In the previous post I introduced Role Based Access Control in ConfigMgr 2012 as the new way to delegate administrative access to a ConfigMgr hierarchy. In this post I’m going to walk you through a scenario and show you how we can delegate the access in order to meet the requirements. The Scenario: The Customer…
Role Based Access Control in ConfigMgr 2012: Part 1 – Introduction
One of the reasons to install multiple primary sites in a System Center Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy often was due to the fact that Administrative access had to be separated between different departments within a company. Within large companies mostly a Central Primary Site would be installed, not servicing any clients, and under that Central…
Techdays NL 2013: ConfigMgr 2012: Notes from the field
During Techdays, the annual event organized by Microsoft in the Netherlands, i had the honor of presenting a session together with Peter Daalmans, Microsoft MVP on ConfigMgr. Our session, named ConfigMgr 2012: Notes from the field discussed what’s new in both ConfigMgr 2012 and ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 and included our best practices and tips &…
Beware when installing ConfigMgr SP1 when still using vSphere 4 or running other platforms not supporting Windows 8 – UPDATED
Update: Microsoft has released CU2 for Configuration Manager 2012 Service Pack 1, allowing you to use Boot images based on Windows 7 from the WAIK again (with some contstraints but workable). See the KB 2854009 article for more information. See this article written by Brandon Linton from Microsoft for more information on how to import your…
Best practices for Implementing drivers in ConfigMgr
One of the most time consuming tasks when working with OS Deployment in ConfigMgr is implementing the drivers needed to support different hardware models. There are a couple of reasons for this: Determining if drivers installed correctly can only be determined by executing an actual Task Sequence, which takes a lot of time. Each Hardware…
How to add Branding to your OS Deployment in ConfigMgr 2012 – Part 3: Create Compliance Baseline
In part 1, I showed you how to enable the Branding to Reg steps, and where you could find the information in the registry. Part 2 showed you how you can extend what information is branded into the registry, and in this part I will show you how you can use Compliance Settings and Compliance…
How to add Branding to your OS Deployment in ConfigMgr 2012 – Part 2: Modify OSDBranding
In part 1 of this series, I showed you how to enable the Branding to Reg steps, so that during a Task Sequence some information about the Task Sequence is stored in the Registry under HKLM\Software\Microsoft\MPSD\OSD. In this part, we are going to extend the information which is written to include some information we want…
How to add Branding to your OS Deployment in ConfigMgr 2012 – Part 1: Enable Branding
I’m a big fan of integrating the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit into ConfigMgr, but notice that I’m having a hard time to convince my customers (and some fellow Deployment enthusiasts) of the added value. Personally I think that has something to do with the overwhelming added functionality you get. Take for example the MDT created Task…
Best practices for deploying applications within a ConfigMgr 2012 Task Sequence
When you decide to install Applications during your OS Deployment using Configuration Manager, there are some caveats which must be taken into account Applications installed during a task sequence must be installed completely silent, that means that no user interaction is allowed. Some points of attention are: Task Sequence runs in the context of the…
ConfigMgr 2012: What to do when the Configuration Manager Client Upgrade Package is deleted somehow
With ConfigMgr 2012 there are 2 packages used to install the ConfigMgr client. The first package which is called the Configuration Manager Client Package can be found under the Packages node of the Software Library and is used during OSD in the Setup Windows And ConfigMgr step to install the ConfigMgr client. The other package,…
ConfigMgr 2012: Caveat with application revisions when used in a Task Sequence – Updated
Update: Some readers of my blog still experience this issue, and up until now the exact cause is not clear. The workaround is still valid though ! Please read the comments below for the latest updates. If you also experience this issue, please up the counter on the Microsoft Connect site where this issue is reported: https://connect.microsoft.com/ConfigurationManagervnext/feedback/details/772079/task-sequence-doesnt-install-or-fails-when-application-version-is-updated Recently I…
Now available: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Unleashed
System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Unleashed, the book on Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager is now generally available for purchase through Amazon and other shops. I contributed two chapters to this book, and feel really honored to be part of the excellent line up of writers and contributors. I’ve written Chapter 9 on Client…
ConfigMgr client automatic site assignment behavior in a multi site environment
I’m currently working on a project where we implement a new ConfigMgr 2012 hierarchy in a forest where several ConfigMgr 2007 hierarchies already exist. The new ConfigMgr 2012 environment will be installed in a new domain within that existing Forest and we will not migrate any content from these ConfigMgr 2007 environments, but install…
Windows Assessment and Deployment Toolkit, an introduction
When Microsoft released the Consumer Preview of Windows 8, they also introduced the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit, in short Windows ADK. With the release of the Windows 8 Release Preview (or release candidate) Microsoft also supplied an updated version of the ADK. The Windows ADK contains updated tools which used to be part of…