SCCM

SCCM is device management tool for Windows devices. This is a client server application by Microsoft. How to manage devices with this tool for Windows devices? 90% of corporate Windows devices are managed by the this tool.

SCCM video posts in this blog will help you to understand in a better way. Most of the videos shared in this post are real time experience of this Windows Device managment.

SCCM is the short for System Center Configuration Manager. This tool is a software management suite provided by Microsoft that allows users to manage a large number of Windows based computers.

This tool features remote control, patch management, operating system deployment, network protection and other various services. Device management solution like has a great tech community.

Core infrastructure, Updates for Configuration Manager, Supported configurations for Configuration Manager, Cloud-attached management of CM, Co-management for Windows 10,
Manage clients on the internet, Windows as a service, CMPivot, Application management,
Manage apps from the Microsoft Store for Business, OS deployment, Introduction to OS deployment, Upgrade to Windows 10, Phased deployments, Software update management, Introduction to software updates management, Manage Office 365 ProPlus updates

SCCM 1810 Upgrade Video Guide – Best Practices

Microsoft released the SCCM 1810 production version as an opt-in.  Yes, it’s opt-in version (fast ring).  This SCCM 1810 Upgrade video post will give much more details. The SCCM 1810 won’t be available in your SCCM console until Microsoft releases a SLOW ring version of SCCM 1810. So how do you get the 1810 version today in your console? Here is the blog post from Microsoft to get the 1810 version on to your LAB, Development, or pre-production/staging environment. Checkout Micros oft Annoucement about the release here.

SCCM 1810 Fast Ring  is an Opt-in update option given to SCCM customers
SCCM 1810 Slow Ring is GA, generally available for all applicable SCCM Infra

[Related Post – SCCM 1810 Upgrade Step by Step Walkthrough Guide ]

Best time to Deploy SCCM 1810 to Production?

Microsoft fully supports the SCCM 1810 fast ring or opt-in version. Hence officially you can upgrade your production environment to SCCM 1810 with opt-in version. However, I won’t directly jump into the production upgrade.

I want to test the 1810 version in the LAB environment and Staging environment before going into production upgrade. By the time I complete all these testing in staging, Microsoft will release the fast ring version of SCCM 1810.

SCCM 1810 Known Issues?

I’m not aware of any known issues of SCCM 1810 production version. However, I will try to keep an eye on SCCM 1810 known issues announcements from Microsoft and update here or in another blog.

SCCM 1810 Upgrade Best Practices?

Microsoft has already provided a checklist of SCCM 1810 upgrade best practices in their documentation here. I would recommend reading that documentation before proceeding with the upgrade.  SCCM 1810 In-console update available only for  1710, 1802, or 1806?

  1. Check All Windows Server, SQL components running on your SCCM site servers for the supportability of SCCM 1810 version
  2. All sites run a supported version of SCCM
  3. Review the version of the Windows ADK for Windows 10
  4. Review the site and hierarchy status for unresolved issues
  5. Review file and data replication between sites
  6. Install all applicable critical Windows updates
  7. Disable database replicas for management points at primary sites
  8. Set SQL Server AlwaysOn availability groups to manual failover
  9. Disable SCCM site maintenance tasks at each site
  10. Create a backup of the site database
  11. Temporarily stop any antivirus software on SCCM Servers
  12. Plan for SCCM client piloting
  13. Plan to use service windows
  14. Review supported extensions for SCCM 1810
  15. Run the SCCM 1810 setup prerequisite checker
  16. Update All SCCM site

SCCM 1810 Download or Upgrade Stuck?

When you have an issue with SCCM 1810 update download and upgrade process, please check the monitoring workspace and understand what is happening. Also, you refer to the log files mentioned in each stage of SCCM console monitoring workspace.

I have blogged about SCCM troubleshooting on update and servicing issue. I would recommend reading the following post to get more help on SCCM 1810 upgrade issues.

https://howtomanagedevices.com/sccm-updates-and-servicing-issue/

Site Server, Client, and Console Version Numbers?

Following table is the best place to know more about the SCCM 1810 console, site server, and client version numbers.

SCCM 1810 Site VersionSCCM 1810 Console VersionSCCM 1810 Client VersionBaselineIn-console update available for?
5.00.8692.10005.1810.1075.13005.00.8740.1003NoYes for SCCM  1710, 1802, or 1806

Resource:

What is new in SCCM 1810 version – https://docs.microsoft.com/en-gb/sccm/core/plan-design/changes/whats-new-in-version-1810

SCCM CB End of Life details – https://www.anoopcnair.com/sccm-life-cycle/

[Related Post – SCCM 1810 Upgrade Step by Step Walkthrough Guide -Coming Soon]

SCCM Replication Issue – SQL Replication Troubleshooting Guide

SCCM Database replication issues are common when you have an SCCM hierarchy with CAS, Primary, or Secondary servers. Let’s check what the necessary troubleshooting steps an SCCM admin can perform are.

SCCM replication issue is not very easy to troubleshoot via forums or offline.  The above SCCM Replication Issue troubleshooting video will help you fix some of the common SCCM replication issues.

Latest Updated Post – FIX SCCM SQL Replication Issues Using Replication Link Analyzer

SCCM Co-Management Video Guide with 16 Posts

First of all, co-management is not SCCM and Intune feature, but it’s a Windows 10 feature. Windows 10 provides an option to device management applications to concurrently manage a device. For example, you can manage a Windows 10 device with SCCM and Intune at the same time. Even this could true for other vendors and solutions like Airwatch and Kace? More SCCM Co-Management details are below with 16 posts and more than ten (10) video tutorial. This post also includes the latest updates of co-management.

Windows 10 Version Requirement?

Co-management is a dual management capability available with Windows 10 1709 version (Fall Creators Update) and later. Co-management is the bridge between traditional management and modern management. So if your Windows 10 version is not 1709 or later, then you can’t manage that device with SCCM and Intune at the same time.

SCCM Version Required for Co-management?

Your SCCM version should be SCCM 1710 or later to support co-management scenario. If you have the latest version of SCCM 1806 or 1810, then you can avoid creating many PKI certificates to implement co-management. Co-management setup for SCCM is getting simplified with latest releases of SCCM.

Firewall Ports Required for Co-Management?

We do not need to open any inbound ports to your on-premises network. The SCCM service connection point and CMG connection point initiate all communication with Azure and the CMG. These two site system roles must be able to create outbound connections to the Microsoft cloud.

Is CMG Mandatory for SCCM Co-Management

No, SCCM CMG is not mandatory for Co-Management. When you use Intune to install the SCCM client, enable a cloud management gateway in SCCM.  More details in Microsoft documentation here.

Co-Management Related Posts

SCCM co-management related posts are available in the following list. Some of them are outdated as I mentioned in the video above. I would recommend reading the Microsoft documentation on co-management to get the latest updates.

  1. How to Setup Co-Management – Introduction – Prerequisites Part 1
  2. How to Setup Co-Management – Firewall Ports Proxy Requirements Part 2
  3. Setup Co-Management – AAD Connect UPN Suffix Part 3  
  4. Setup Co-Management – CA PKI & Certificates Part 4
  5. Setup Co-Management Cloud DP Azure Blob Storage Part 5
  6. Setup Co-Management Azure Cloud Services CMG Part 6
  7. SCCM Configure Settings for Client PKI certificates Part 7
  8. How to Setup SCCM Co-Management to Offload Workloads to Intune – Part 8
  9. How to Deploy SCCM Client from Intune – Co-Management – Part 9
  10. End User Experience of Windows 10 Co-Management – Part 10
  11. Overview Windows 10 Co-Management with Intune and SCCM
  12. Custom Report to Identify Machines Connected via SCCM CMG
  13. How to Setup SCCM Cloud Management Gateway as cloud DP
  14. Troubleshooting Tips SCCM CMG Connection Analyzer
  15. Learn How to Remove SCCM Cloud DP
  16. Clean-up SCCM CMG and Cloud Services from SCCM

SCCM Co-Management Video Posts

#1 How to enable AAD Connect and UPN Suffix change

#2 – PKI Certificate Details for SCCM Co-management

#3 How to enable Cloud DP in SCCM CMG

#4 Remove or Delete SCCM Cloud DP

#5 Remove or Delete SCCM CMG

#6 SCCM CMG troubleshooting

Resource

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/clients/manage/co-management-overview

Another interesting blog post https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/arnabm/2018/10/24/cmg-with-just-one-cert/

Windows Autopilot Video Starter Kit – https://howtomanagedevices.com/windows-autopilot-video-guide/

Fix SCCM Updates and Servicing Issue with CMUpdateReset Tool

CMUpdateReset.exe is in build Tool provided by Microsoft SCCM to fix download issue. In this video post, you will get more details about how to SCCM updates and Servicing issue.  You can find the CM Update Reset tool in the following folder \cd.latest\SMSSETUP\TOOLS.

Run the CMUpdateReset.exe tool from?

  1. CAS/SQL server
  2. standalone primary/SQL server

The SCCM download reset tool (CMUpdateReset.exe) must be run on the top-level site (CAS or standalone primary) of the hierarchy. When you run the tool, use CM Update Reset tool command-line parameters to specify:

    • The CAS/Primary SQL Server at the top-tier site of the hierarchy
    • The CAS/Primary site database name at the top-tier site
  • The GUID of the update package you want to reset

What are the SCCM Update Reset Options?

There are two options to fix SCCM Updates and Servicing Issue using the CMUpdateReset.exe tool.

  1. Reset an update and restart the download
  2. Force deletion of the problematic update package

What is Next SCCM Updates and Servicing issue is not Fixed?

What if CMUpdateReset.exe didn’t help to fix SCCM Updates and Servicing? The following are the steps to download SCCM updates. You can check this download status from SCCM monitoring workspace. More details in the log file ConfigMgrSetup.log.

  1. Process update package
  2. Download update package cab file
  3. Extract update package payload
  4. Download redist
  5. Report package as downloaded

SCCM Updates and Servicing Issue

Fix SCCM Updates and Servicing with REDIST Files?

You can fix the issue with downloading SCCM redist prerequisite files using the following method.

  • When you have an issue with downloading SCCM REDIST prerequisite files,  you can try to use the old method to download prerequisite files.
  • Once the prerequisite files are downloaded with the old way, then you can copy those files to D:\Program Files \Microsoft Configuration Manager\EasySetupPayload\<Update PackageGUID >\Redist folder. This can be used a workaround.

All the above steps will ensure that you will fix the SCCM Updates and Servicing Issue.

Resources:

Fix to SCCM CB Redist Download Issue

CM Update Reset Tool Fixes SCCM CB Update Download Issue

SCCM Restore and Recovery Guide

SCCM Admin Console Walkthrough Video Guide

Device Management training videos to start learning SCCM device management technology. SCCM is managing more than 70% corporate Windows PCs in the world. I call this series of video posts as SCCM Educational post series. I would love to cover the basic things of SCCM in this series of posts. In case you are a newbie to SCCM Admin Console then this is the helpful guidelines for you.

The Above video explains the details of SCCM Admin Console nodes. SCCM console buttons will give you an overall idea about UI capabilities. This post will help to learn and understand SCCM in a better way. I always think about a teaching technique which starts from the SCCM console. Do you think it would be ok to start SCCM learning with SCCM console overview?

SCCM Admin Console – More Details

SCCM console gives admin access to manage and monitor all the policies, applications, OD deployments, etc.. for the devices you manage with SCCM. Administrators use the SCCM Admin console to manage the SCCM environment. Each SCCM console can connect to a CAS or a primary site. You can’t connect an SCCM console to a secondary site.

An SCCM admin sees objects in the console based on the permissions assigned to their user account. For more information about role-based administration, see Fundamentals of role-based administration.

When you install the site server, you can install the SCCM Admin console at the same time. To install the console separate from site server installation, run the standalone installer. You can run the console from Windows 10 machines and manage the devices which you want to manage. You can install the SCCM console by using the standalone installer.

If you like to read more about this in a documentation format, I would recommend reading my previous post from the following link https://www.anoopcnair.com/newbies-guide-sccm-console-nodes-part1/

Resources

More Blog posts related to SCCM/Intune/Windows 10/Hyper-V/Cloud/IT Pro/Azure –

Learn SCCM Read

https://www.anoopcnair.com/sccm/

https://www.anoopcnair.com/learn-sccm-intune/

Learn Intune Read –

https://www.anoopcnair.com/intune/

https://www.anoopcnair.com/learn-microsoft-intune/

Learn Windows 10 Read –

https://www.anoopcnair.com/windows-10/

Learn Hyper-V Read – https://www.anoopcnair.com/hyperv-2/

Learn About Cloud Read – https://www.anoopcnair.com/cloud/

Learn about Azure Read – https://www.anoopcnair.com/cloud/azure/

Learn About IT Pros Events – https://www.anoopcnair.com/itpro/

Learn about me – https://www.anoopcnair.com/about/

Another Blogs related to SCCM Videos (now related to SCCM Admin Console ) – https://howtomanagedevices.com/sccm-patch-management/

Create Office 365 ProPlus Client Package

I have create this video a year back and there are many changes in the recent months. SCCM client installation wizard has integrated with Office Customization Tool. Office 365 ProPlus Client Package creation made easy in the latest version of SCCM. You need to remember that an internet connection is required to complete the Office 365 ProPlus client package creation wizard.

The office 365 ProPlus client package creation wizard includes an online Office Customization Tool. This tool needs an internet connection as this office customization tool is launched is web-based tool.

If you are looking for solution to update Office 365 ProPlus client with latest patches, then following post shall help you. I have another post which explain about “How to Deploy and Install Office 365 Software Updates (patches) with SCCM ADR“.

Launch Office 365 ProPlus Client Package Creation wizard

Office 365 ProPlus client package
  • Launch SCCM console from a internet connected machine
  • Navigate to \SoftwareLibrary\Overview\Office 365 Client Management dashboard
  • Click on the + Office 365 Installer from the Office 365 Client Management Dashboard
  • Give the NAME of Office 365 Client Package
  • Browse to a location mostly on the file server or SCCM server package source folder.
  • Click on Next button
  • Click Office Customization tool to customize and import your xml file to SCCM application configuraion engine. Select Office 365 ProPlus Client Package from the menu options. This part is not covered in the above video tutorial.
  • Wait for the Office 365 client Package creation wizard to finish. This wizard will download the source files from the internet and save it to package source folder.
  •  Finish to close the wizard

When Microsoft publishes a new Office 365 proplus client update to the Office Content Delivery Network (CDN), Microsoft simultaneously publishes an update package to Windows Server Update Services (WSUS). Then, SCCM synchronizes the Office 365 ProPlus client update from the WSUS catalog to the site server. SCCM can then download the update and distribute it to distribution points selected by the administrator.

Resources

How to Deploy and Install Office 365 Applications via SCCM CB

How to Manage updates to Office 365 ProPlus

SCCM Patch Management Process With WSUS And SUP

SCCM Patch Management Process with WSUS and SUP

I have recorded this video more than a year back and I don’t have audio explanation in this video. But this video covers end to end Software update or SCCM Patching Process for IT Admins. If you are new to SCCM and wanted to understand the SCCM patch management Process, then this video is your starting point.

Unlike other deployment types, software updates are all downloaded to the client cache. This is regardless of the maximum cache size setting on the client.

High-Level Process of SCCM Patch Management

  • Install WSUS
  • Install SUP & verify Installation log files
  • Software Update Component Configuration – Classifications/Products
  • Software Update Sync – Log file WsyncMgr.log
  • Selection of Patch/Software Update and Creation of Software Update Group
  • Deployment of Software Update Group
  • Client Side Experience Windows 10 device
  • What happened to WindowsUpdate.log? Event Logs ?
  • How to Speed up SCCM policy SCCM Patch Management Process?
  • Windows 10 SCCM Client side logs – Reboot required ? If yes reboot the Windows 10
  • Check the Default compliance reports to confirm the SCCM Patch management compliance percentage of your environment.

Software updates in SCCM provides a set of tools and resources that can help manage the complex task of tracking and applying patches to Windows client computers. An effective software update management process is necessary to maintain operational efficiency, overcome security issues, and maintain the stability of the network infrastructure. However, because of the changing nature of technology and the continual appearance of new security threats, effective software update management requires consistent and continual attention.

SCCM Patch Management

The SCCM Patch Management process is known as Software Updates in SCCM. In this Video, we will see, the components needed for SCCM software update, how to get SCCM synced Microsoft update for Patching, How to select and download a list of patches, How to deploy patches, How to troubleshoot on patching issues, Patching experience at client side, SCCM log files related to patching.

Resources

How to Deploy software updates with SCCM

How to Define SCCM CB Patching Process – Implementation Guide

SCCM Blog posts – https://howtomanagedevices.com/sccm/

SCCM Restore Recovery Guide

I recorded this video few years back. It was one of the first video where I started explaining things while I was showing the steps. SCCM restore process is changed with the release of SCCM CB. Now you have several options to recover SCCM primary server and CAS.

This video is part of the collection of Video tutorials which I made previously. This video tutorial will help to understand the process and that will in tern help to troubleshoot on SCCM CB restore or recovery issues in better way.

What is SCCM CD.Latest Folder

CD.Latest folder is important for SCCM restore or recovery of a standalone primary server. If you do not have the correct CD.Latest folder and its contents available, you cannot recover a site and it must be reinstalled.

The SCCM Installation should be done from CD.Latest folder in a scenario where your SCCM version is not a baseline version. The CD.Latest folder contains a folder named Redist which contains the redistributable files that setup downloads and uses. These files are matched to the version of Configuration Manager files found in that CD.Latest folder. When you run Setup from a CD.Latest folder, you must use files that are matched to that version of Setup. To do so you can either direct Setup to download new and current files from Microsoft, or direct Setup to use the files from the Redist folder included in the CD.Latest folder. This folder backup is important for a successful SCCM restore and recovery scenario.

Prerequisite of SCCM Restore

Hostname of the server Should be same Drive Letters should be same as the previous SCCM primary server Installation Path should be same as the previous Primary server Should have same OS patch level for the server Better to have the same IP to avoid opening up new Firewall ports All the prerequisite apps should be installed (ADK, WSUS etc..) SQL Databased is already restored (manually) – if you are using SQL DB based backup

SCCM Restore and Recover scenarios are explained in the video tutotial.
SCCM Restore – Recover Scenarios

Resources

I have some previous posts which explains about the entire SCCM restore and recovery processes in details. I would recommend reading those to get more details. https://www.anoopcnair.com/video-tutorials-sccm-configmgr-current-branch-backup-recovery/

More details about the importance of SCCM CD.Latest folder is explained in the following Microsoft documentation. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/sccm/core/servers/manage/the-cd.latest-folder

SCCM Related Posts – https://howtomanagedevices.com/sccm/

SCCM Upgrade Task Sequence Template

SCCM offers Windows 10 upgrade Task Sequence. Before starting about creating the Windows 10 upgrade task sequence. Let’s complete the prerequisite. The prerequisite is to create Windows 10 operating system upgrade package. SCCM Upgrade Task Sequence to upgrade template can be used to upgrade Windows 10 to the latest version.

SCCM Upgrade Task Sequence template is available out of box in the latest version of SCCM. Open SCCM CB console and navigate via  Software Library workspace, right-click the Operating System Upgrade Packages node, then select Add Operating System Upgrade Package.

Browse to the data source for the operating system upgrade package. Specify the operating system upgrade package. Provide the Windows 10 Enterprise x86 or x64 binary network share location. Select the Architecture of the Windows 10 and the base language.

On the next page, enter the name of the Windows 10 upgrade package. And that is it you are done.

Open SCCM console and navigate via Software Library workspace – right-click the Task Sequences node, and then select Create Task Sequence. On the Create a new task sequence page, select Upgrade an operating system from upgrade package and then click Next.

Enter the name of the Task sequence – Windows 10 Enterprise Upgrade. Upgrade the Windows operating system page of the wizard you need to select the Windows 10 upgrade package which we created as a first step. The wizard will list down all the available Windows 10 editions as part of Windows 10 upgrade package.

SCCM Upgrade Task Sequence

Windows Upgrade using SCCM Upgrade Task Sequence

Use task sequences in SCCM to automatically upgrade an OS on a destination computer. This upgrade can be from Windows 7 or later to Windows 10, or from Windows Server 2012 or later to Windows Server 2016. Create a task sequence that references the OS upgrade package and any other content to install, such as applications or software updates.

Resource

How to Move SCCM Server to New Hardware

This video post will give a step step guide to migrate SCCM server from old VM to new VM. Moving SCCM server from one hardware to another is common scenario in enterprise world. There could be several reason for this kind of SCCM server VM migrations. Server OS upgrade is one of the most common scenario.

How to Migrate SCCM Server to New Hardware?

Yes, SCCM CB 1606 and later versions supports in place upgrade of server OS. However I’ve seen that most of our server teams don’t want to perform in place OS upgrade.

There is another option to move hardware. SCCM 1806 onwards, SCCM primary server passive server options are available. Arnab explained this primary server passive  option feature with a detailed blog post.

Step by Step Video Guide to Perform SCCM Server Hardware Migration. This is the post which you want to refer before performing any kind of SCCM/ConfigMgr server migration. Follow the steps one by one and make sure your SCCM server hardware migration is hassle free !Migrate SCCM Server to New VMs

SCCM Server Migration Prerequisites

It’s very important to follow these steps when we need to perform migration or server hardware changes of your SCCM server (Migrate SCCM Server). I’m not covering SQL migration in this post. In this scenario, SQL is on remote box. If the SQL is on the same box then things will be bit more easy. I’ve divided the migration process into 5 phases:-

  1. Pre SCCM Migration Activities  (Migrate SCCM Server)
  2. Start of SCCM Migration Activities – Downtime starts from here
  3. SCCM Installation activities on new server
  4. SCCM/ConfigMgr Recovery/Restore activities
  5. Post SCCM/ConfigMgr Repair/Recovery activities

More details https://www.anoopcnair.com/step-step-guide-perform-sccm-configmgr-server-hardware-migration/SCCM 2012 to SCCM CB Upgrade Unofficial Checklist here

SCCM Site-to-site communications (file-based and database replication) benefits from the proximity of being hosted in Azure. However, all client related traffic would be remote from site servers and site systems. If you use a fast and reliable network connection between Azure and your intranet with an unlimited data plan, hosting all your infrastructure in Azure is an option. Migrate SCCM Server to Azure VMs is also possible.

Resources:

The Complete Guide for SCCM Server Migration Part 2 – Database Migration – https://www.anoopcnair.com/the-complete-guide-for-sccm-server-migration-part-2-database-migration/ The Complete Guide for SCCM Server Migration Part 1 – SQL 2017 – https://www.anoopcnair.com/complete-guide-sccm-server-migration-part-1-sql-2017/

SCCM Related Latest Posts – https://howtomanagedevices.com/sccm/