environments capability
• New App-V 5 deployment type
• New deployment types to support client computers that run Windows 8 in Configuration Manager SP1

How to Deploy Applications in Configuration Manager

- Updated for information about the new option to control the behavior of Windows Embedded write filters when you deploy an application in Configuration Manager SP1.

How to Create Deployment Types in Configuration Manager

- Updated for information about how to create a script to detect if an application is already installed.

How to Create App-V Virtual Environments in Configuration Manager

- New topic that contains information about how to create and manage App-V virtual environments in Configuration Manager SP1.

How to Uninstall Applications in Configuration Manager

- Updated for the important note that you must delete any existing deployments of an application to a collection before you can deploy the application with a deployment action of Uninstall.

How to Configure Alerts for Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager

- Updated to remove the instructions for how to configure email settings for Endpoint Protection alerts, because this is no longer restricted to just Endpoint Protection. Instead, this topic contains a link to how to configure alerts for all features: Configuring Alerts in Configuration Manager .

Introduction to Compliance Settings in Configuration Manager

- Updated for information about the new user data and profiles configuration items in Configuration Manager SP1.

How to Create User Data and Profiles Configuration Items in Configuration Manager

- New topic that contains information about how to create and deploy user data and profiles configuration items in Configuration Manager SP1.

How to Remotely Administer a Client Computer in Configuration Manager

- Updated for information about to disable remote clipboard sharing.

Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Privacy Statement

- Updated for the latest privacy information, which includes new information about distribution points for Windows Azure.

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

Choose between Native Mode and Mixed Mode

- Updated for customer feedback, to clarify why publishing the management point can be both an advantage for native mode (more secure) and an advantage for mixed mode (convenience and resilience).

About Virtual Application Packages

- Updated with the Important note that Configuration Manager does not support using the shared read-only cache feature of App-V

-- The Configuration Manager Writing Team

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