What's Changed in System Center Configuration Manager 2007

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System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) version 2007 includes several new features and changes from SMS 2003 as detailed below.

What's New

What's Changed

What's the Same

What's New

ConfigMgr includes the following new features:

  • Desired Configuration Management (DCM) - This feature allows you to define a baseline configuration against which you compare configurations and report on to identify non-compliance or "configuration drift" as it's otherwise known.

  • Network Access Protection (NAP) - This feature leverages Windows 2008 NAP to control which machines have access to your network.  If a machine doesn't meet the requirements you set (for example OS, Service Pack, Patch level, etc.), it cannot access your network until it does.  The remediation can be performed by ConfigMgr automatically if required.  Once a machines does meet the requirements it can access the network as normal.

  • Wake-On-LAN (WOL) - Allows a Magic Packet to be sent to a machine to wake up ready to receive software updates, Advertisements or Task Sequences rather than waiting until the next time the user turns on the machine.

  • Internet-based Client Management - As it's name suggests the ability to manage machines connected via the Internet rather than directly to your corporate network (be if through an intranet or VPN connection).

  • Integration with Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 for Patch Management - ConfigMgr now leverages WSUS and it's catalog (which can also include 3rd party updates), for Patch Management.  Once updates are approved they can be deployed via the new Software Updates Client Agent by means of a deployment package rather than Advertisements as before.

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  • Two Site Modes:

    • Mixed Mode - For backwards compatibility with hierarchies containing SMS 2003 Sites OR those that don't have PKI installed.
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    • Native Mode -  More secure as uses PKI and allows Internet-Based Client Management.

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  • Improved Security - As well as allowing the local system and computer accounts to be used to run services, connect between Sites and Site Systems, perform Client-based functions ConfigMgr can use an existing Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) to further increase security for site-to-site and site-to-client communications.

  • Full support for Fully Qualified Domain Names (FQDNs) and IPv6

  • Clients send new State Messages based on the state of a process at a given time of changes to their state (compared to Status Messages which provide information relating to data flow and component behaviour).

  • A new improved version of the Administrator Console.  The console is now split into three areas like Microsoft Outlook:

    • Console Tree (left hand side) for navigation
    • Results pane (middle) displays charts, objects, stats, etc. depending on the node selected in the Console Tree.

    • Actions pane (right) displaying actions relevant to the node selected in the Console Tree.

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  • Introduction of several new Site System Roles:

    • Branch Distribution Point (BDP)
    • Fallback Status Point (FSP)
    • Pre-boot Execution Environment (PXE) Service Point
    • Software Update Point (SUP)
    • State Migration Point (SMP)
    • System Health Validator Point (SHVP)

NOTE: These are explained in the "What are the ConfigMgr 2007 Site System roles?" article

  • Support for hosting the Site Database on a clustered SQL Server virtual instance or SQL Server 2005 named instances.

  • New Software Update Point Client installation method.

  • Boundaries can be defined based on IPv6 Prefix (as well as AD Site, IP subnet, and IP range as in SMS 2003).

  • "Maintenance Windows" - a new feature of Collections that allow you to control a time window during which changes can be made to members of the Collection.

  • Support for upgrading from the Evaluation Version to the Full Version of the product without having to re-install/ reconfigure everything.

 

What's Changed

There have been several changes from SMS 2003 to ConfigMgr including:

  • Feature Packs that used to be separate add-ons in SMS 2003 are now incorporated into the core ConfigMgr product (for example the Administration Feature Pack, Device Management Feature Pack, Operating System Deployment Feature Pack Update).  Improvements/ enhancements to Feature Packs include:

    • Operating System Deployment (OSD) - Images created in Windows IMage (WIM) format can be deployed (including any required applications), using bootable media such as CD/ DVD.  One or more tasks can be created and combined to create a Task Sequence to control and customise the deployment of the image and Software Distribution actions.

    • Mobile Device Management - The ability to manage Windows CE and Windows Mobile devices in the same way as regular ConfigMgr Clients (such as Hardware and Software Inventory, Software Distribution, Software Updates, and of course Windows Mobile settings).

    • Transfer Site Settings Wizard - Allows the settings from one ConfigMgr Site to be transferred to another to save the admin having to reconfigure the settings on every Site.  Settings covered by the wizard include Client Agent configuration, Discovery Method configuration, Package and Collection properties amongst others.

    • Manage Site Accounts Tool (MSAC.exe) - A command line tool used to create, list, verify, update and delete user-defined accounts for use by ConfigMgr.

  • All Site Servers and Site Systems must be a member of an AD Domain.

  • Primary Sites only support Windows Authentication for the Site Database.

  • Asset Intelligence introduced as an optional component in SMS 2003 SP3 is now included in the core product.

NOTE: As a result of the above two changes the core product requires a greater amount of server resources.

  • Major changes to the way Backup and Recovery works - Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), available with XP, Windows 2003 and later OSs allowing a capture of a ConfigMgr Site to be made and stored on other media.

  • Improved Remote Tools integration with Remote Desktop and Assistance - RDP is now used to communicate with XP, Vista and Windows 2003 (or later) Clients (Windows 2000 machines use a modified version of the SMS 2003 Remote Tools Client Agent).  Remote Reboot, Chat, File Transfer, Remote Execute, Ping and Windows 98 diags are no longer available in ConfigMgr.

  • Minor improvements to Collections, Software Distribution and Software Metering compared to SMS 2003.

  • Senders can only now be installed on Primary or Secondary Site Servers.

  • Only one Client type (basically the SMS 2003 Advanced Client so no Legacy Clients).

  • Only a single Security mode (similar to SMS 2003 Advanced Security mode).

  • The Site Server's local boundary is no longer automatically configured as a Site Boundary - you need to define this post installation.

  • Site Boundaries are no longer supported - only Roaming Boundaries are with a choice of "Slow or unreliable" or "Fast (LAN)".

  • Client Push uses the Site Code of the Primary rather than being set to "Auto" as in SMS 2003.

 

What's the Same

Some things have remained the same or have changed very little in ConfigMgr compared to SMS 2003:

  • Discovery, Inventory, Queries and Reporting.

  • Key terminology such as Sites, Primary Sites, Secondary Sites remains the same.

  • Services, file names, share names and ConfigMgr-related groups retain the SMS prefix.

  • Many Status Messages still mention SMS as these could potentially refer to a Child SMS SMS 2003 Site.

  • Some programmatic elements have not been renamed such as the SMS Provider to avoid potential backwards compatibility issues for those people using WMI scripting.
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