This book might differ from other publications related to System Center Configuration Manager. It is not strictly for administrators and operators as we do not go very deep into the details of the configuration and administration of individual system components. In this book we put the emphasis on understanding what circumstances ConfigMgr can be used in, what kinds of function it may play in the environment, and what goals can be achieved. ConfigMgr is not only a system used to deploy operating systems, updates, and other software, but it is also a system of much wider scope and usage--and this is what we intended to cover.
Chapter 1, Design Planning, covers basic topics regarding designing and deploying a single ConfigMgr server as well as environments with more than one server. You'll learn what important factors should be taken into consideration while deploying a ConfigMgr server and its roles.
Chapter 2, Installing Configuration Manager, presents the process of preparing the environment for a ConfigMgr server as well as the installation itself.
Chapter 3, Configure Sites and Boundaries, covers topics related to boundaries and boundary groups as well as the configuration of roles typically used in deployments.
Chapter 4, Configuration Manager Agent Installation, presents the ConfigMgr client installation process, available installation methods, and information about checkouts if installation goes successfully.
Chapter 5, Creating Client Settings for Servers and Workstations, covers creating your own custom settings for ConfigMgr clients.
Chapter 6, Compliance Settings, discusses how ConfigMgr can be used to verify computers' compliance with company standards.
Chapter 7, Software Distributions, covers topics related to software deployment.
Chapter 8, Software Update Management, presents the process of scanning, the installation of updates, and the management of this process.
Chapter 9, Endpoint Protection, contains topics related to the deployment and management of Endpoint Protection in order to better secure the environment against malware.
Chapter 10, Operating System Deployment, covers basic concepts for operating system deployment.
Chapter 11, Configuration Manager Assets, presents the process of collecting data from clients, and many possible ways of using this data.
Chapter 12, Role-Based Administration and Security, discusses the configuration of access to the ConfigMgr console.
Chapter 13, Site Server Maintenance Tasks, covers the topic of protecting the ConfigMgr server against failure and administrative tasks related to daily monitoring.
In order to practice the scenarios from this book, you need the following software:
Operating system:
- Windows Server 2012 R2
- Windows Server 2016
Software:
- SQL Server 2016 Standard edition
- System Center Configuration Manager 2701
- Windows ADK 10 1607 version
- Active Directory
If you are a systems engineer and administrator planning to deploy Microsoft System Center 2016 Configuration Manager, then this book is for you. This book will also benefit system administrators who are responsible for designing and deploying one or more System Center 2016 Configuration Manager sites in their new or existing systems. It is also a book for those who would like to know about the ConfigMgr possibilities and what benefits it can bring to the organization.
In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning. Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "New items can be created under Asset and Compliance\Compliance Settings\Configuration Items on the ConfigMgr console."
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "The Remediate noncompliant rules when supported and Allow remediation outside the maintenance window options enable the repair of configuration drift by the server."
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