http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxmXt1axkPU

SCOM SLO Dashboard

http://blog.xplatxperts.com/xplat-xperts/2009/09/operations-manager-r2-and-service-level-dashboard-20.html

http://blog.xplatxperts.com/xplat-xperts/2010/01/scom-and-distributed-applications-service-level-objectives.html

Process Monitor v2.96

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896645

Process Monitor is an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity. It combines the features of two legacy Sysinternals utilities, Filemon and Regmon, and adds an extensive list of enhancements including rich and non-destructive filtering, comprehensive event properties such session IDs and user names, reliable process information, full thread stacks with integrated symbol support for each operation, simultaneous logging to a file, and much more. Its uniquely powerful features will make Process Monitor a core utility in your system troubleshooting and malware hunting toolkit.
Sharing

Nice System centre blog

http://systemscentre.blogspot.com/2011/03/sccm-scom-2012-exams-70-243-70-242.html

Windows Print Cluster Migration error Windows Server 2008 R2

I had an issue with migrating large printer cluster to a new Microsoft Windows server 2008 R2 Cluster. All i did was export printers from the old cluster and import in to the new cluster. But the import keep failed with the following error on event viewer.

Printbrm.exe (the Printer Migration Wizard or the command-line tool) failed to restore print queue HP LaserJet 8000dn. The restore process will continue, skipping this queue. Error: 0x80070709. The printer name is invalid.

I found Microsoft KB976571 fixes this issue and many other printer cluster related issues. I tested this my environment with no issues, But its highly recommended to test with a test cluster before you install it in the production.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976571

I found this blog helps a lot on Microsoft cluster related issues as well.
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askperf/archive/2010/11/12/windows-print-cluster-best-practices-for-windows-server-2003-to-windows-server-2008-r2.aspx

AD scripts

http://blog.koenvermoesen.be/2009/06/29/adfind-onelines/

PXE Service Point role

http://publib.boulder.ibm.com/infocenter/toolsctr/v1r0/index.jsp?topic=%2Fdpsccm%2Fdpsccm_t_setting_up_pxe_serv_pt.html

SCCM Create a baseline

http://blogs.kraftkennedy.com/index.php/2011/06/03/creating-the-sccm-dcm-baseline-for-laptop-security/

Adding a sccm configuration item

http://sysmgmt.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/setup-desired-configuration-management-in-sccm-2007/

Backup sccm

http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/750-how-can-i-backup-my-sccm-server/

Computers not reported in 30 days in SCCM

select SMS_R_System.ResourceId, SMS_R_System.ResourceType, SMS_R_System.Name, SMS_R_System.SMSUniqueIdentifier, SMS_R_System.ResourceDomainORWorkgroup, SMS_R_System.Client from SMS_R_System where SMS_R_System.Name in (select Name from SMS_R_System where ((DATEDIFF(day, SMS_R_SYSTEM.AgentTime, getdate()) >=30) and AgentName = "SMS_AD_SYSTEM_DISCOVERY_AGENT")) and SMS_R_System.Name in (select Name from SMS_R_System where ((DATEDIFF(day, SMS_R_SYSTEM.AgentTime, getdate()) >=30) and AgentName = "Heartbeat Discovery"))

Nice SCCM blog

http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/cstauffer/default.aspx

Planning SCCM patch management

http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/cstauffer/attachment/124095.ashx

Configure throttling for BITS in System Center Configuration Manager SCCM 2007

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN_8_gMNeyk

SCCM Network Utilization – BITS Throttling

http://joshuasmueller.wordpress.com/2009/11/30/sccm-network-utilization-bits-throttling/

Configuring SCCM and Branch Cache

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/steverac/archive/2010/02/06/configuring-sccm-and-branch-cache.aspx

SCCM 2007 and Microsoft Deployment Toolkit - Video Walkthrough

http://blogs.technet.com/b/deploymentguys/archive/2008/03/20/sccm-2007-and-microsoft-deployment-toolkit-video-walkthrough.aspx

Guide to Software Updates Deployment in Configuration Manager 2007

http://blogs.technet.com/b/configurationmgr/archive/2009/08/17/guide-to-software-updates-deployment-in-configuration-manager-2007.aspx

Exchange 2010 e-mail signature based on Active Directory information

http://markswinkels.nl/2010/01/18/how-to-exchange-2010-e-mail-signature-based-on-active-directory-information/

Install and Configure Lync Server 2010—Step by Step

http://microsoftguru.com.au/2011/06/30/install-and-configure-lync-server-2010step-by-step/

EMC Learning portal...

http://www.emc.com/support-training/training/training-offerings.htm

Who wants to play on your own EMC SAN

http://virtualgeek.typepad.com/virtual_geek/2008/08/celerra-virtual.html

System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta "How Do I?" Videos

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/systemcenter/cm/gg721914

Lync Central management store...

http://blogs.technet.com/b/jenstr/archive/2010/10/13/what-is-central-management-store-cms.aspx

SCCM Software update point technet

Software Update Deployment SuperFlow


About Software Update Point:

About Software Update Point

Planning:

Planning for Software Updates Client Settings

Configuration:

Configuring Software Updates
How to Configure the Software Updates Client Agent
How to Create and Configure an Active Internet-Based Software Update Point

Best Practices:

Configuring Configuration Manager Sites for Best Performance
Checklist for Security Best Practices
Best Practices for Central and Primary Site Hardware and Software Configuration
Best Practices for Operating System Deployment

Software Update Point process Flowcharts:

Software Updates Synchronization Process Flowchart
Software Update Deployment Process Flowchart
Deployment Package Process FlowchartSoftware Update Deployment SuperFlow


About Software Update Point:

About Software Update Point

Planning:

Planning for Software Updates Client Settings

Configuration:

Configuring Software Updates
How to Configure the Software Updates Client Agent
How to Create and Configure an Active Internet-Based Software Update Point

Best Practices:

Configuring Configuration Manager Sites for Best Performance
Checklist for Security Best Practices
Best Practices for Central and Primary Site Hardware and Software Configuration
Best Practices for Operating System Deployment

Software Update Point process Flowcharts:

Software Updates Synchronization Process Flowchart
Software Update Deployment Process Flowchart
Deployment Package Process Flowchart

SCCM WQL Scripts

http://www.sccm-tools.com/tools/wqlqueries/WQLQueries-Colcompswithfile.html

another good SCCM blog i found

http://systemmanagement.ro/blog/

Install Lync

http://imaucblog.com/archive/2011/05/12/microsoft-lync-2010-consolidated-standard-server-video-installation-guide/

Configuration Manager ADM Templates

Source http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/rdixon/default.aspx

Configuration Manager ADM Templates

Obtain the ADM Templates that comes on the Configuration Manager 2007 CD, located: on the CD\TOOLS\ConfigMgrADMTemplates.

ADM template names:

• “ConfigMgr2007Assignment.adm"
• "ConfigMgr2007Installation.adm"

The "ConfigMgr2007Assignment.adm" is used to place the Configuration Manager site assignment settings in the clients registry

The "ConfigMgr2007Assignment.adm" template sets the following settings in the registry under: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SMS\Mobile Client

• GPRequestedSiteAssignmentCode =
• GPSiteAssignmentRetryDuration(Hour) =
• GPSiteAssignmentRetryInterval(Min) =

The image below shows the settings for the ConfigMgr2007Assignment.adm template after it’s imported into the GPO.

Definitions

The "GPRequestedSiteAssignmentCode" is the site code your client should and will be assigned to. When the client is reassigned by any other method to a site code other than the site code specified in the GPO, these GPO policy settings will automatically reassign the client back to the site code you defined in the GPO policy.

The "GPSiteAssignmentRetryDuration(Hour)" is the amount of hours the client will keep attempting to reassign the client until successful or till reassigned to the site code specified in the GPO.

The "GPSiteAssignmentRetryInterval(Min)" is the interval the GPO policy will wake up and check to see if the client is assigned to the site code specified in the GPO.

The "ConfigMgr2007Assignment.adm" template sets the following settings in the registry under:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\ccmsetup in a Value Name: SetupParameters.

The below settings is the CCMSETUP parameters that will to be set in the above location, which are the parameters the client will use when the installation starts.

/MP:msserver SMSSLP=smsslp.domain.com SMSSITECODE=XR2 FSP=smsfsp.domain.com CCMLOGMAXSIZE=100000 CCMENABLELOGGING=TRUE CCMLOGLEVEL=0 DISABLESITEOPT=TRUE DISABLECACHEOPT=TRUE CCMLOGMAXHISTORY=5 SMSCACHESIZE=9000

NOTE: When a client installation starts, ccmsetup.exe will first look to the command-line first for the ccmsetup parameters. If it does not find ccmsetup command-line parameters, the ccmsetup.exe will look to the registry for the ccmsetup.exe parameters, if the parameters are not found in the registry, the ccmsetup.exe will use Active Directory and assign the client based on Configuration Manager site boundaries.

The image below shows the settings for the ConfigMgr2007Installation.adm template after it’s imported into the GPO.

This type of client assignment forces clients to remain assigned to the site of choice.

Import these ADM templates, into a Group Policy Object targeting the OU or SG of clients to be managed.

An additional setting must added to this GPO the will set the Windows Update URL the clients will use to connect and scan for required offered updates.

This setting location can be found with the local GPO Mgr or GPO Management Console. You can find the location for these settings in the path below.

Local Computer Policy\Computer Configuration\Administrative Templates\Windows Components\Windows Update

WQL

http://www.ravichaganti.com/blog/?p=1845

Deploy SCCM packages to a Security group

I found this article useful and thought of sharing source from http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/892-deploy-software-through-ad-groups-linked-to-collections-in-sccm/

Active Directory System Group Discovery
Active Directory Security Group Discovery

once done... in Active directory you need to setup a structure for this,

You will need to create some Active Directory Security Groups, and then create an OU in Active Directory and call it Applications Group

Resized to 94% (was 1024 x 682) - Click image to enlarge

now, you need to create your corresponding Collections in SCCM,

so lets create three new collections

Office 2003
Computers in the Office 2003 Security Group
Users in the Office 2003 Security Group



The two sub collections will have separate queries to determine their contents:

The query for Computers in the Office 2003 Security Group shall be

select SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceID,SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceType,SMS_R_SYSTEM.Name,SMS_R_SYSTEM
.SMSUniqueIdentifier,SMS_R_SYSTEM.ResourceDomainORWorkgroup,SMS_R_SYSTEM.Client from SMS_R_System where SMS_R_System.SystemGroupName = "SCCM2007\\Office 2003 Users"

so from the above, SCCM2007=your domain and Office 2003 Users is the Active Directory Sercurity Group you added Computer Objects to.

Note: To define collection queries please read this post

The query for Users in the Office 2003 Security Group shall be

select SMS_R_USER.ResourceID,SMS_R_USER.ResourceType,SMS_R_USER.Name,SMS_R_USER.UniqueU
serName,SMS_R_USER.WindowsNTDomain from SMS_R_User where UserGroupName = "sccm2007\\Office 2003 Users"

Now you can target these sub collections with software to install, so in this case you would target the collections above with an advertisement to install Microsoft Office 2003.

once done, you can start adding computer or user objects to the respective Active Directory Group in active directory, and based on your Discovery Methods schedule they will appear within the correct Collection

Resized to 67% (was 1440 x 286) - Click image to enlarge

and based on the collection they are in they will receive the correct advertisement,



as this is a common question, I have renamed the topic, and pinned it.

Tech-Ed 2011

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/hh134198

Remote Desktop is not connecting

I found an issue some times remote desktop is not connecting telling about a network error. When i check on the event viewer i found "The RDP protocol component "DATA ENCRYPTION" detected an error in the protocol stream and has disconnected the client."

I managed to get this sorted with

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/323497

1. Start Registry Editor.
2. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\TermService\Parameters
3. Under this registry subkey, delete the following values:
   • Certificate
   • X509 Certificate
   • X509 Certificate ID
4. Quit Registry Editor, and then restart the server.

SCCM Right Click Tools

SCCM Right Click Tools

I found that SCCM takes some times to install applications to the computer and if you really wanna enforce it you have to do it on the client side. These right click tools are very handy so you can right click and enforce the application installation.


Source :http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/rhouchins/archive/2008/04/09/sccm-right-click-tools.aspx

http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/rhouchins/0401ConfigMgrTools.zip

Remotely enable Remote desktop

I found some times we need to access the computers remotely but its disabled.

source from : http://oreilly.com/windows/archive/server-hacks-remote-desktop.html

Fortunately, there's a workaround. Sit down at your desk and log on to your Windows XP workstation using your administrator credentials and start Registry Editor by Start --> Run --> regedit --> OK. Then select the Connect Network Registry option under the File menu (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Connecting to the Registry on a remote machine.

This opens the Select Computer search box. Either browse Active Directory to locate the remote server, or type its name in the textbox (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Connecting to the Registry on a remote server named SRV220.

Click OK and a node will be displayed in Registry Editor for the remote machine (Figure 4).

Figure 4. HKLM and HKU hives on SRV220.

Now browse HKLM on SRV to find the following Registry key (Figure 5).

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Terminal Server

Figure 5. Registry key for Terminal Server on remote machine.

Under the Terminal Server key, you'll find a REG_DWORD value named fDenyTSConnection. Double-click on that value to open the Edit DWORD Value box and change the value data from 1 (Remote Desktop disabled) to 0 (Remote Desktop enabled), as in Figure 6 below.

EMC Celerra VM and VMware ESX

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5Qn4EMgbDc

i found this video useful and thought of sharing....

Crash Dump analysis

Crash dump file can be analysed to find out the reason you get the blue screen on your computer. It can be useful and i found most of the people change the memory to overcome blue screen error with out analysing the actual situation.

There is a command line tool found in the MS website but i found this web based too is very handy and very fast.

http://www.osronline.com/page.cfm?name=analyze

Exchange 2007 Outlook anywhare with Windows 7

Windows 7 has an issue with outlool anywhere configuration and when you try to configure it gives your message telling "The Connection to Exchange is unavailable. Outlook must be online to complete this action.
This can be fixed by installing Windows 7 SP1 and all the latest Windows patches.