Product Information

Systems Management Server 2003 SP1 Product Overview

Published: September 10, 2004
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SMS 2003 SP1 UpdatesSMS 2003 SP1 Updates
Features at a GlanceFeatures at a Glance

Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) provides a comprehensive solution for change and configuration management for the Microsoft platform, enabling organizations to provide relevant software and updates to users quickly and cost-effectively. SMS 2003 SP1 provides the following key capabilities:

Application Deployment
Deliver critical business productivity applications reliably and easily to users in the right place at the right time.

Asset Management
Reduce software costs and stay compliant by understanding the installed application base and its usage.

Security Patch Management
Improve security of the Microsoft Windows environment through increased vulnerability awareness and reliable targeted delivery of updates.

Mobility
Deliver enterprise management to the growing mobile workforce through industry standards independent of connection or location.

Windows Management Services Integration
Reduce operational costs by fully utilizing the management capabilities built into the Windows platform.

Integrating Operations and Technology
Microsoft Solutions for Management Solution Accelerators provide a blueprint for addressing key management issues by combining people, processes, and technology to help solve specific customer scenarios. Solution Accelerators are lab-tested, customer-approved Microsoft best practices that are intended to be used by Microsoft Consulting Services or Microsoft partners to help customers achieve optimal solutions.

Improvements in these areas enable enterprises to effectively manage software, from devices to data centers, on the Windows Server System platform. For more information, read the product overview datasheet.

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SMS 2003 SP1 Updates

SMS 2003 SP1 is primarily a rollup of a number of hotfixes for SMS 2003, but also introduces some changes to the supported configurations and broadens the configurations allowed.

Configuration Changes

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To enhance security, the SMS Legacy Client will be supported on Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0 SP6a operating systems only. Note that SMS 2.0 clients and Legacy Clients running on Windows 2000, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003 will not upgrade to SMS 2003 SP1.

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Reduced requirement for WINS in SMS. If the Active Directory Schema is not extended then you still need WINS to enable a client to find its Management Point after site assignment. However, if DNS is configured to enable SMS clients and servers to resolve each other's NetBIOS names, then SMS 2003 SP1 does not require WINS for this once the Management Point has been located. WINS is still required for locating a Management Point (in environments where the Active Directory schema is not extended) because the Management Point record (MP_<sitecode>) is a 1a record type. WINS resolution through DNS is only supported for 00 record types.

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Product keys are required for new installations of SMS 2003 SP1 and can be found on the SMS 2003 product CD case or through Volume Licensing. Upgrades to SMS 2003 SP1 do not require product keys.

Broadened Configurations

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Advanced Client support for systems in workgroups

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Advanced Client support for Virtual Server 2005 and Virtual PC 2004

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Advanced Client support on all Windows Server 2003 SP1 64-bit-based platforms at release

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Advanced Client and Distribution Point support for Windows Storage Servers

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Support for English site server installation on localized operating systems

SMS 2003 SP1 also includes incremental improvements to usability, security, and performance.

Usability

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Categorize queries, packages, advertisements, reports, and software metering rules easily with the addition of folders in the Administrator Console

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Over 100 accessibility changes to meet the needs of government and private industry

Security

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Authorize critical updates immediately without waiting for inventory scans

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Track the status of updates with more granular reporting

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Tightened data privacy for client inventory information provided through encryption of inventory data

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Enhanced security through the ability to configure the server and Advanced Client ports used for communication

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Apply signed security at the time the client is provisioned to operate at a higher level of security

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SMS 2003 had server authentication only. SP1 now has client authentication to protect servers from client spoofing

Performance

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Improve inventory performance by excluding the Windows Directory during software inventory scans

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Control bandwidth utilization by specifying the size of the data packages and by using pulse mode to define the time between packages when sending data between sites

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Improved client inventory performance to minimize user interruption during hardware inventory scans through enhancements for Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)-based inventory

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Reduced time for package distribution and support for a greater number of distributions points per site

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Improved software distribution and less network impact in 3-tier hierarchies by allowing the sending site to send content directly to the recipient sites without having to send multiple copies through a middle site

Note There are a few SMS 2003 hotfixes that are not included in SP1 but will be available as SMS 2003 SP1 hotfixes.

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Features at a Glance

CapabilityDescription

Application deployment

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Detailed application deployment planning. Detailed reports available in SMS 2003 ease the application deployment process. For a planned deployment, it is easy to obtain the target group's current hardware base, existing applications, and version information, as well as the current service pack and hotfix levels of the system.

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Rich distribution targeting. Software distribution and other management tasks can be specifically targeted to machines and users using a wide variety of properties including network and hardware configuration, Active DirectoryŽ organizational unit, and group membership and software installation status.

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Delta distribution between site servers and distribution points. When changes are made to previously deployed software package sources, only the source changes are propagated between SMS 2003 site servers and distribution points, rather than the entire application image.

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Elevated rights Windows Installer Service. Because SMS 2003 supports the Windows Installer service (.msi), it is able to switch user account contexts during a package installation allowing for self-healing application installation on "locked-down" systems.

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Add/Remove Programs support. Applications can be easily published to the Add/Remove Programs interface to provide users with a consistent way of installing applications.

Asset management

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Application usage monitoring. Summary and detail reports can be generated specifying which applications were used by users, how long they were used, and on which managed systems they were used. Usage can be tracked by user or computer, and reports can be created comparing concurrent usage data to current license ownership (compliance reports).

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Granular software inventory file level searching. Now you can configure SMS 2003 to get you all the asset discovery you need, and only what you need.

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Detailed hardware inventory. Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) enhancements allow improved client-side performance during inventory scans and provide a richer set of inventory data, including BIOS and chassis enclosure data.

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Web-enabled reporting. More than 120 pre-built reports are included, covering hardware and software inventory as well as computer status and software deployment progress.

Security patch management

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Vulnerability identification. Standard Microsoft security tools like the Microsoft Baseline Security Inventory Analyzer and the Microsoft Office Inventory Tool for Updates enable you to inventory your systems for applicable patches and vulnerabilities.

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Patch deployment wizard. A simple console wizard is provided to assist administrators in deploying required patches to managed devices.

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Vulnerability assessment and mitigation reporting. After missing security patches have been identified, the results of these individual scans are then posted to the central database for reporting and targeting purposes. As missing patches are deployed, this data may be optionally updated in real time.

Mobility

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Bandwidth-aware clients. The new Advanced Client uses the Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) technology to automatically detect the capacity of the client network connection and adjust transfer rates efficiently.

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Checkpoint/restart. Upon reconnection, any partial downloads to client computers will continue where they left off; there is no need to restart transmissions because of a disconnected session. Checkpoint/restart works at the byte level, requiring only the download of those bytes in a package that haven't already been transferred.

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Download and execute. After a new software package has been successfully downloaded to a client, it remains in the cache of the client system until the scheduled install time, when it is then executed.

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Location awareness. As mobile users move through geographic locations, flexible site boundaries ensure that they receive software packages and updates from the nearest appropriate installation source, and are not required to install software across the enterprise wide area network (WAN).

Windows Management Services integration

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Active Directory discovery. SMS 2003 can automatically discover the Active Directory properties of both users and systems, including organizational unit container and group level membership. Software packages can then be targeted based on these Active Directory attributes.

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Active Directory-based site boundaries. Site boundaries can now be based on Active Directory site names, rather than on Internet Protocol (IP) subnets.

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Advanced Security Mode. Built-in computer and local system accounts can be used for all server functions (such as database access), dramatically simplifying the management of accounts and passwords within SMS 2003 and making the enterprise more secure by not creating extra high-rights accounts.

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Improved status tools. The status data provides real-time information about the current state of SMS 2003 processes, both on servers and clients.

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Windows XP Remote Assistance support. The high-performance Windows XP Remote Assistance feature is now an option for troubleshooting clients remotely from the SMS Administrator Console when a user is present at the remote machine.


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