October 2004 - Posts
To roughly zero fanfare, Microsoft has released Virtual PC 2004 SP1. It fixes a number of issues including the performance problems with XP SP2 in a VM. Be sure to shut down all of your VMs prior to installing. Apparently VMs in a “saved state” are incompatible between RTM and SP1. There’s a new version of the VM Additions as well. I have installed it and it seems to work great.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/default.mspx
(Thanks to Steve Ognibene for this contribution)
UPDATE
Its worth mentioning that this update will distrupt your network connectivity (both wireless and wired) during the installation process, but then return it to normal upon completion.
The readme file is available online at:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/9/d/69de9b67-6498-41fb-9add-95ceab6eb5cc/readmesp1.htm
This file discusses the changes and enhancements in Virtual PC service pack 1.
Have a feature request, product enhancement, or potential bug with MOM? Feel free to contact the product team DIRECTLY. The MSDN Product Feedback Center, codenamed Ladybug, now allows you to search for existing reports or submit your own suggestion. These go directly into a workflow process for the development team that allows them to immediately turn the feedback into actionable items.
Check it out today by clicking HERE.
Contrary to most Internet Explorer patches, MS04-038 uses “/quiet /norestart” to automate the distribution in a corporate setting instead of the “/q:a /r:n” command line arguments that are normally used with SMS. This is causing a lot of frustration with Administrators that were not aware of this change. It's worth noting, however, that the Security Bulletin does provide the correct syntax, as does the patch executable when using the “/?” command line argument.
This security update supports the following setup switches:
/help Displays the command line options
Setup Modes
/quiet Quiet mode (no user interaction or display)
/passive Unattended mode (progress bar only)
/uninstall Uninstalls the package
Restart Options
/norestart Do not restart when installation is complete
/forcerestart Restart after installation
Special Options
/l Lists installed Windows hotfixes or update packages
/o Overwrite OEM files without prompting
/n Do not backup files needed for uninstall
/f Force other programs to close when the computer shuts down
/extract Extracts files without starting setup
I've added a new section to the site. In About Me you'll learn about some of the things that I'm passionate about. Ever hear of Ballycastle? How about Geocaching? No? Then click the About Me link to the left and learn more.
If you're an Altiris customer that's had a bad experience with the tech support, I'd love to hear about it. You can either use the 'Contact' option in the toolbar (anonymous) or use the Feedback option on this post (public). All experiences, both good and bad, are encouraged.
Last Friday a security expert posted a new vulnerability in the Altiris Carbon Copy remote contol product. He resorted to this only after repeated attempts to alert the Lindon, UT company of its error. However, the apparent incapacity of the tech support staff to understand the issue led the individual to post his findings publicly - an issue that Secunia has now responded to as well.
Click here for the orginal post
Click here for the Secunia bulletin
Still following the SMS vs Altiris banter? Well, it's now had spillage over to Rod Trent's blog. Read how Travis Davis and I go blow-to-blow on the subject: http://msmvps.com/rodtrent/archive/2004/10/25/16636.aspx. Don't worry though, it's all in good fun. Travis and I go way back and won't let our different views alter our personal and professional opinions of one and another.
I recently posted the following to the myITForum.com SMS mail list and thought it might be of interest to others. So here you go:
One of the nice features of the Advanced Client is the BITS technology*. If you look at the logging for the CCMSETUP one of the first actions is to validate that the BITS v1.5 client is installed. If its not, then the CCMSETUP bootstraps the BITS setup and from there forward uses BITS for the remaining SMS client binaries. This makes large-scale deployments of the Advanced Client less burdensome on the network (and administrators).
*BITS or Background Intelligent Transfer Service adds checkpoint recovery & bandwidth sensitivity to the SMS Advanced Client.
The following link contains sample scripts for validating remote client machine configuration in a VPN quarantine network. If you're not familiar with the built-in quarantine support for Windows Server 2003, this is definitately something you should check into!
Download Sample Scripts
Network Access Quarantine Control uses a combination of Routing and Remote Access Service (RRAS), the Connection Manager Administration Kit (CMAK) and a set of executables from Windows Server 2003 (Rqc.exe - Remote Access Quarantine Client and Rqs.exe - Network Access Quarantine Agent) to determine if a connecting remote system is in accordance with your organization's network policy, and if appropriate requests that the client computer be removed from quarantine mode - thereby allowing it normal remote access to the VPN network.
More Information
By detecting and alerting on critical events and operational conditions, the SQL Server 2000 Management Pack helps you identify, understand, and resolve possible service outages or configuration problems.
Download this Management Pack by clicking here.
OK, so after my recent entry about the LawNet presentation, I've received several inquiries about my statement that “Altiris is becoming less and less of a competitor to Microsoft”. Allow me to expand on that thought.
NOTE: The following is strictly my perception of the events that have evolved the systems management community over the past few years.
In the beginning, Altiris (with the recent acquisition of Computing Edge's Notification Server technology) had a much more compelling offering then Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0. Altiris’ Client Management Suite (CMS) did offer many additional benefits that SMS was either incapable of supporting or the level of knowledge and effort to do so was beyond the reach of the common SMS administrator. As such, Microsoft wisely chose the route of partnering with Altiris to provide a layered architecture that combined the best features of Altiris' Client Management Suite with the supporting scalability of SMS.
However, before long this partner relationship was in peril. For Microsoft was discovering that instead of complimenting SMS with Altiris, they were actually in direct competition with them. In many accounts that Microsoft brought Altiris into as a 3rd party solution provider to extend SMS' functionality, they found that many of the account management teams from Altiris were actually trying to push SMS out the door so that they could reap the reward of a full Client Management Suite license program. Hence the PowerPoint slide at the Microsoft Management Summit that read “ALTIRIS = COMPETITION“.
Needless to say, you don't undermine Microsoft for too long before it's noticed. As such, Microsoft began stiffening its efforts to provide feature-to-feature comparison with Altiris' solutions - still leveraging development efforts of other Microsoft teams.
Then came SMS 2003 along with the Advanced Client and Advanced Security mode. And, the landscape of Systems Management for the Microsoft Windows platform began to change very quickly. In addition to the new features, and Feature Packs (i.e. Device Management and Operating System Deployment) Microsoft also restructured the licensing of SMS to be more competitive with other vendor solutions – particularly Altiris.
Now, Microsoft Enterprise Agreement (EA) customers can choose the route of SMS with only a fractional cost of implementation since Microsoft no longer requires a Secondary Site Server license*, offers the SMS with SQL Server Technology bundle, and includes (get this!) the SMS client access license (CAL) in the Core Desktop CAL. So, for a smaller sized organization that can live with all the SMS components on a single server, you’re only talking about the actual SMS and SQL license for the server and now you have a full enterprise management system; complete with Software & Hardware Inventory, Software Distribution, Patch Management, Software Metering, and Remote Control.
In my personal experience, Altiris has really started to lose the battles when they face SMS in a perspective customer site that has an Enterprise Agreement in place. When you look at the fact that Microsoft has now added mobile client support, the device management feature pack and can easily handle operating system upgrades through SMS 2003 – with or without the OSD – you see a much more competitive solution that in years past.
For this reason, I stand by my comment that Altiris is becoming less and less of a competitor to Microsoft.
I was recently asked to present at the Austin LawNet SIG meeting by Dell Professional Services. The presentation was on comparing the SMS 2003 product to Altiris' Client Management Suite. There were a half-dozen law firms represented by their IT staff who asked a lot of quality questions about the topic. Apparently Altiris is becoming less and less of a competitor to Microsoft - particularly in organizations that maintain an Enterprise Agreement as the SMS client license is included in the core desktop CAL. If I can figure out a way, I'll post my slide deck to this site for download.
Microsoft® Windows® User State Migration Tool (USMT) version 2.6 migrates user files and settings during large deployments of Windows 2000 or Microsoft Windows XP. USMT captures desktop, network, and application settings as well as a user's files, and then migrates them to a new Windows installation in order to improve and simplify the migration process.
Click here for more information.
The Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 Resource Kit contains five downloadable tools to help ease systems monitoring using MOM 2005:
- Management Pack Toolkit
- Infrastructure Management Solution Accelerators
- MOM Product Connectors
- Troubleshooting Tools
- MOM Power Toys
For more information about each of these tools, please visit the following site:
http://www.microsoft.com/mom/downloads/2005/reskit/default.mspx
A problem has been identified in the MOM management pack import process. When importing management packs which share a root level rule group, product knowledge can be lost when using the replace option during import. This QFE resolves this issue to prevent any management pack product knowledge from being lost on import.
More info:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=3d38d733-1dfc-4dd3-8773-3307ba9a221f&displaylang=en
This downloadable spreadsheet lists all status messages that are generated by Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 SP1. You can find specific status messages by using the filters in the spreadsheet. You can filter messages by message ID, by message type (such as error messages, warning messages), or by the component that generates the message.
Download this spreadsheet and use it for troubleshooting or for in-depth learning of how SMS 2003 SP1 works.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9F009942-B4D8-4A70-8F74-E81CCC7B2309&displaylang=en
AdminStudio® SMS Edition is the result of collaboration between Macrovision (formerly InstallShield), and the Microsoft Systems Management Server team to provide integration for customers seeking to simplify their Windows Installer software repackaging, customization, and distribution efforts. AdminStudio provides enterprises with the ability to prepare, publish, and distribute software packages via SMS 2003 without needing to touch the SMS server console, improving the efficiency of application management efforts. AdminStudio SMS Edition includes the full-featured industry leading InstallShield Repackager that prepares one or more legacy setup.exe packages for deployment by converting it to a Windows Installer .MSI package. The InstallShield Tuner is included to assist in customizing MSI packages by adding files, changing registry settings, adding license keys, removing registration wizards, or making other modifications that will then be compiled in a transform (MST). Finally, a Distribution Wizard and secure SMS Web console are included to assist in handing the packages off for distribution through Systems Management Server 2003.
The AdminStudio SMS Edition is available on the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=925412E6-5350-455B-A973-FABEC35462E5&displaylang=en
Fro more information see http://www.microsoft.com/smserver, and http://www.microsoft.com/smserver/evaluation/faq/default.asp.
The next Microsoft Management Summit will be held in Las Vegas on April 18th – 22nd 2005 – save the date now! Visit the event web site www.mms2005.com after October 15th for more information.
The final chapter of the MOM 2005 Deployment Guide "Deploying MOM 2005 in Advanced Environments" now available on the download center, along with it’s companion "MOM 2005 Deployment Checklists" at:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=03594dca-da65-44eb-875f-0ab4928cbfbd&displaylang=en
The SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Dell Updates (Beta) allows you to determine compliance and deploy the necessary updates for Dell BIOS, firmware and drivers using the same process utilized to deploy security updates with SMS 2003.
The SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Dell Updates (Beta) includes:
- Scan tool for Dell updates. Enables you to scan your Dell servers for installed and missing updates similarly to how MBSA determines compliance for Microsoft security updates.
- Sync tool for Dell updates. Downloads the Dell Update Catalog on a recurring schedule.
- Updated Distribute Software Update Wizard
For full details, please visit http://www.microsoft.com/smserver/downloads/2003/tools/dellupdates.asp