Stop trudging about: and get many other benefits from SCCM
If “trudging about” and “sorting out the same old problem twenty times over” weren’t what you wanted in your job description, then you need to know about System Center Configuration Manager. Paul Bray explains.
Nobody - well, almost nobody - becomes an IT professional so that they can trudge from PC to PC installing client software upgrades.
And nobody goes into the job so they can spend two hours reconfiguring somebody's laptop while they stand around huffing: "Haven't you finished yet?" For that matter, no sensible organisation pays highly skilled IT pros to waste their talents on such humdrum, repetitive jobs.
“If it's a routine, repeatable task, SCCM will let you automate it. And if it's a one-off job, there’s a good chance that SCCM will let you to do it remotely and quickly.”
This, in a nutshell, is why Microsoft developed System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM). SCCM is a deployment solution that lets administrators deploy operating systems, applications, patches, software updates and so forth to servers, fixed clients and mobile devices across the whole of their distributed network.
If it's a routine, repeatable task, SCCM will let you automate it. And if it's a one-off job, there’s a good chance that SCCM will let you to do it remotely and quickly, without having to get in the car for one of those exciting tours of far flung offices.
For NHS organisations trying to balance the books, meanwhile, the cost savings should make an investment in SCCM worthwhile, once the costs of administrator time and user downtime are factored in.
Making IT processes consistent and accurate
There are other benefits, though. "Accuracy is paramount in healthcare, so one of the main value-adds of SCCM is consistency," says Daniel Oliver, System Center technology specialist at Microsoft.
"SCCM lets you make upgrades and changes in a dynamic, accurate, repeatable manner. This can be invaluable if, say, you're installing critical new software or updating security configurations.
"Compliance, especially with privacy and security standards, can be a major headache. If HIPPA regulations require a PC to have a certain level of security before the user can store patient data on it, SCCM can help you to verify that it does, or upgrade it if it doesn't."
Through integration with Windows Server 2008 Network Access Protection, SCCM can also help administrators to ensure that devices connecting to or communicating with their networks have the necessary security patches, anti-virus protection, operating system version and so on.
In other words, it will help to make sure that your diligent work on protecting individual machines isn’t ruined by connections to less effectively managed networks.
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“A team of district nurses could have their laptops upgraded, patched and maintained from home while off duty.”
Equally valuable is SCCM's ability to remotely verify a device's current configuration and potential for upgrade. "When I talk to people in NHS organisations, one of their biggest challenges is how to keep moving forward," says Oliver.
"For example, common user interface may only be achievable on a certain level of platform, or they may want to migrate to Vista or Office 2007." SCCM's Application Compatibility Toolkit can quickly assess whether a machine is ready for an upgrade.
If it is, SCCM can save the user's documents and settings and reinstall them after performing the migration. When the user comes back, all they will notice is that their machine runs faster or they can access more features.
Managing a world of software
Upgrades are one thing, but do you know what's actually installed on all your organisation’s PCs, and how much of it is actually used?
SCCM can examine a PC and identify any mainstream software installed (that’s any software - not just Microsoft's) plus many specialist applications. Meanwhile, its new Asset Intelligence feature can compare the results against a catalogue of paid-up licences.
Moreover, SCCM can tell you how often the software is actually run (if ever!), so your organisation can avoid paying for loads of licences that it never uses - or avoid a visit from the boys in blue if it's under-licensed. Additionally, SCCM can root out and block blacklisted applications like games.
Supporting the new world of virtualised applications
"One of the cutting-edge elements of SCCM that really appeals to system administrators is its ability to deploy Microsoft virtual applications using AppV," says Oliver.
Because virtual apps hide so much of the complexity of a PC's operating environment - essentially, a new piece of software just has to be compatible with the PC's application virtualisation stack rather than every quirk of its hardware and software configuration - this innovation promises major benefits in terms of saving administrators’ time and improving reliability on the desktop.
When users need individual support, SCCM enables help-desk staff to provide direct assistance remotely. This includes direct access to the BIOS if the device refuses to boot correctly, so even a full rebuild can be done online without the need to physically visit the PC. Confidential data on the PC can be locked out by the user so it's invisible to the help-desk administrator.
Another challenge is the ever increasing use of mobile devices within trusts and other NHS organisations. SCCM features enhanced support for mobile devices, which can now be accessed while roaming on an internal network, and also via a secure internet connection.
So, for example, a team of district nurses could have their laptops upgraded, patched and maintained from home while off duty.
SCCM supports all your technology and all your suppliers
Microsoft has built a very rich network of partners to support SCCM. Dell, for example, has produced a deployment pack for its servers.
"You can build or rebuild a Dell server from bare metal in about 90 minutes without ever setting eyes on the machine," says Oliver. Another partner, Quest, has produced SCCM add-ons for Apple and Linux platforms.
Deploying SCCM requires a degree of planning, but there are many Microsoft partners available to help, and there's a CUI guide devoted to the subject.
Client licences are available through the NHS Enterprise Agreement, although client devices generally need to be on Active Directory and running Windows XP, NT or Vista. You'll also need one or more SCCM server licences, depending on the number of users.
"To put it simply, SCCM offers best-of-breed management for the Windows platform," says Oliver. "It shipped in 2007, so there are plenty of skills available from the IT partner network, and the current release has proved to be exceptionally stable.
“And because the next Service Pack upgrade isn't scheduled to ship until 2010, you know it won't be superseded the minute you've got it up and running, so now is an excellent time to move to SCCM."