Deploying Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

Book description

Plan, design, and deploy System Center Configuration Manager 1706 like never before, regardless of how complex your infrastructure is

About This Book

  • The most up-to-date resource on deploying or migrating to System Center Configuration Manager 1706 within your IT infrastructure
  • Plan, design, and deploy ConfigMgr 1706 with ease, both on primary and multiple-hierarchy sites
  • Master the new features of ConfigMgr 1706, including Windows 10 support

Who This Book Is For

If you are a system engineer or an administrator planning to deploy Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 1706, then this book is for you. This book will also benefit system administrators who are responsible for designing and deploying one or more System CenterConfiguration Manager 1706 sites in their new or existing systems.

What You Will Learn

  • Install ConfigMgr servers and the necessary roles
  • Design and scale ConfigMgr environments
  • Configure and administrate essential ConfigMgr roles and features
  • Create software packages using .msi and .exe files
  • Deliver detailed reports with an automatic patching process
  • Apply proper hardening on your deployment and secure workstations
  • Deploy operating systems and updates leveraging ConfigMgr mechanisms
  • Create high-availability components using the built-in mechanism for backup and recovery

In Detail

It becomes important to plan, design, and deploy configurations when administrators know that Configuration Manager interacts with a number of infrastructure components such as Active Directory Domain Services, network protocols, Windows Server services, and so on.

Via real-world-world deployment scenarios, this book will help you implement a single primary site or multiples sites. You will be able to efficiently plan and deploy a multiple-site hierarchy such as central administration site. Next, you will learn various methods to plan and deploy Configuration Manager clients, secure them and make the most of new features offered through ConfigMgr 1706 like compliance, deploying updates operating systems to the endpoints. Then, this book will show you how to install, configure, and run SQL reports to extract information. Lastly, you will also learn how to create and manage users access in an ConfigMgr environment

By the end of this book, you will have learned to use the built-in mechanism to back up and restore data and also design maintenance plan.

Style and approach

This step-by-step guide teaches you cool ways to plan, deploy, and configure ConfigMgr 1706. This tutorial, which complements the release of ConfigMgr 1706 with a refreshing new approach and expert guidance, will teach you everything you need to know about the essentials of server.

Table of contents

  1. Preface
    1. What this book covers
    2. What you need for this book
    3. Who this book is for
    4. Conventions
    5. Reader feedback
    6. Customer support
      1. Downloading the color images of this book
      2. Errata
      3. Piracy
      4. Questions
  2. Design Planning
    1. System Center Configuration Manager
    2. When planning an upgrade
    3. ConfigMgr hierarchy planning
      1. Possible on-premise scenarios
        1. Primary site
        2. Primary site with secondary site
        3. Central administration site with primary sites and secondary sites
      2. Important servers roles
        1. Management point server role
        2. Distribution point server role
        3. MS SQL Server role in ConfigMgr environment
      3. Sizing and scaling of ConfigMgr
        1. Site types
          1. Central administration site
          2. Primary site
          3. Secondary site
        2. Supported number of clients
    4. ConfigMgr in Azure
      1. ConfigMgr as a VM in Azure
      2. Cloud-based distribution points
    5. Planning for high availability with ConfigMgr
    6. Reporting
    7. Summary
  3. Installing Configuration Manager
    1. Configuration Manager installation process
      1. System Center Configuration Manager 1706 requirements
      2. Prerequisites for System Center Configuration Manager 1706
        1. Environmental components
        2. Granting permissions to the System container
        3. Extending the Active Directory schema
        4. Installing operating system components
        5. Installing MS SQL Server
        6. Installing Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit
      3. ConfigMgr server installation
        1. Checkouts after installation
    2. Summary
  4. Configure Sites and Boundaries
    1. ConfigMgr server role types
      1. Default roles
      2. Optional roles
    2. Roles installed during server deployment
      1. Site server
      2. Site system
      3. Site database server
      4. Service connection point
      5. Distribution point
      6. Management point
    3. Methods of installing server roles
      1. Create site system server
      2. Add site system role
    4. Fundamental optional server roles
      1. Fallback status point
      2. Reporting service point
      3. Application Catalog
    5. ConfigMgr server settings
      1. Hierarchy site settings
      2. Primary site settings
    6. Discovery Methods
      1. Active Directory Discovery Methods
        1. Active Directory Forest Discovery
        2. Active Directory User Discovery
        3. Active Directory System Discovery
        4. Active Directory Group Discovery
      2. Heartbeat Discovery
    7. Boundary and boundary groups
      1. Configuring boundaries
        1. Manually created boundaries
        2. Automatically created boundaries
      2. Configuring boundary groups
        1. Default boundary group
        2. Manual creation of boundary groups
    8. Summary
  5. Configuration Manager Agent Installation
    1. Operating systems requirements
    2. ConfigMgr client installation
      1. Installation methods
        1. Client push
        2. Installing from the console
        3. Manual installation on the operating system
        4. Other installation methods
      2. ConfigMgr client installation checkout
        1. Troubleshooting client connectivity
    3. Summary
  6. Creating Client Settings for Servers and Workstations
    1. Client settings
      1. Default Client Settings
      2. Creating custom settings for a device
      3. Creating custom settings for a user
      4. Assigning to a collection
      5. Checkout of client settings
      6. Collection settings
    2. Summary
  7. Compliance Settings
    1. Compliance feature
      1. Compliance Settings
        1. Compliance Configuration Items
        2. Compliance Configuration Baselines
        3. Configuration Pack
        4. Common tasks for managing compliance
        5. Client setting for compliance
        6. Deploying the compliance baseline
        7. Viewing compliance results
          1. Client reporting
          2. Console reporting
        8. Creating collections based on the compliance result
      2. Managing resource and data access
        1. Remote Connection Profiles
        2. Company Resource Access
        3. User Data and Profiles configuration
    2. Summary
  8. Software Distributions
    1. Applications versus packages
    2. Software distribution server roles
    3. Application management features
      1. Creating applications
        1. Automatic application creation
        2. Manual application creation
      2. Global condition
      3. Configuring application features
        1. Supersedence
        2. Application Catalog
        3. References
        4. Revision history
        5. Deployment Types
        6. Detection Method
        7. Dependencies
        8. Requirements
      4. Application deployment
        1. Simulating a deployment
        2. Available deployments
        3. Required deployments
        4. Triggering an installation
      5. Reporting
    4. Invoking scripts on devices
    5. Summary
  9. Software Update Management
    1. Software update features
    2. Initial requirements
      1. Server requirements
      2. Client requirements
      3. Client settings
    3. Preparing ConfigMgr site for software updates
      1. Installing WSUS
      2. Software update point
    4. The process of updates deployment
      1. The process of synchronizing data with the WSUS server
      2. The process of scanning for compliance
        1. Scanning statuses
      3. Updates deployment process
    5. Integrating ConfigMgr server with Windows Update for Business and Windows 10
    6. Supporting non-Microsoft Updates
      1. Maintenance setting on collection
      2. Update search
      3. Server group
    7. Deploying software updates
      1. Deployment preparation
      2. Manual update deployment
    8. Windows 10 as a service
    9. Office 365 Client Management
    10. Monitoring software deployment
      1. Software Update Reports
      2. Software Update Dashboard
    11. Summary
  10. Endpoint Protection
    1. Understanding Endpoint Protection
      1. Endpoint Protection point
      2. Client Settings for Endpoint Protection
      3. Configuring a software update point for Endpoint Protection
      4. Antimalware policies
      5. Firewall policies
      6. Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection
    2. Monitoring Endpoint Protection status
      1. Endpoint Protection state
      2. Endpoint Protection alerts
    3. Summary
  11. Operating System Deployment
    1. Operating system deployment
      1. Operating system deployment terminology
        1. Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit
        2. Windows PE
        3. Operating system image
        4. Deployment Image Servicing and Management
        5. Windows System Image Manager
        6. Windows image file format
        7. System Preparation Tool
        8. Windows Deployment Service
        9. Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012
        10. User State Migration Tool
        11. Packages during operating system deployment
        12. Unified Extensible Firmware Interface
      2. Operating system deployment scenarios
        1. Bare-metal installation
        2. Operating system refresh
        3. In-place upgrade
        4. Side-by-side migration
      3. Task sequences
        1. Task sequence creation
      4. Drivers
        1. Installation of imported drivers
        2. Driver installation using packages
      5. Deployment types
      6. Windows 10 servicing
        1. Servicing plan
        2. Windows Update for Business policies
        3. Upgrade Readiness
    2. Summary
  12. Configuration Manager Assets
    1. Data collection
      1. Queries
      2. Reports
      3. Hardware inventory
      4. Software inventory
      5. Asset Intelligence
      6. Collection queries
      7. Console queries
      8. Console reports
    2. Summary
  13. Role-Based Administration and Security
    1. Introducing role-based administration and security
      1. Hardening the infrastructure
      2. Access to the console
        1. Security scopes
        2. Security roles
        3. Granting permissions to the ConfigMgr console
        4. Service accounts
      3. Remote Tools
        1. Client Settings
        2. Securing remote control
    2. Summary
  14. Site Server Maintenance Tasks
    1. Maintenance tasks
      1. ConfigMgr backup
      2. ConfigMgr server recovery
      3. Other ConfigMgr server maintenance tasks
      4. Environment monitoring
    2. Summary

Product information

  • Title: Deploying Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
  • Author(s): Jacek Doktor, Pawel Jarosz
  • Release date: September 2017
  • Publisher(s): Packt Publishing
  • ISBN: 9781785881015