Note |
---|
The information in this topic applies only to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1. |
Use the following sections to review information about significant changes in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 since System Center 2012 Configuration Manager:
- Setup and Site
Installation
- Sites and Hierarchies
- Migration
- Client
Deployment and Operations
- Software
Deployment and Content Management
- Monitoring and Reporting
One of the most significant changes is support for Windows 8 for Configuration Manager clients. Configuration Manager SP1 supports Windows 8 in the following ways:
- You can install the Configuration Manager
client on Windows 8 computers and deploy Windows 8 to new
computers or to upgrade previous client operating versions.
Configuration Manager also supports Windows To Go.
- You can configure user data and profiles
configuration items for folder redirection, offline files, and
roaming profiles.
- You can configure new deployment types for
Windows 8 applications, which support stand-alone applications
(.appx files) and links to the Windows Store.
- Configuration Manager supports Windows 8
features, such as metered Internet connections and Always On Always
Connected.
Other significant changes include the following:
- Support for Windows Server 2012 on site
systems and clients, and support for SQL Server 2012 for
the Configuration Manager database.
- Support for clients on Mac computers, and on
Linux and UNIX servers.
- Support for user-owned mobile devices that
run Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, iOS, and Android when
you have a Windows Intune organizational account.
- Windows PowerShell cmdlets are available to
automate Configuration Manager operations by using Windows
PowerShell scripts.
- Support for cloud services, such as a new
distribution point for Windows Azure.
- More flexible hierarchy management, along
with support to expand a stand-alone primary site into a hierarchy
that includes a new central administration site, and the migration
of a Configuration Manager SP1 hierarchy to another
Configuration Manager SP1 hierarchy.
- Support for multiple software update points
for a site to provide automatic redundancy for clients without
requiring you to configure a network load balancing cluster.
- Client notification to start some client
operations from the Configuration Manager console. These include
downloading computer policy and initiating a malware scan to be
performed as soon as possible, instead of during the normal client
policy polling interval.
- Support for virtual environments that allow
multiple virtual applications to share file system and registry
information instead of running in an isolated space.
- Email alert subscriptions are now supported
for all features, not just Endpoint Protection.
For more information about the supported operating system versions and editions that Configuration Manager SP1 supports, see Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager.
You can read more detailed information about these changes in the following sections.
Setup and Site Installation
The following sections contain information about setup and site installation changes in Configuration Manager SP1.
Site Installation
The following options in Setup for site installation are new or have changed for Configuration Manager SP1:
- With System Center 2012
Configuration Manager SP1 there is a new option when you
install a central administration site. You have the option to
install the central administration site as the first site of a new
hierarchy, or install the central administration site to expand a
stand-alone primary site into a hierarchy with the new central
administration site.
For more information, see the Expand a Stand-Alone Primary Site into a Hierarchy with a Central Administration Site topic in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Upgrade Support
You can upgrade from System Center 2012 Configuration Manager to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1.
For more information, see Planning to Upgrade System Center 2012 Configuration Manager in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Windows PowerShell
After you have installed Configuration Manager SP1, you can automate console operations by using Windows PowerShell cmdlets. For example, you can create user and device collections, configure client settings, and create email subscriptions for alerts. Configuration Manager SP1 requires Windows PowerShell 3.0.
To open a Windows PowerShell session, click the Application menu, and then select Connect via Windows PowerShell.
To discover which cmdlets are available, type the following command at the Windows PowerShell prompt. get-command -module ConfigurationManager
Tip |
---|
All Configuration Manager cmdlets include the CM prefix in their name. |
For more information about Configuration Manager cmdlets, see Cmdlets in Configuration Manager SP1.
Sites and Hierarchies
The following sections contain information about site and hierarchy changes in Configuration Manager SP1.
Note |
---|
The Active Directory schema extensions for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 are unchanged from those used by System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. If you extended the schema for Configuration Manager 2007 or for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, you do not have to extend the schema again for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1. |
Site to Site Communication
The following items are new or have changed for site communication for Configuration Manager SP1:
- File replication routes replace addresses for
file-based replication between sites. This is only a change in the
name for file-based replication and brings consistency with
database replication. There is no change in functionality.
- Configure database replication links between
site databases to control and monitor the network traffic for
database replication:
- Use distributed views to prevent the
replication of selected site data from a primary site to the
central administration site. The central administration site then
accesses this data directly from the primary site database.
- Schedule the transfer of selected site data
across database replication links.
- Control the frequency that replication
traffic is summarized for reports.
- Define custom thresholds that raise alerts
for replication problems.
- Use distributed views to prevent the
replication of selected site data from a primary site to the
central administration site. The central administration site then
accesses this data directly from the primary site database.
- Configure replication controls for the
SQL Server database at a site:
- Change the port that Configuration Manager
uses for the SQL Server Service Broker.
- Configure the period of time to wait before a
replication failure triggers a site to reinitialize its local copy
of global data.
- Configure a site database to compress the
data that it replicates by database replication. The data is
compressed only for transfer between sites, and not for storage in
the site database at either site.
- Change the port that Configuration Manager
uses for the SQL Server Service Broker.
For more information about file replication, see the File-Based Replication section in the Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager topic.
For more information about database replication links, see the Database Replication Links section in the Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager topic.
For more information about replication controls for the SQL Server database, see the Site Database Replication Controls section in the Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager topic.
Backup and Recovery
The following item is new in backup and recovery in Configuration Manager SP1:
- You can recover a secondary site by using the
Recover Secondary Site action from the Sites node in
the Configuration Manager console. During the recovery, the
secondary site files are installed on the destination computer and
then the secondary site data is reinitialized with data from the
primary site. The secondary site that you recover must have the
same FQDN, meet all secondary site prerequisites, and you must
configure appropriate security rights for the secondary site.
For more information about secondary site security requirements, see the Install a Secondary Site section in the Install Sites and Create a Hierarchy for Configuration Manager topic.
- For more information about how to secondary
site recovery, see the
Recover a Secondary Site section in the Backup and Recovery in
Configuration Manager topic.
Site System Roles
The following are new for site system roles in Configuration Manager SP1:
- Configuration Manager primary sites now
support distribution points that run as a cloud service in Windows
Azure. Clients can use the cloud-based distribution point as
standard content location or as a fallback location, after the
client receives client settings that enable the use of cloud-based
distribution points. For more information, see the Planning for Cloud
Services in Configuration Manager topic in the Site Administration for
System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
- You can configure a proxy server on each site
system server for use by all site system roles installed on that
computer. This is not a new site system role, but a configuration
for site system server computers. For more information, see the
Planning for Proxy Servers Configurations for Site System Roles
section in the Planning for Site
Systems in Configuration Manager topic.
Migration
The following items are new for migration in Configuration Manager SP1:
- You can merge hierarchies from other
organizations that also use Configuration Manager SP1 into
your Configuration Manager SP1 hierarchy.
- You can migrate data from your Configuration
Manager SP1 test environment into your Configuration
Manager SP1 production environment.
- Some UI labels and descriptions are updated
to reflect the change in functionality that lets you migrate from
one Configuration Manager SP1 hierarchy to another.
For more information about migration, see Introduction to Migration in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.
Client Deployment and Operations
The following sections contain information about client deployment and client operations changes in Configuration Manager SP1.
Client Deployment
The following items are new or have changed for client deployment in Configuration Manager SP1:
- Configuration Manager can automatically
upgrade Configuration Manager 2007 and System Center 2012
Configuration Manager clients to the version of their assigned
System Center 2012 Configuration Manager site. For
more information see the How to
Automatically Upgrade the Configuration Manager Client for the
Hierarchy section in the topic How to Install Clients
on Windows-Based Computers in Configuration Manager.
- You can now specify the following
CCMSetup.exe properties as installation options when you use client
push:
- /forcereboot
- /skipprereq
- /logon
- /BITSPriority
- /downloadtimeout
- /forceinstall
- /forcereboot
- Configuration Manager SP1 clients now
use Microsoft Silverlight 5 for the Application Catalog.
Configuration Manager automatically installs this version of
Silverlight on clients if it is not already installed, and by
default, configures the Computer Agent client setting
Allow Silverlight applications to run in elevated trust mode
to Yes. For more information, see the
Certificates for Silverlight 5 and Elevated Trust Mode Required for
the Application Catalog section in the Security and Privacy for
Application Management in Configuration Manager topic.
- There is a new value that is now the default
for the Computer Agent client setting, PowerShell
execution policy: All Signed. This new value restricts
the Configuration Manager client to running Windows PowerShell
scripts only if they are signed by a trusted publisher, regardless
of the current Windows PowerShell configuration on the client
computer. For more information, see the
Computer Agent section in the About Client Settings in
Configuration Manager topic.
- The new Computer Agent client setting,
Disable deadline randomization, by default, disables the
installation randomization delay for required software updates and
required application deployments. For more information, see the
Computer Agent section in the About Client Settings in
Configuration Manager topic.
- Client notification in Configuration Manager
enables some client operations to be performed as soon as possible,
instead of during the usual client policy polling interval. For
example, you can use the client management task Download
Computer Policy to instruct computers to download policy as
soon as possible. Additionally, you can initiate some actions for
Endpoint Protection, such as a malware scan of a client.
By default, client notification communication uses TCP port 10123, which is configurable as a site property for a primary site. You might have to configure Windows Firewall on the management point, clients, and any intervening firewalls for this new port communication. However, client notification can fall back to using the established client-to-management point communication of HTTP or HTTPS. Actions taken by client notification are displayed in the new Client Operations node in the Monitoring workspace.
For more information, see How to Configure Client Communication Port Numbers in Configuration Manager and How to Manage Clients in Configuration Manager.
- You can install the Configuration Manager
client on computers that run Mac OS X. You can then manage this
client by using compliance settings, deploying software, and by
collecting hardware inventory. For more information, see How to Install Clients
on Mac Computers in Configuration Manager.
- You can install the Configuration Manager
client on servers that run a supported version of Linux or UNIX.
You can then manage this client by using deploying software, and by
collecting hardware inventory. For more information, see How to Install Clients
on Linux and UNIX Computers in Configuration Manager.
For more information, see the Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager topic in the Deploying Clients for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Mobile Devices
The following items are new or have changed for mobile devices in Configuration Manager SP1:
- The client settings group to configure mobile
device enrollment settings is no longer named Mobile Devices
but Enrollment. This change and associated changes, such as
the change from the client setting of Mobile device enrollment
profile to Enrollment profile, reflects that the
enrollment functionality is now extended to Mac computers.
Important The client certificates for mobile devices and Mac computers have different requirements. Therefore, if you configure client settings enrollment for mobile devices and Mac computers, do not configure the certificate templates to use the same user accounts. - Mobile devices that are enrolled by
Configuration Manager SP1 now use the client policy polling
interval setting in the Client Policy client setting group
and no longer use the polling interval in the renamed
Enrollment client setting group. This change lets you
configure different client policy intervals for mobile devices that
are enrolled by Configuration Manager, by using custom device
client settings. You cannot create custom device client settings
for Enrollment.
- You can enroll mobile devices that run
Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, and iOS when you use
the Windows Intune connector. For more information, see
How to Manage
Mobile Devices by Using the Windows Intune Connector in
Configuration Manager.
- Users who have mobile devices that are
enrolled by Windows Intune and Android devices that are
managed by the Exchange Server connector can install apps from the
company portal. The company portal is the Application Catalog
equivalent for these mobile devices.
- The new Retire option for mobile
devices in the Configuration Manager console is supported only for
mobile devices that are enrolled by Windows Intune.
Client Management
The following items are new or have changed for client management in Configuration Manager SP1:
- The Configuration Manager SP1 client
supports Windows 8 Always On Always Connected. The
Configuration Manager client can now detect power states for
devices that support Always On Always Connected and therefore,
these clients might delay client actions. This automatic adjustment
helps to maximize performance and preserve battery life for
the device. The Configuration Manager client can detect the
following states on an Always On Always Connected device.
- Whether networking is turned on or off
- Whether the device is running on battery
power or plugged in
- The battery power remaining
- Whether the device is in idle mode
- Whether the device is in its Windows
Automatic Maintenance window
- Whether the device is using a metered
Internet connection
Note These changes can also improve performance of the Configuration Manager client on computers that do not support Always On Always Connected.
- Whether networking is turned on or off
- Client notification in Configuration Manager
lets some client operations be performed as soon as possible,
instead of during the usual client policy polling interval. For
example, you can use the client management task Download
Computer Policy to instruct computers to download policy as
soon as possible. Additionally, you can start some actions for
Endpoint Protection, such as a malware scan of a client.
Actions taken by client notification are displayed in the new Client Operations node in the Monitoring workspace.
For more information, see How to Manage Clients in Configuration Manager.
- You can manage how Windows 8 client
computers transfer data over metered Internet connections by using
the Metered Internet Connections client setting Specify
how clients communicate on metered network connections and the
software deployment setting Allow clients to use a metered
Internet connection to download content after the installation
deadline in a required software deployment. For more
information, see the
Metered Internet Connections section in the About Client Settings in
Configuration Manager topic.
- When Configuration Manager SP1 clients
run Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows
Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012, you can
supplement the Wake on LAN site setting for unicast packets by
using the wake-up proxy client settings. This combination helps to
wake up computers on subnets without the requirement to reconfigure
network switches. For more information about wake-up proxy, see the
Planning
How to Wake Up Clients in the Planning for
Communications in Configuration Manager topic.
For more information, see the Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager and How to Manage Clients in Configuration Manager topics in the Deploying Clients for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Collections
The following items are new or have changed for collections in Configuration Manager SP1:
- The built-in collections are now read-only
and cannot be modified.
For more information, see the Introduction to Collections in Configuration Manager topic in the Assets and Compliance in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Compliance Settings
The following items are new or have changed for compliance settings in Configuration Manager SP1:
- You can now configure user data and profiles
configuration items that contain settings that control how users in
your hierarchy manage folder redirection, offline files, and
roaming profiles on computers that run Windows 8. You can
deploy these settings to collections of users and then monitor
their compliance from the Monitoring node of the
Configuration Manager console.
For more information, see How to Create User Data and Profiles Configuration Items in Configuration Manager.
- The new Mac OS X configuration item enables
you to evaluate and remediate property list (.plist) settings on
Mac computers. You can also use shell scripts to evaluate and
remediate other Mac settings.
For more information, see How to Create Mac Computer Configuration Items in Configuration Manager.
For more information, see the Introduction to Compliance Settings in Configuration Manager topic in the Assets and Compliance in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Endpoint Protection
The following items are new or have changed for Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager SP1:
- You can now enable an Endpoint Protection
client setting that commits the installation of the Endpoint
Protection client on Windows Embedded devices that are write filter
enabled. For more information about this client setting, see the
Endpoint Protection section in the About Client Settings in
Configuration Manager topic.
Additionally, definition updates that are deployed by software updates can be configured to write to the overlay on Windows Embedded devices, so that these updates are installed immediately and without a restart. For more information, see the Support for Windows Embedded Devices That Use Write Filters section in the Introduction to Software Updates in Configuration Manager topic.
- You can now configure the Endpoint Protection
client to install only during configured maintenance windows. The
maintenance window must be at least 30 minutes long to allow
installation to occur.
- Endpoint Protection in Configuration
Manager now uses client notification to start the following actions
as soon as possible, instead of during the normal client policy
polling interval:
- Force antimalware definition updates
- Run quick scans
- Run full scans
- Allow threats
- Exclude folders and files
- Restore quarantined files
- Force antimalware definition updates
- Improvements to software updates to allow
more frequent distribution of Endpoint Protection definition
updates.
- Multiple antimalware policies that are
deployed to the same client computer are merged on the client. When
two settings are in conflict, the highest priority option is used.
Some settings are also merged, such as exclusion lists from
separate antimalware policies. Client-side merge also honors the
priority that you configured for each antimalware policy.
- A software update deployment template named
Definition Updates is included in the Deploy Software
Updates Wizard and Automatic Deployment Rule Wizard. This template
includes typical settings to use when you deploy definition
software updates for Endpoint Protection.
For more information, see the Introduction to Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager topic in the Assets and Compliance in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Asset Intelligence
The following items are new for Asset Intelligence in Configuration Manager SP1:
- Asset Intelligence supports the 7 mandatory
software identification tags that are defined in ISO/IEC 19770-2.
The ISO/IEC 19770-2 standard specifies the structure and basic
usage of software identification. Software identification tags
provide authoritative information that is used to identify
installed software. If software contains software identification
tag information that is compliant with ISO/IEC 19770-2, then Asset
Intelligence collects the software identification tags from the
software.
Note You must enable the SMS_SoftwareTag Asset Intelligence hardware inventory reporting class before Configuration Manager will collect the software identification tags. - Asset Intelligence provides the three new
reports that provide information about software with the software
identification tags. The report titles start with Software 14A,
Software 14B, and Software 14C.
- Asset Intelligence collects information about
Application Virtualization 5 applications and continues to collect
information about Application Virtualization 4.
For more information about Asset Intelligence, see the Introduction to Asset Intelligence in Configuration Manager topic in the Assets and Compliance in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Software Deployment and Content Management
The following sections contain information about changes for software updates, software distribution, operating system deployment and task sequences in Configuration Manager SP1.
Software Updates
The following items are new or have changed for software updates in Configuration Manager SP1:
- Software update points are redesigned in
Configuration Manager SP1. You can install multiple software
update point site systems at a site. You can configure a software
update point to be in the same forest as the site server or in a
different forest, and whether to accept communication from clients
on the Internet, intranet, or both. This behavior provides a level
of fault tolerance without requiring a network load balancing (NLB)
cluster. You cannot install more than one software update point in
a secondary site. For more information, see the Determine
the Software Update Point Infrastructure section in the
Planning for
Software Updates in Configuration Manager topic.
Note The active software update point concept is deprecated in Configuration Manager SP1. - You no longer have the option to configure a
software update point as an NLB in the Configuration Manager
console. Before you upgrade from Configuration Manager with no
service pack to Configuration Manager SP1, you must remove the
NLB for your active software update point. After the upgrade is
complete, you have the option to reconfigure the NLB by using the
Set-CMSoftwareUpdatePoint PowerShell cmdlet. For more information
about a software update point configured to use an NLB, see
Software
Update Point Configured to Use an NLB section in the Planning for Software
Updates in Configuration Manager topic. For more information
about the Set-CMSoftwareUpdatePoint PowerShell cmdlet, see the
Set-CMSoftwareUpdatePoint
topic in the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 Cmdlet
Reference guide.
- At the top-level Configuration Manager site,
you can now specify an existing WSUS server as the upstream
synchronization source location. During synchronization, the site
connects to this location to synchronize software updates. For
example, if you have an existing WSUS server that is not part of
the Configuration Manager hierarchy, you can specify the existing
WSUS server to synchronize software updates.
- You can select from two built-in software
update deployment templates from the Automatic Deployment Rule
Wizard. The Definition Updates template provides common
settings to use when you deploy definition software updates. The
Patch Tuesday template provides common settings to use when
you deploy software updates on a monthly cycle.
- In the software update point properties, you
can provide credentials for the site server to use to connect to
the WSUS server. You can specify this account to connect to a
software update point in a different forest, for example.
- You can run an automatic deployment rule up
to 3 times per day to align with the Microsoft System Center
Endpoint Protection definition updates publishing
frequency.
- You can select multiple software updates to
install as a group from Software Center.
- You can control the behavior of the write
filter on Windows Embedded devices when you deploy software updates
by using the new user experience setting of Commit changes at
deadline or during a maintenance windows (requires restarts).
For more information about how Configuration Manager manages
embedded devices that use write filters, see the
Deploying the Configuration Manager Client to Windows Embedded
Devices section in the Introduction to Client
Deployment in Configuration Manager topic.
- The new Computer Agent client setting,
Disable deadline randomization, by default, disables the
installation randomization delay for required software updates and
required application deployments. For more information, see the
Computer Agent section in the About Client Settings in
Configuration Manager topic.
For more information, see the Introduction to Software Updates in Configuration Manager topic in the Deploying Software and Operating Systems in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Application Management
The following items are new or have changed for application management in Configuration Manager SP1:
- App-V virtual environments in Configuration
Manager enable virtual applications to share the same file system
and registry on client computers. This allows applications that are
in the same virtual environment to share data with one other. For
more information, see How to Create App-V
Virtual Environments in Configuration Manager.
- You can configure new deployment types for
Windows 8 applications that support stand-alone applications
(.appx files) and links to the Windows Store.
- Configuration Manager includes a new
deployment type that you can use to deploy virtual applications
that you have created by using Microsoft Application Virtualization
5.0.
- Configuration Manager includes a new
deployment type that you can use to deploy applications to Mac
computers that run the Configuration Manager client.
- Configuration Manager includes new deployment
types for the following mobile devices when you use the
Windows Intune connector: Windows Phone 8,
Windows RT, iOS, and Android. Users download these apps from
the new self-service portal for mobile devices, the company portal.
For more information, see How to Manage Mobile
Devices by Using the Windows Intune Connector in Configuration
Manager.
- You can control the behavior of the write
filter on Windows Embedded devices when you deploy applications,
and packages and programs, by using the new user experience setting
of Commit changes at deadline or during a maintenance windows
(requires restarts).
- For Windows Embedded devices that have the
write filter enabled:
- Software deployments that have a purpose of
Available are not supported. If you target a software
deployment to these devices, users can see the deployment in
Software Center but if they try to install it from there, they see
an error message that they do not have permissions.
- Users on these devices cannot configure their
business hours in Software Center.
- Users on these devices do not see user
notifications to let them postpone a software deployment to
nonbusiness hours.
- Software deployments that have a purpose of
Available are not supported. If you target a software
deployment to these devices, users can see the deployment in
Software Center but if they try to install it from there, they see
an error message that they do not have permissions.
- Users can no longer install applications from
the Application Catalog if the Client Policy client setting
Enable user policy polling on clients is set to
No.
- The new Computer Agent client setting,
Disable deadline randomization, by default, disables the
installation randomization delay for required software updates and
for required application deployments. For more information, see the
Computer Agent section in the About Client Settings in
Configuration Manager topic.
For more information, see the Introduction to Application Management in Configuration Manager topic in the Deploying Software and Operating Systems in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Operating System Deployment
The following items are new or have changed for operating system deployment in Configuration Manager SP1:
- Changes to Configuration Manager Setup:
- Configuration Manager SP1 uses the
Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) instead of
Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) to deploy an
operating system. Before you run Setup, you must download and
install Windows ADK on the site server and the provider
computer.
- The User State Migration Tool (USMT) for
Windows 8 is installed as part of the Windows ADK. At the
top-level site, Setup automatically creates the package for this
new version of USMT at the site.
- Setup automatically updates default boot
images at the site. You must manually update any custom boot
images.
- Configuration Manager SP1 uses the
Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) instead of
Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) to deploy an
operating system. Before you run Setup, you must download and
install Windows ADK on the site server and the provider
computer.
- Changes to task sequence:
- The default task sequences were changed to
optimize the deployment of operating systems starting with
Windows 7.
- Support for computers that are in Unified
Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) mode. The task sequence sets
the SMSTSBootUEFI built-in task sequence variable when it detects a
computer that is in UEFI mode.
- The default task sequence automatically
partitions the computer based on whether it was booted in UEFI mode
or BIOS mode (conditioned based on the value of the _SMSTSBootUEFI
variable).
- The build and capture task sequence was
updated to apply an operating system image instead of running
Setup.exe for installation. You can still run Setup.exe for
Windows 8 deployments by editing the task sequence in the task
sequence editor.
- Support for operating system deployments to
devices with limited available disk space, such as embedded
devices. You can configure the Apply Operating System Image
step to install the image directly from a distribution point even
if the task sequence deployment is configured to download content
to the task sequence cache first.
- You can control the behavior of write filters
on Windows Embedded devices when you deploy task sequences.
Note For information about task sequences, see Planning a Task Sequences Strategy in Configuration Manager. - The default task sequences were changed to
optimize the deployment of operating systems starting with
Windows 7.
- Changes to how you create pre-staged
media:
- You can specify applications, packages, and
driver packages to deploy with the operating system.
- When you deploy the task sequence by using
pre-staged media, the wizard checks the local task sequence cache
for valid content first, and if the content cannot be found or was
revised, the content is downloaded from the distribution point.
Note For information about how to create pre-staged media, see the How to Create Prestaged Media section in the How to Deploy Operating Systems by Using Media in Configuration Manager topic. - You can specify applications, packages, and
driver packages to deploy with the operating system.
- Changes to BitLocker support:
- Use the Pre-provision BitLocker task
sequence step to encrypt the disk drive from Windows PE and only
encrypt the space that is used by data. The result is much faster
encryption times. For more information, see the
Pre-provision BitLocker section in the Task Sequence Steps in
Configuration Manager topic.
- TPM and PIN is now available as one of
the key management options for the current operating system drive
in the Enable BitLocker task sequence step. For more
information, see the Enable
BitLocker section in the Task Sequence Steps in
Configuration Manager topic.
- Use the Pre-provision BitLocker task
sequence step to encrypt the disk drive from Windows PE and only
encrypt the space that is used by data. The result is much faster
encryption times. For more information, see the
Pre-provision BitLocker section in the Task Sequence Steps in
Configuration Manager topic.
- You can configure the Windows PE scratch
space in the boot image properties. For more information, see the
How to Modify a Boot Image section in the How to Manage Boot
Images in Configuration Manager topic.
- Added language neutral boot images:
- You can use the SMSTSLanguageFolder built-in
variable to change the language for information displayed by
Windows PE.
- Languages are auto-detected and used when
boot images are started from Software Center.
Note For information about boot image deployments, see Planning for Boot Image Deployments in Configuration Manager. - You can use the SMSTSLanguageFolder built-in
variable to change the language for information displayed by
Windows PE.
- Added the following task sequence built-in
variables:
- SMSTSPersistContent: Use this variable to
temporarily persist content in the task sequence cache.
- SMSTSPostAction: Use this variable to run a
command after the task sequence is completed.
- SMSTSLanguageFolder: Use this variable to
change the display language of a language neutral boot image.
- OSDPreserveDriveLetter: This variable
determines whether the task sequence uses the drive letter on the
operating system image WIM file. In Configuration Manager with no
service pack, the drive letter on the WIM file was used when it
applied the operating system image WIM file. In Configuration
Manager SP1, you can set the value for this variable to
False to use the drive letter that you specify in the task
sequence.
- SMSTSDownloadProgram: Use this variable to
specify an Alternate Content Provider, a downloader program that is
used to download content instead of the default Configuration
Manager downloader, for the task sequence. As part of the content
download process, the task sequence checks the variable for a
specified downloader program. If specified, the task sequence runs
the program to perform the download.
- SMSTSAssignmentsDownloadInterval: Use this
variable to specify the number of seconds to wait before the client
tries to download the task sequence policy since the last attempt
that returned no policies. You can set this variable by using a
prestart command from media or PXE.
- SMSTSAssignmentsDownloadRetry: Use this
variable to specify the number of times a client will attempt to
download the task sequence policy after no policies are found on
the first attempt. You can set this variable by using a prestart
command from media or PXE.
- _SMSTSBootUEFI: The task sequence sets the
_SMSTSBootUEFI variable when it detects a computer that boots in
UEFI mode.
- _SMSTSWTG: Specifies if the computer is
running as a Windows To Go device.
Note For more information about built-in task sequence variables, see the Task Sequence Built-in Variables in Configuration Manager topic. - SMSTSPersistContent: Use this variable to
temporarily persist content in the task sequence cache.
- Changes to software update installation for
offline operating system images:
- Ability to continue to update an image even
when one or more software updates cannot be installed.
- Software updates are copied from the content
library on the site server instead of the package source.
- Ability to continue to update an image even
when one or more software updates cannot be installed.
- Ability to provision Windows To Go in
Configuration Manager. Windows To Go is an operating system stored
on a USB-connected external drive. You can provision the Windows To
Go drive the same as you pre-stage media in Configuration Manager.
For more information about how to provision Windows To Go, see
How to Provision
Windows To Go in Configuration Manager.
- Better monitoring and status for task
sequence content and task sequence deployments.
- New deployment setting lets you deploy task
sequences that are available only in Windows PE.
- You can manage Windows PE optional
components from the Optional Components tab in the
properties for boot images.
- You can export and import driver packages
from the Driver Packages node in the Software Library
workspace.
Content Management
The following items are new or have changed for content management in Configuration Manager SP1:
- You can configure the drive location for the
content library in the Create Site System Server Wizard and Add
Site System Roles Wizard when you create the distribution point
site role.
- You can configure some distribution points as
pull-distribution points. When you distribute content to a
pull-distribution point, the Configuration Manager site server does
not transfer the content that you distribute to the distribution
point computer. Instead, Configuration Manager notifies the
pull-distribution point which then transfers the content from a
source distribution point that you specify.
For more information, see the Introduction to Content Management in Configuration Manager topic in the Deploying Software and Operating Systems in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Monitoring and Reporting
The following sections contain information about monitoring and reporting changes in Configuration Manager SP1.
Reporting
The following items are new or have changed for reporting in Configuration Manager SP1:
- Configuration Manager SP1 supports
Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services.
- When Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or SQL
Server 2008 R2 runs on the Reporting Services point,
Configuration Manager opens Reporting Services Report
Builder 3.0 when you create or change reports. When Microsoft
SQL Server 2008 runs on the Reporting Services point,
Configuration Manager opens Reporting Services Report
Builder 2.0 when you create or change reports.
- Software metering reports filter content
based on the administrative scope that is configured for the
current administrative user.
For more information, see the Introduction to Reporting in Configuration Manager topic in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
Alerts
The following items are new or have changed for alerts in Configuration Manager SP1:
- You can create email subscriptions to all
alerts that are generated by Configuration Manager.
For more information, see the Configuring Alerts in Configuration Manager topic in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.
See Also
For additional information, see Information and Support for Configuration Manager.
To contact the documentation team, email SMSdocs@microsoft.com.