An ordinary guy trying to make a difference
The face behind the FAQs
SMS 2003What logs are generated by the Advanced Client?Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]The Advanced Client generates numerous log files but don't be intimidated by them as this article details all of the log files and explains their purpose...
SMS 2003What logs are generated by the Legacy Client?Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]The Legacy Client generates numerous log files but don't be intimidated by them as this article details all of the log files and explains their purpose...
Some of the more observant of you may have noticed changes to the SMS 2003 Section.
I know from the feedback I’ve received from some of you that you like the way FAQShop is organised into sections (one for each product/ version), then related items are grouped under subheadings (for example Collections, Client Installation, Site Systems), as on the SMS 2.0 Home Page.
But with a large number of SMS 2003 articles to post and thinking about the new SCCM, SCOM and WSUS sections I’ll be adding in the not too distant future I could see some limitations with the current model. So I took some time out of adding more articles to get my thinking cap on.
Let me use the analogy of a supermarket. You know you need help with an SMS-related problem and you decide to visit my supermarket FAQShop. Now under the old model, related items were grouped together in aisles. So if you had a query/ problem with Software Distribution you’d go to the Software Distribution aisle (or page).
But this is where the problems start. If you have a troubleshooting question you want help with you don’t want to be walking up and down the Software Distribution aisle (page) looking at FAQs related to design and planning, administration, etc. Just take a look at the SMS 2.0 Software Distribution page and you’ll see the problem.
Now in today’s society we’re all way too busy, the pressure is constantly on to get things done yesterday so you need answers and fast otherwise you’ll look elsewhere, which for me as a webmaster is a disaster.
Wouldn’t it be far better to be able to walk to the Design and Planning, Administration, Troubleshooting aisles and then find sections dedicated to Collections, Software Distribution, etc. in the same way you would find all of the ketchups together in the Condiments aisle for example?
Well that’s EXACTLY what I’ve done as you’ll see on the new SMS 2003 Home Page (oh and I’ve overhauled the Indexes as well so you can use these to quickly see all of the FAQs related to say “Troubleshooting” in one place).
Anyway, as they say “the proof of the pudding is in the eating” so why not drop by and take a browse?
I’d love to hear your feedback/ comments on this as like I say I’m thinking of using this model as the foundation for all new sections going forward but if you guys don’t like it I’ll need to get my thinking cap on again (if you’ve got any suggestions let me know )
The SMS Documentation Team need your help:
The writing team will be putting some time into scrubbing status messages for SMSv4. Now, even if you haven't seen SMSv4 yet, we figure some of you out there might have some status messages you have encountered in SMS 2003 (or maybe even SMS 2.0) that you really dislike. Maybe you saw your status go from green to red, and when you tried to read the message that ruined your color scheme, you had no idea what it meant. Or maybe you got an error status message but the error had no solution. Can you find the status message ID for us, so we can take a look at it? We have a dump of all of the SMS 2003 status messages available here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9f009942-b4d8-4a70-8f74-e81ccc7b2309&DisplayLang=en
Take a cruise through the spreadsheet, or your site, and send us suggestions about which messages you would really like to see scrubbed. Send the status message ID to us, and tell us why you think it should be scrubbed, by February 21, 2007. You can reach us at smsdocs@microsoft.com. Thanks!
As part of the overhaul for FAQShop I want to add the 3rd party tools and utilities you folks use and find invaluable.
It doesn't matter whether they are free of if you need to pay for them just post them here/ email me (this applies to vendors as well - if you have something you feel the FAQShop audience would find useful then get in touch).
I'm in the process of overhauling the FAQShop eStore and obviously want to feature books that are relevant to Systems Management technologies. Other than the obvious for the core technologies (System Center, SMS, MOM, Windows Update in it's various forms), I'm also thinking of adding links to books on:
Are there any others you folks would find useful?
I'd also appreciate any comments/ feedback on whether Amazon is the resource most folks buy from or whether you folks are using somewhere different?
There are only two certainties in life - Death and Taxes.
Well it seems once again that the wonderful Labour Government who are unfortunately in power at the moment what to introduce yet ANOTHER tax and hit the motorist in the pocket.
Their latest brain wave? "Pay as you Go" Road Tax.
Now in theory it sounds fine - rather than pay a fixed amount every 6 months/ year based on the emissions of your car you literally pay so much a mile. So if you drive a lot you pay the most. As with most schemes there will be winners and losers.
BUT what I REALLY object to is:
This isn't legislation YET and if you disagree with it there is a petition on the 10 Downing Street website you can sign opposing this:
http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/traveltax/
This is also featured on the BBC's website here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/actionnetwork/F1602304?thread=3882675
Too good to be true?
Well no. The Configuration Manager Customer Team are looking for volunteers to test the upgrade to SCCM of copies of their production SMS 2003 Site Databases. Random people from the first 50 submitted entries will be chosen with special prizes awarded to those whose upgrades fail in the most interesting way.
All you need to do is:
That's it.
Looks like Microsoft are planning to release 12 new Security Patches tomorrow according to the Microsoft Security Bulletin Advance Notification service:
Five Microsoft Security Bulletins affecting Microsoft Windows. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. Some of these updates will require a restart.
Two Microsoft Security Bulletins affecting Microsoft Office. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. These updates may require a restart.
One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Visual Studio. The highest Maximum Severity rating for this is Important. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Enterprise Scan Tool. These updates will require a restart.
One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office. The highest Maximum Severity rating for this is Important. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer. These updates may require a restart.
One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Step-by-Step Interactive Training. The highest Maximum Severity rating for this is Important. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Enterprise Scan Tool. These updates may require a restart.
One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Microsoft Data Access Components. The highest Maximum Severity rating for this is Critical. These updates will be detectable using the Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer and the Enterprise Scan Tool. These updates may require a restart.
One Microsoft Security Bulletin affecting Windows Live OneCare, Microsoft Antigen, Microsoft Windows Defender, Microsoft Forefront Security for Exchange Server and Microsoft Forefront Security for SharePoint. The highest Maximum Severity rating for these is Critical. These products provide built-in mechanisms for automatic detection and deployment of updates. Some of these updates may require a restart.
If you're attending/ thinking of attending the Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) 2007 then the list of sessions can now be accessed at:
http://www.mms2007.com/public/mmssessions.aspx
MOM 2005Alert still generated in Operator Console for disabled Alert RuleContributed By: Anders Bengtsson If you've disabled an Alert Rule but you're still seeing Alerts in the Operator Console it could be a problem with the cache on your MOM Agent...
SMS 2003What is a Management Point?Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]Confused about this new Site System role in SMS 2003? Well be confused no longer...
Thanks to Rod for giving me the heads up on the following video about EDS' use of the System Center suite:
http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/designedforbig/media/eds_400k.asx
For those of you that don't know, I work for EDS as a Systems Management consultant. I was responsible for the EMEA Design of the internal SMS deployment as well as being part of the Global Design Team looking at the complete SMS Design for EDS internally (yes all 120,000+ people).
Microsoft in association with Jon Craddock and Sally Storey are presenting a two-day seminar at the Novotel, Euston: 14th and 15th March 2007. Here's an extract:
"This exciting two-day seminar presented by industry leading experts Jon Craddock and Sally Storey in association with Microsoft TechNet, will address any concerns you have about IT infrastructure security and Active Directory using engaging real-world examples relevant to your business needs."
More details at:
http://www.microsoft.co.uk/events/registermulti.aspx?event=johncraddocklondon
SMS 2003How do I know which version of SMS 2003 I am running?Contributed By: Cliff Hobbs [MVP SMS]Wondering how you find out which version of SMS 2003 you're running? Well this article will show you how…