Stephan's Blog: April 2011

22 April 2011

Exchange connector in SCCM 2012 B2

Hi,

for mobile device management in ConfigMgr 2012 we need the Exchange connector.
The Exchange connector is transfers the mobile device administration from an Exchange administrator to SCCM.

This gives:
- Inventory and reporting possiblities
- ActiveSync policy
- Remote Wipe capability
- On-premise or Hosted Exchange are supported
- Support for all Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) devices like WP7, Symbian, Android etc.

Let's take a look how to configure this.
In the Administration section of the Wunderbar we Add Exchange Server:

Here we have the possibility the choose the Exchange environment we like the connect to:

Select an (service) account which will communicate with the Exchange server. This account needs to be able to access the Exchange environment. With the nice new RBAC features of Exchange you can limit the access.

If you have multiple CAS server they can be added or not under the Advanced options.

The connector is now ready and can be used to synchronize with Exchange. Use the Synchronize Now button from the Ribbon ;)

After the sync is completed the resources will be visible in the All Mobile Devices Collection, found under Assets and Compliance.

There is no client on my iPhone, so only light management possible. Under Properties the settings are visible.
I can do a Remote Wipe, but let not do that now.

Mobile devices in SCCM 2012 B2 First Look

Hi,

with the introduction of SCCM 2012 Microsoft Mobile Device Management in ConfigMgr is enhanced. Up until now the management of mobile devices was done by Mobile Device Management 2008 (MDM), SCCM 2007 R3 and/or Exchange 2007/2010.

Now an Exchange administrator has to manage mobile devices like Windows Moblie 6.0/6.1/6.5, WindowsCE 6.0, Nokia Symbian, Apple iPhone, Android, Windows 7 Phone etc. devices. With the new functionality in SCCM 2012 this is shifted towards the SCCM administrator, so we have 1 console to administer desktops, servers and mobile devices. Cool!

The topology needed for mobile device management consists of:

Web proxy for enrollment
Service point for enrollment
Management point
Distribution point
Software catalog if needed
SCCM site in HTTPs mode (Native mode)
Exchange connector

Then we have 2 options for mobile device management:

Simple or light management
Full or indepth management

What can we do with it?
Well here's an overview:

: Mobile device management overview

(EAS = Exchange ActiveSync, WM = Windows Mobile)

Device information is collected through the Exchange connector.

For a device enrollment the proces for WinCE and WM 6.0 is the same as in SCCM 2007, WM 6.0/6.5 and Nokia have the capability of over-the-air enrollment via HTTPs.

Registered mobile devices are added to the SCCM site and deliver inventory information. This information is provided in the console like any other resource with can be accessed with the Resource Explorer.
This also means that mobile device settings can be evaluated. Things like baseline settings and monitoring are at hand in 1 console, nice.

Finally there is a possibility for a Remote Wipe. This comes in handy when a user loses his or her mobile device. Simple devices are wiped with the next policy and indepth devices are wiped with a next e-mail sync.
This simplifies the proces of mobile device security.

So mobile device management in SCCM 2012 is a nice feature for the Configuration Management administrator as well for the Exchange administrator.

15 April 2011

Request Applications in SCCM 2012 Beta 2

Hi,

in the last post (here) we set up the Application Catalog Website.
We made an application that needed administrator approval.

How does this look like?

First the user sends a request.

: Application Catalog Website

: Software Request

: Software Request submitted

Oke the Request was submitted.

: Software Request pending

The user has the ability to cancel the request.

: Software request cancel

As shown in the SCCM 2012 console there is a software request.

: SCCM 2012 Software request

Now the administrator can Approve or Deny the Request.

: Approve or Deny Request

You can give a reason or comment.

: Request SCCM 2012 Beta 2

And the request is Approved. The user can now install the requested software.

: Granted request ConfigMgr 2012

User clicks install and needs to confirm.

: Software installation by user SCCM2012

And here it is!

: Software installation

: Software installation - part 2

: Software installation - part 3

: Software installation - here it is!

That is well done by our friends in Redmond!

Using Application Catalog in SCCM 2012 Beta 2

Hi,

in the last post (here) we set up the Application Catalog Website. But it is still empty.

As stated before we can now provide software to users, and be able to approve requests.

Let's deploy some applications.
- XML Notepad, free to use for users;
- Google Chrome, needs approval from a manager.

I have setup the 2 applications.

: Application Catalog in SCCM2012

Now we need to deploy them.

: Application Deployment - Request needed

: Application Deployment - Request needed

That's one:

: Application Deployment - Request needed

Now the other. No need for administrator approval!

: Application Deployment - No Request needed

That's two ;-)

: Application Deployment - No Request needed

Oke so the Applications have been added, how does this look like from a user perspective?

The user goes to the Software Center.

: SCCM2012 client start menu

: Software Center

: Software Center

All empty?! But wait there is an option 'Track my application requests' or 'Find additional applications from the Application Catalog'.

: Application Catalog Website

Now i can request Google Chrome or install XML Notepad. Nice :-)

Software Center and Application Catalog in SCCM 2012 Beta 2

Hi,

Well oke, the RAP (Run Advertised Program) is gone in ConfigMgr 2012, and we got the Software Center in return. Nice but now what?

For Advertised Programs we now have the: Application Catalog!

The Application Catalog is a web-site where a user can find his/her software. For an administrator it is also possible to authorize software, the user asks if the software can be deployed to his/her workstation. This might come in handy when licensing is an issue, or when a manager wants to be able to monitor application installations.

Oke nice, but how do we set this up.

Because ConfigMgr 2012 relies on .NET and uses WCF (Windows Communication Foundation) we need to install the HTTP Activation feature from the WCF Activation:

: HTTP Activation feature

If this is not done it will result in following error:

There is a problem connecting with the server.
The Web site cannot communicate with the server. This may be a temporary problem. Click retry action to submit your request again. If this problem continues, try again later.