Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 Beta 2 - Now Available

Another Microsoft product is available, you can register on Microsoft Connect to download this beta version
https://connect.microsoft.com/site14/Microsoft%20Deployment%20Toolkit


New features and enhancements make large-scale desktop and server deployments smoother than ever! For System Center Configuration Manager customers, MDT 2012 Beta 2 provides an improved, extensible wizard and designer for customizing deployment questions. MDT 2012 makes full use of the capabilities provided by System Center Configuration Manager 2012 for OS deployment. MDT 2012 integrates with configuration templates from the Security Compliance Manager (SCM) tool to ensure a secure Windows installation from the beginning of the deployment. 

Prerequisites

For Lite Touch Installation (LTI) deployments, MDT requires the following components, regardless of the operating system being deployed. Install these components only on the computer on which you install MDT:

• Microsoft Management Console (MMC) version 3.0
• Microsoft .NET Framework  3.5 with Service Pack 1 (SP1)
• Windows PowerShell® version 2.0
• Windows AIK for Windows 7 (with or without the Windows AIK for Windows 7 SP1 supplement)

For Zero Touch Installation (ZTI) deployments, MDT requires the following components:

• Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Release Candidate (RC) 1
• Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 for the site system servers and computers running the Configuration Manager console for Configuration Manager 2012
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 with SP1
• Microsoft SQL Server® 2008 R2
• Windows PowerShell version 2.0

For User-Driven Installation (UDI) deployments, MDT requires the following components:

• Configuration Manager 2012 RC1
• Configuration Manager 2007 R3
• Windows PowerShell version 2.0
• Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 for the site system servers and computers running the Configuration Manager console for Configuration Manager 2012
• Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 with SP1
• Microsoft SQL Server 2008 with SP2 and Cumulative Update 6

SCOM 2012 RC available

System Center Operations Manager 2012 provides deep application diagnostics and infrastructure monitoring that can help you ensure the predictable performance and availability of vital applications and offers a comprehensive view of your datacenter, private, and public clouds.

Download : http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=27974

Export runbook or Opalis policies to visio or word

A good codeplex project. Have a look

System Center Orchestrator Community Project - Download: Orchestrator Visio and Word Generator v1.3

Orchestrator 2012, runbooks and powershell

Another method to start runbooks using powershell and a webservice.


http://blogs.technet.com/b/scorch/archive/2011/06/17/fun-with-the-orchestrator-2012-beta-the-web-service-and-powershell.aspx

Start a System Center Orchestrator 2012 Runbook through its webservice

Article updated the 26/11/2011 (to fix a bug with the Csharp and Orchestrator parameters)


With System Center Orchestrator 2012, you have the ability to connect to it through a web service.
Jakob Gottlied Svendsen is showing how to access to it:

• to create an excel report
• or to create a webpart for sharepoint 2010

I would like to show you how to write a simple C# application to access to this web service and execute a runbook with parameters.


1. Generating Custom Class from the web service

To be able to use the web service in .net, you will have to create a class file, containing the format and content of what the web service has to offer.

This is done by using a console application in .NET framework 3.5 called “DataSvcUtil”

• Open a commandprompt
• Run this command. The command creates a .CS file in the format of the web service.

“%windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v3.5\DataSvcUtil.exe” /dataservicecollection /version:2.0 /language:CSharp /out:ScorchEntities.cs /uri:http://orchestrator.server.com:81/Orchestrator.svc

• Copy or move the file to the project folder

• Add the file to the project (add>Existing Items)

2. Let's use the class to access to the web service

Ok, now you are ready to access to your class and so the webservice.
1. Connect webservice context using
Microsoft.SystemCenter.Orchestrator.WebService.OrchestratorContext
2. Retreive the runbook It is a generic method to access to a web service. You can have some help from the microsoft website http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc668796.aspx
var runbooks = from runbook in ScorchSVC.Runbooks

                           where runbook.Name == runbookname
                           select runbook;
3. You need to retreive the also all runbook's parameter.
            var runbookparamaters = from runbookparamater in ScorchSVC.RunbookParameters
                                    where runbookparamater.RunbookId == runbooks.Single().Id
                                    select runbookparamater;

4. Create a job

var job = Microsoft.SystemCenter.Orchestrator.WebService.Job.CreateJob(System.Guid.NewGuid(), runbooks.Single().Id, "user1", DateTime.Now, "user1", DateTime.Now);

5. Pass the parameter to job. I think it is the hardest thing. You need to know the format. In the step3, we have retreived the runbookparameterid and we will use it. The parameter Name is not enough, you need to have the id...

<Data>

<Parameter>

<Name>Parameter Name for example arg1 </Name>

<Id>Guid of the parameter so guid of arg1</Id>

<Value>the value :)</Value>

</Parameter>

<Parameter>

etc.

</Parameter

</Data>

6. Last step is to passe the job created to the context and apply the change.

            ScorchSVC.AddToJobs(job);

            ScorchSVC.SaveChanges();

WSUS Administrator Powershell Module

I have just discovered a very useful module to manage and maintain WSUS.

Check : http://learn-powershell.net/2010/11/14/wsus-administrator-module/

Codeplex source : http://poshwsus.codeplex.com/

List of available commandlet : 

Add-WSUSClientToGroup
Approve-WSUSUpdate
Connect-WSUSServer
Convert-WSUSTargetGroup
Deny-WSUSUpdate
Disconnect-WSUSServer
Get-WSUSChildServers
Get-WSUSClient
Get-WSUSClientGroupMembership
Get-WSUSClients
Get-WSUSClientsInGroup
Get-WSUSCommands
Get-WSUSContentDownloadProgress
Get-WSUSDatabaseConfig
Get-WSUSDownstreamServers
Get-WSUSEmailConfig
Get-WSUSEvents
Get-WSUSGroup
Get-WSUSGroups
Get-WSUSServer
Get-WSUSStatus
Get-WSUSSubscription
Get-WSUSSyncHistory
Get-WSUSSyncProgress
Get-WSUSUpdate
Get-WSUSUpdateCategories
Get-WSUSUpdates
New-WSUSGroup
Remove-WSUSClient
Remove-WSUSClientFromGroup
Remove-WSUSGroup
Remove-WSUSUpdate
Resume-WSUSDownloads
Resume-WSUSUpdateDownload
Set-WSUSEmailConfig
Start-WSUSCleanup
Start-WSUSSync
Stop-WSUSDownloads
Stop-WSUSSync
Stop-WSUSUpdateDownload
New-WSUSInstallApprovalRule
Set-WSUSInstallApprovalRule
Get-WSUSInstallApprovalRules
Remove-WSUSInstallApprovalRule
Start-WSUSInstallApprovalRule
Connect-WSUSDatabaseServer
Test-WSUSDatabaseServerConnection
Get-WSUSUpdateClassifications

Documentation for SCOM 2012 online

The documentation for OpsMgr 2012 Beta is online 


For the beta release of Operations Manager 2012, the following documentation is available online and for download.

• Quick Start Guide for Operations Manager 2012 Beta
  
  The Quick Start Guide provides a summary of what’s new in Operations Manager 2012, as well as step-by-step procedures for installing Operations Manager 2012 and exploring the new features.
  
• Operations Manager 2012 Supported Configurations
  
  Supported Configurations lists the hardware and software requirements for installing Operations Manager 2012.
  
• Deployment Guide for Operations Manager 2012
  
  The beta version of the Deployment Guide contains instructions for upgrading an Operations Manager 2007 R2 management group to Operations Manager 2012 and installation procedures for some deployment scenarios. Additional content on planning your deployment and maintaining your Operations Manager infrastructure will be included in later releases.
  
• Operations Guide for Operations Manager 2012
  
  The beta version of the Operations Guide includes some administrative, monitoring, reporting, and operating tasks typically performed by an administrator or operator. It follows the Deployment Guide in order of use during an Operations Manager implementation project, but does not assume that the administrator or operator participated in the installation of the Operations Manager infrastructure. Additional content will be included in later releases.