Microsoft Gets System Configuration Manager Out the Door

Published: August 29, 2007

by Timothy Prickett Morgan

This week, Microsoft announced that it has released its System Center Configuration Manager 2007 software to manufacturing. System Center Configuration Manager is a kicker to the current Systems Management Server 2003 R2 for the Windows server and desktop platforms, which as the name suggests is used to provision and patch Windows boxes.

Specifically, SCCM 2007 automates the process of deploying, migrating, or assessing Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 server platforms, Windows Vista and Windows XP desktop platforms, and other Windows-based mobile devices. The software makes use of Microsoft Update and Active Directory to provision and patch Windows machines over the network, and can be used for local and remote machines.

SCCM 2007 also integrates with the System Center Virtual Machine Manager, which is the extension for System Center to manage Virtual Server 2005 partitions and partitions created for the future "Viridian" virtual machine hypervisor for Windows Server 2008. SCCM 2007 also hooks into SoftGrid, an application virtualization software layer that Microsoft got by virtue of its acquisition of a company called Softricity back in May 2006. The SoftGrid program allows end users to seamlessly use a mix of local PC and remote server-hosted applications, but everything looks and acts like it is running locally on the Windows XP or Vista machine.

SCCM 2007 also supports the Network Access Protection scheme developed by Microsoft, which scans notebooks, PCs, and other machines coming on to the network to make sure they have correct security and other settings before allowing them onto the network. If a machine is not up to par, SCCM 2007 has processes to get a client updated and patched and then lets them on the network to play.

SCCM 2007 will be generally available in November through Microsoft and its vast partner channel network. If you are dying to get your hands on the final code for SCCM 2007 and you are a subscriber to Microsoft's TechNet service, then you can get a four-month trial of the SCCM 2007 code on the TechNet site.

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