System Center Essentials:
RedMonk Brain-dump
cote@redmonk.com
August, 2007

Overview
•Red/green light monitoring & more
•Management tasks, not just “read”
•Provisioning and updates
•Extensible with Management Packs
•Wide Microsoft coverage
•Entry price: $2,000 (sticker)
•For mid-size companies
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Target Market
•Mid-market
•Limits: 30 servers, 500 clients, 50
“network devices”
•1-n “IT Pros” on staff
•4 days worth of historic data
•22k eval downloads May 1st to Aug 07
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Pricing
•90 day trial
•Base: $2,000 for 10 servers, 50 clients
•More Servers: $100/server
•More Clients: $20/client (batches of 5)
•Will ship with Windows SMB
•Also: requires Windows SMB or Server
•Also: scaling up requires SQL Server
•Of course: volume discounts
•Details:http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/essentials/howtobuy/
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Install
•Requires Windows SMB or Server
•Should take “about an hour”
•Discovery (through AD & manual)
•Requires ActiveDirectory
•Select monitored “objects”
•Configure software updates
•Deploy agents as needed
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Coverage
•Windows Client (2000, XP, Vista)
•Windows Server (2000, Server 2003)
•Physical and virtual
•Exchange, SQL Server, Office,
SharePoint, CRM 3.0, Data Protection
Manager, IIS
•ActiveDirectory, Event & App Log
•SNMP, OLE DB, network ports,
Windows services
•Web transactions
•Any Management Pack (~200
available)
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Management & Doing Stuff
•In-line tasks - “fix it now” links,
diagnostic tasks
•Trouble shooting help for select apps
•“Expert Knowledge”
•Provisioning - very full featured
•Help includes screencasts
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Reporting
•30-50 reports out-of-the-box
•Asset auditing, update compliance,
health
•Daily health report: asset, config,
monitoring, actions to take.
•Imported Management Pack reports
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Daily Health
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Notifications
•Standard...
•Email
•SMS
•Pager
•No third party integration
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Asset Management
•Catalogs software and hardware
•Based on Add/Remove Programs list
•Reports for compliance
•Implicit asset policy through reports
•Update/provision software
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Interface: Overview
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Panels
•Computers - navigate assets, see
details, run tasks, etc.
•Monitoring - view alerts, tasks, params
•Updates - get, approve, schedule
patches from Microsoft & others
•Software - deploy new software, e.g.,
Office
•Reporting
•Administration - mgmt packs & co.
•Authoring - build from “templates”
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Interface: Computer Detail
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Interface: Computer Detail, XP
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Network Topology
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Interface: Monitoring Detail
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Interface: Software
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Authoring
•Wizards to add “simple” objects
•Web transactions: includes teaching
•OLE DB (remote)
•Network port (“TCP port”)
•Windows service
•Add name, version, expert knowledge
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Limitations & Co.
•Scaling ceilings
•“Primarily” Windows software assets*
•Non-computer devices (mobile, etc.)
•Integration
•Install Requirements
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Future
•Service Desk?
•AssetMetrix - integrate with
fingerprints, asset discovery
•SaaS - questionable as Microsoft likes
“connected services”
•“Free” - bundled with Server editions
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