The Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 operating systems are supported for Configuration Manager 2007 SP2. For more information, see Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 Supported Configurations.

In addition to generating a log file, the version of ExtADSch.exe included with Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 provides command console feedback when it is run from the command line.

The Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 Management Pack adds support for monitoring Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 in a 64-bit environment by using Operations Manager 2007 R2 or Operations Manager 2007 SP1 with the hotfix that is described in KB971541 installed. This enables the Configuration Manager 2007 Management Pack to work with both the 32-bit and the 64-bit Operations Manager 2007 agent.

The BranchCache feature, available in both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 operating systems, is supported for Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 sites. For more information, see Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 Supported Configurations.

DirectAccess Feature Support

For more information about the new external dependencies and dependencies within the Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 product, see Prerequisites for Out of Band Management.

Out of band management supports the following new options:

• Out of band management on an 802.1X authenticated wired or wireless network. If you have AMT-based computers that were provisioned with Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and want to extend out of band management to these networks, you must update the provisioning data in the management controller memory for these computers after configuring support for 802.1X authenticated wired or wireless network. For more information, see Determine Whether You Should Configure Support for 802.1X and Wireless Networks and How to Configure AMT-Based Computers for 802.1X Authenticated Wired and Wireless Networks.
  
  
• AMT-based computers with a version of AMT that supports auditing. On such computers, Configuration Manager can audit selected AMT operations. For more information, see How to Configure AMT Auditing and How to Manage the Audit Log for AMT-Based Computers.
  
  
• Data storage in AMT. For more information, see How to Write or Update Data into the AMT Data Storage.
  
  
• Different power states by configuring the option Manageability is on in the following power state in the Out of Band Management Properties: AMT Settings Tab. Selecting a power state other than the default of Always on (S0-S5) can help to save power consumption for when the AMT-based computer is in standby or the operating system is shut down. The other options are Host is on (S0) and Host is on (S0) or in standby (S3). For more information, see Out of Band Management Properties: AMT Settings Tab. If you have AMT-based computers that were provisioned with Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 and configure a power state of Host is on (S0) or Host is on (S0) or in standby (S3), you must update the provisioning data in the management controller memory for these computers after configuring the power state option.
  
  
• Provisioning schedule for in-band provisioning. This is configured in the Out of Band Management Properties: Provisioning Schedule Tab. For more information, see How to Provision Computers for AMT.
  
  

Additionally, the following changes have been made to existing functionality in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1:

• There is a new site configuration to enable or disable out of band provisioning. This option is disabled by default, including after upgrade from Configuration Manager 2007 SP1. For more information about this option and whether you should enable it, see Choose Between In-Band Provisioning and Out of Band Provisioning.
  
  
• Blocking Configuration Manager clients now prevents out of band management communication for AMT-based computers that are provisioned for AMT. For more information, see About Blocking Clients and Out of Band Management,
  
  
• Certificate revocation (CRL) checking by the computers that manage the AMT-based computers, including the out of band service point site system and any computer running the out of band management console, is now supported by Windows Remote Management (WinRM) on the latest operating systems. This means that the out of band service point site system and any computer running the out of band management console might now reject a Web server certificate that has been revoked for an AMT-based computer, and communication will fail. Additionally, these connections might fail if the CRL cannot be accessed (for example, it is offline). For more information, see the section about CRL checking and certificate revocation for out of band management in About Certificates for Out of Band Management.
  
  
• Updating AMT settings by using the Update Provisioning Data in Management Controller Memory action can now result in PKI certificates being revoked. If you specify a client certificate to support 802.1X authenticated wired or wireless networks in Configuration Manager 2007 SP2, these will always be revoked and new certificates will be requested whenever you update AMT settings. The AMT certificate for server authentication will not be revoked with this action. For more information, see the section about updating the data in the management controller memory in About AMT Provisioning for Out of Band Management.
  
  
• Power control actions are now available for a collection, in addition to individual and selected resources within a collection. Only resources that are provisioned for AMT within the collection can respond to the power control actions.
  
  
• The security right of Read is now needed for the collection selected in the Import Computer for Out of Band Management Wizard instead of the Collections class. For more information about the rights needed for this wizard, see Import Computer for Out of Band Management Wizard.
  
  
• The following additions have been made to the out of band management console to support the new features in Configuration Manager 2007 SP2:
  
  
  • A new button and a new Tools menu option to open and close a serial over LAN connection have been added.
    
    
  • The Systems Audit Log button no longer displays a list of the IDE redirection sessions for the computer, but instead shows audit logging information when it is supported by the AMT-based computer and auditing is enabled.
    
    
  • The new IDE-Redirect Log button displays a list of the IDE redirection sessions for the computer.
    
    
  • The new Data Storage button allows you to view and store up to 4096 bytes in ASCII characters in the AMT data store.
    
    
• If you use the serial over LAN feature when the AMT-based computer is connected to a either a wired network connection or a wireless network, you must initiate the serial over LAN connection before performing any power action, such as an IDE redirection or a boot to BIOS. For more information about this functionality and the sequence of steps require to support it, see the following topics:
  
  
  • How to Configure BIOS Settings for a Computer Using Out of Band Management
    
    
  • How to Update the Firmware for a Computer Using Out of Band Management
    
    
  • How to Run Commands, Repair Utilities, and Diagnostic Applications for a Computer Using Out of Band Management
    
    

Note

Although it is always recommended that you upgrade both the site and clients to the latest version, these new options and changes in out of band management do not require that you upgrade the Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 client after upgrading the site to Configuration Manager 2007 SP2. If the upgraded site contains AMT-based clients that were provisioned with Configuration Manager 2007 SP1, the new functionality in Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 is available without updating the management controller with the exception of support for 802.1X authenticated wired and wireless networks and a non-default power state.

Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 installs the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) 2.0 to support operating system deployment of Windows 7. WAIK 2.0 includes User State Migration Tool (USMT) 4.0 and Windows PE 3.0, which enable the following features:

• Support for capturing with a BitLocker partition in place from multiple partitions. For more information, see How to Capture an Image from a Reference Computer by Using Capture Media.
  
  
• Hard-links for user state migration. For more information, see How to Use Hard Links for User State Migration.
  
  
• New logs for some operating system deployment processes. For more information, see Log Files for Operating System Deployment.
  
  

The following changes have been made to the Asset Intelligence feature in Configuration Manager 2007 SP2:

• It is not necessary to provide the System Center Online certificate when installing the Asset Intelligence synchronization point site system role.
  
  
• Asset Intelligence report 15A has been renamed to License 15A – General License Reconciliation Report and a new Asset Intelligence report named License 15B – General License Reconciliation Report by Machine has been added to provide additional detail to report 15A.
  
  
• The Asset Intelligence catalog has been updated with the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system information to enable CAL usage reporting.
  
  

For more information about Asset Intelligence in Configuration Manager 2007 SP2, see Asset Intelligence in Configuration Manager.

The following changes have been made that affect Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 clients:

• In previous versions of Configuration Manager 2007, there is a built-in two-minute delay during client policy evaluation before the new client policy is applied. This delay has been removed in Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 to enable client policy to be applied faster and to provide a better user experience when deploying software (such as App-V virtual applications) to users.
  
  
• Remote control of supported 64-bit installations of Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP operating system versions is now supported.
  
  
• Support for App-V 4.6, which includes x64 client support, has been added.
  
  

For more information about clients in Configuration Manager 2007 SP2, see Planning and Deploying Clients for Configuration Manager 2007.