Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager: Administration Cookbook

Over 50 practical recipes to administer System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

• Administer System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
• Provides fast answers to questions commonly asked by new administrators
• Skip the why’s and go straight to the how-to’s
• Gain administration tips from System Center 2012 Configuration Manager MVPs with years of experience in large corporations

In Detail

Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (CM12) is a systems management application for managing large groups of Windows-based computer systems. System Center 2012 Configuration Manager provides remote control, patch management, software distribution, operating system deployment, network access protection, and hardware and software inventory.

This practical cookbook shows you how to administer System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and understand how to solve particular problems/scenarios

Packed with over 50 task-based and immediately reusable recipes, this book starts by showing you how to design a System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Infrastructure. The book then dives into topics such as recommended SQL configuration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, deploying Windows 7 with Operating System Deployment (OSD), deploying Applications and Software Updates, managing Compliance Settings, managing Sites and managing Inventory amongst others.

What will you learn from this book

• Install SQL before considering System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
• Set up security so administrators can’t see or touch each other’s machines
• Use the new System Center 2012 Configuration Manager features to set up monthly patching
• Create applications, deploy them, enforce them, and monitor them
• Create Security Baselines and Monitor Drift
• Use Compliance Settings instead of Hardware or Software Inventory
• Set up Discovery and Inventory with the least impact to the network
• Install SRS and edit the canned reports
• Flatten your hierarchy to get faster reporting back from your clients
• Deploy Windows 7 to your workstations
• Manage drivers for your images
• Leverage boundary groups to save you work

Approach

This cookbook is full of immediately useable recipes showing you how to administer System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and understand how to solve particular problems/scenarios. In addition to its cookbook style, which ensures the solutions are presented in a clear step-by-step manner, its explanations go into great detail, which makes it good learning material for everyone who has experience in System Center Configuration Manager and wants to improve. The book is designed in such a way that each recipe is presented as a separate, standalone entity and reading of other, prior recipes is not required.

Who this book is written for

If you are an intermediate to advanced administrator who wants to administer System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and understand how to solve particular problems/scenarios, then this book is for you. You should have a working knowledge of System Center Configuration Manager, however, knowledge of System Center 2012 Configuration Manager is not necessarily required.