SCCM2012-UserGuide

MAKE - MICROSOFT SYSTEM
CENTER
By CallanHalls-Palmer
Callan Halls-Palmer
callanhallspalmer@hotmail.co.uk
This Document will includeguides and in-depth explanations of the different functions and
administrativetasks thatare availablein MAKE’s MicrosoftSystem Center 2012
Environment.

Microsoft System Center 2012 |
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Contents
Page 1 Contents Page
Page 2 SCCM - The basics
Page 3-11 Packaging, Distributing & Deploying
Applications
Page 12-14 Task Sequences
Page 15-16 Building a Workstation
Page 17-19 Monitoring
Page 20-21 Microsoft System Center 2012
Endpoint Protection
Page 22-25 Administration & Prestaging
Content
Page 26-27 Drivers
Page 28 Troubleshooting & Logs

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SCCM - The Basics
Basic Information
Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 houses multiple features that can be
used to make life easier when it comes to running a large amount of workstations within a
network. It includes such things as asset management, software deployment, workstation
builds, anti-virus protection, software updates, driver updates, user state migration and
many more useful tools that can be used to improve functionality when administering
multiple workstations across multiple sites.
Below is a screenshot of Configuration Manager displaying the main tabs that are used to
navigate the application with a brief explanation of what each tab contains.
Navigating Configuration Manager
Using the screenshot above take some time to familiarize yourself with the layout of
configuration manager, explorer all of the different components within each tab until you
feel comfortable that you know where everything is (this makes it a lot easier to begin
taking control of SCCM).
Device Collections
Our current configuration supports the deployment of applications, anti-virus updates, task
sequences and software updates with the use of device collections. It is important that
whenever deploying software to deploy it to the relevant device collection, if it doesn’t exist
you need to create it in the correct location and then assign the devices that you would like
to receive what you are deploying. Using WMI querying you can automatically update
device collections based on location of a device in Active Directory, this is the case for the
‘Make London All Desktops’ & ‘Make London All Laptops’ Device Collections which I have
previously set up (please learn about WMI Querying as it dynamically updates the Device
Collections making it easier for you to manage).
Packaging, Distributing &Deploying Applications
Packaging the application
The first step to packaging the application is to do your research and find if that particular
application has a deployment option or an admin image that you can create from the install
files. For example, Autodesk support deployment via SCCM so they provide a deployment

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option and details that will help you further on in the process. Autodesk 3DS Max 2015 will
be my example:
1. From your test machine or personal machine run Setup.exe from within the install
files.
2. Once the Application installer has loaded select ‘Create Deployment’.
3. In preparation for the next part you need to create a folder for the source files on
MAKELONSC01 here: ’SCCM Server’source$applicationsAutodesk 3DS Max
Design 2015.
4. Give the deployment a name, in this example it will be ‘Autodesk 3DS Max Design
2015’.
5. You are asked for an Administrative image path, please enter the path of the folder
that you created in step number 3. (’SCCM Server’source$applicationsAutodesk
3DS Max Design 2015).
6. Once you have finished the above the page should look like this:
7. Press next, accept the license agreement and then press next again.

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8. Fill out the Product Information and the location of the license server, press next.
9. Check the features that are being installed are correct and then select create.
(Go and grab a cup of tea because this part will take a little while).
10. Press finish once it has finished creating the deployment.
11. Remote desktop on to ‘SCCM Server and navigate to the folder that you created the
deployment in, you need to create or copy and edit the install batch file. Because the
batch files from the previous versions of 3DS Max are available we can copy the
install.bat from the Autodesk 3DS Max Design 2014 folder and paste it into the
Autodesk 3DS Max Design 2015 folder, you need to change the details of the batch
file to match the new version of 3DS Max (PLEASE NOTE! This is not the process for
every single application you package, this is the part that will differ with every piece
of software, it just so happens that this is the support method of installation for 3DS
Max 2015).
This is the install.bat taken from the source files for 3DS Max 2014, you need to
change the highlighted bit to match the .ini file for 3DS Max 2015. The vray install
isn’t currently available in this example but normally you would pass through to the
vray install as shown in the screen shot above.
12. The uninstall.bat can be created by copying the Autodesk 3DS Max Design
2015_Uninstall.txt file from the SMS_SCCM scripts folder and pasting it back into the
root of Autodesk 3DS Max Design 2015. Change the name to uninstall and change
the file type from .txt to .bat.
13. Once you have prepared the Autodesk 3DS Max Design 2015 source folder for the
creation of the application it should look like this:

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Creating the application in Configuration Manager
Open the configuration manager console on MAKELONSC01 and navigate to the applications
panel, begin the creation of the application as shown below.
Once you are in the Create Application Wizard you need to follow these instructions to
create an SCCMrecognisab1le application:
1. Select the option that says ‘Manually specify the application information’, press next.
2. Enter the information about the product, product name and manufacturer are the
only ones you need to worry about.
3. Press next and then next again.
4. This is the Deployment Types section, you need to make a deployment type for every
application that you create in SCCM. Press Add.

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5. This brings us into the Create Deployment Type Wizard, select ‘Manually specify
deployment type information’.
6. Enter the name of the deployment type (for this example its Autodesk 3DS Max
Design 2015), press next.
7. Enter the content location, it has to be referenced as a share not a local drive
(’SCCM Server’source$ApplicationsAutodesk 3DS Max Design 2015). In the
Installation program field enter install.bat and in the uninstall program enter
uninstall.bat (these are the batch files that you created earlier). This page should
look like this, if okay press next:
8. This page lets you specify how the application is detected on client machines by
SCCM, Press Add Clause and select Windows Installer which allows you to supply an
MSI product code that SCCM will recognise on any client machine (if there is no MSI
code you will have to install on a test machine and go into the registry to find the
MSI code, failing that you will have to supply a detection method that will work on
all client machines).
9. Paste the MSI product code into the Product code field, in this case you can find it in
the uninstall.bat in the source folder for 3DS Max 2015, press okay and then select
next.

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10. You configure the User Experience on this page for when the application installs, the
settings need to match the screen shot below, if so press next.
11. Press next at the Requirements page.
12. Press next at the Dependencies page (depending on the size of the application this
could take a while to move to the summary tab).
13. Press next on the Summary tab.
14. Press close.
15. Press next on the Deployment Types page and again on the Summary page, press
close on completion.
The application will now appear in the Applications panel within the Configuration Manager
Console, as shown below:
Distributing
The first step is distributing the application to the 4 Distribution Points that belong to the
SCCM environment.
1. Right click on your newly created application and select Distribute Content.
2. On the General page press next.
3. On the Content page press next.

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4. On the Content Destination page press Add and select Distribution Point from the
drop down list.
5. Tick all 4 Distribution Points and then select ok.
6. Press next at the Summary tab.
7. Press next at the progress tab.
8. Close once finished.
This begins the distribution process, the speed of this process is determined on the size of
the application (in our case it would take a while to distribute to Beijing and Hong Kong
because of the size of our application, so I have just selected the 2 London distribution
points).
You can monitor the process of the distribution by selecting the Monitoring tab, expanding
Distribution Status folder and then selecting the Content Status node. You will find Autodesk
3DS Max Design 2015 listed under content status and it will tell you whether it is in progress,
failed or it has succeeded.
Deploying
Firstly you need to create a Device Collection for your application.
1. Navigate to the Assets and Compliance tab and expand the Device Collections node,
you will see the different device collections.

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2. Select the Autodesk folder under Applications, this is where we are going to create
our new Device Collection for 3DS Max 2015.
3. Under the home tab at the top click on Create Device Collection.
4. Specify the name for this Device Collection, in this case it will be Autodesk 3DS Max
Design 2015.
5. Click browse on the Limiting Collection field and select All Systems, click next.
6. On the membership Rules page click next.
7. Press OK when the message pops up from Configuration Manager.
8. On the Summary page press next.
9. Press close on completion.
The next step is deploying the application to the Device Collection that you have just
created.
1. Go into the Software Library and click on the Applications node.
2. Find the application you want to deploy, in this case its 3DS Max 2015.
3. Right click it and select Deploy.
4. Click browse on the Collection field.
5. Find the Device Collection that you created in the previous steps (Autodesk 3DS Max
Design 2015).
6. A message will appear warning that there are no members in that Device Collection,
just press OK and then next.
7. On the Content page wait for the Distribution Points to appear and then press next.
8. This is the Deployment Settings page and this is where you specify the Action and
the Purpose, the action would obviously be install for an installation and the purpose
will vary depending on how you wanted to deploy the application. There are two
types of purpose:
 Available - This options advertises the application in the Software Center for
users to manually select and install.

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 Required - This option will automatically install the application as soon as
possible without any interaction.
For this example we are going to have the Purpose as available.
9. You can schedule the deployment on this page, it is best to leave the default settings,
press next.
10. On the User Experience page you need to change the User Notifications field to
‘Display in Software Center, and only show notifications for computer restarts’.
Leave the rest as default and press next.
11. Press next on the Alerts page.
12. Press next on the Summary page.
The application has now been packaged, distributed and deployed successfully to a device
collection, the next step is to test that your application installs on either a test machine or
your own machine.
1. Navigate to the Devices node within the Assets and Compliance tab and search for
your test machine, in this case I will test it on my laptop.
2. Right click the machine and select the highlighted option:
3. Select the Device Collection that you made in one of the previous sections:
4. After completing the previous steps you will have successfully made the application
available for install on the client machine.
5. On the machine that you have advertised the application to open up the Software
Center, you should see your application appear in the Available Software tab within
5 -10 minutes.

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6. Highlight the application and press install, the time taken to install the application
varies depending on the size. In this example it will take some time because 3DS Max
2015 is an extremely large application. It is important to highlight that in both
available and required deployments any previous versions of the application must be
closed when the software is installing otherwise it will not install properly.
This completes the Packaging, Distributing & Deploying section of this document, this guide
can be used as a reference for other pieces of software however it is important to note that
every piece of software is different and there is no 1 correct way to package an application
in SCCM. The basics are all here in this guide but you will have to get creative to get
different pieces of software to work with SCCM, especially software that doesn’t have a
deployment that is supported by SCCM such as 3DS Max 2015.
Task Sequences
Task sequences are basically the magic behind the PXE build, this builds the machine domain
joined with all the applications already installed. SCCMdoes this by recognising the MAC
address that needs to be manually entered as a device in the Assets and Compliance tab.
Creating a Task Sequence

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Navigate to the Task Sequences node within the Software Library and select which folder
you want to create your task sequence in based on the location and the type of build you
are creating. For this example we will create it under London > Test:
1. Select ‘Create a new custom task
sequence’ and press next on the Create New Task Sequence page.
2. On the Task Sequence Information page enter a name and fill out the description
which will basically state what the task sequence will do, next you need to select the
boot image. Press browse and select the x64 boot image. Your page should look like
this:
5. The Task Sequence template has been created now you need to piece together your
build process, right click your newly created task sequence and select edit.
6. I recommend taking parts of other task sequences to create your new one. For
example, open up the ‘MAKE Standard Build - Windows 7 Pro x64’ task sequence,
right click ‘Build the Windows 7 Pro x64 Machine’ and select copy.
7. Paste it into your new task sequence, this creates the basis for your task sequence.
You will have to change certain options if you want a different OS from the task

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sequence that you copied or you want to add or remove applications. Copy ‘Apply All
Windows Updates’ and paste it at the bottom of the task sequence.
8. The finished product after you have finished editing any options should look like this:
9. Press OK once you are satisfied.
Deploying a Task Sequence
You need to create a Device Collection before you can deploy your task sequence.
1. Navigate to the Device Collections node under the Assets and Compliance tab.
2. Expand MAKE Standard Builds, you will see that it has been organised by location so
you would normally create your Device Collection in the folder that corresponds to
the location that it will be used in (in this example I have created a folder called Test).
3. Once you are in the correct location press the ‘Create Device Collection’ button on
under the home tab.
4. Give your Device Collection a name, in this case I will call it MAKE-test.
5. Add ‘All Systems’ as the limiting collection, press next.
6. Press next on the Membership Rules page.
7. Press OK when the Configuration Manager message pops up.
10. Return to the location that you created your task sequence in.
11. Right click it and select deploy.
12. Press browse in the Collection field and select the Device Collection that you just
created, press next.
13. On the Deployment Settings page the settings should look like this before you
continue, if so press next:

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14. On the Scheduling page click next.
15. On the User Experience page the settings should look like this before you continue, if
so press next:
16. On the Alerts page press next.
17. On the Distribution Points page press next.
The task sequence has now been created and deployed, it can now be used to PXE build a
machine.
Building a Workstation
This is where the different task sequences come in to play, for example we can add the MAC
address of the machine we want to build and assign it to the MAKE-test task sequence that
was created in the previous section. We can then PXE boot the machine and SCCMwill run
through the task sequence which will in-turn install windows, join it to the domain, install all
the applications, install the SCCM client + Endpoint and then install all of the latest Windows
Updates.

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1. Plug in the machine that you want to build and attempt to PXE boot, you will see the
MAC address of the machine pop up. You will need to note this down (I usually take
a picture with my phone).
2. Once you have the MAC address you need to go into the Configuration Manager
Console and navigate to Devices under the Assets and Compliances tab.
3. Click ‘Import Computer Information’ under the home tab.
4. On the Select Source page select ‘Import Single Computer’
5. On the Single Computer page enter the name of the computer (make-ws7-xxxx), next
enter the MAC address of the machine and then press next.
6. On the Data Preview page click next.
7. On the Choose Target Collection page select ‘Add computers to the following
collection’ and then hit browse, select that Device Collection that will build the
machine the way you want it (in this example we will use the MAKE-test one that we
created earlier).

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10. After about 10 minutes turn on the workstation making sure it has a network cable
plugged into it that connects to the data network.
11. PXE boot the machine and wait for the prompt to push F12 (you will have to be quick
as it disappears quite quickly).
12. If you was successful hitting F12 in time SCCM will now be pushing down the WinPE
image to the machine.
13. When the files have finished downloading you will be asked for a PXE password,
enter it:
 PX3N0w
14. You will then have to select the task sequence and press install, the rest is
automated.
Once you have set the build process off you will have to wait about 2-3 hours for it to
complete but when it is finished you have yourself a fully built machine ready to hand out.
Monitoring
The monitoring tab basically does what it says on the tin, it provides multiple monitoring
functions that help you keep track of what the different components are doing and if there
are any issues. It also houses the reporting function which can uses SQL to query the
database and returns reports that are completely customizable.
Deployments
The deployments tab is there to help you monitor the different deployments for all of the
applications that you have deployed in your SCCM environment. You can select a
deployment and receive completion statistics and the content status of the application on
the DP’s. If you click view status you get a list of clients that succeeded, still in progress,
failed and requirements not met, this helps pinpoint the machine and user that didn’t
receive the deployment.

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Distribution Status
The distribution tab contains 2 nodes that are extremely useful monitoring tools, Content
Status and Distribution Point Configuration Status.
Content Status
The content status tab helps to monitor and troubleshoot the status of content that is being
distributed to the Distribution Points.
Distribution Point Configuration Status

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The distribution point configuration status tab helps to monitor that health of your
Distribution Points, you can begin to troubleshoot issues that you might be having with the
distribution points by selecting a DP and clicking the details tab.
Endpoint Protection Status
The endpoint protection status tab gives you an overview of the level of protection across
the network using the System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection Status tab. Also, you can see
a list of current and historic malware that has been picked up within your network.
System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection Status
The screenshot below displays the endpoint status of all of all desktops and laptops in the
London office.
Malware Detected

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The screenshot below displays a list of discovered malware, the computers that were
effected and whether it was remediated on all computers.
Microsoft SystemCenter 2012 Endpoint Protection
Built in to Microsoft System Center is Endpoint Protection which is an anti-virus solution
that can be centrally managed from the SCCM server, the client is automatically installed by
the server after the SCCM client is installed. Endpoint Protection can be found under the
Assets and Compliance tab, this is where the policies are centrally managed.
Antimalware Policies
This is the component that manages the multiple antimalware policies that we have defined
for our network.

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Creating and Deploying Antimalware Policies
1. Navigate to the Antimalware Polices node under the Endpoint Protection folder in
Assets and Compliance.
2. In the home tab click ‘Create Antimalware Policy’
3. Give the policy a name and then tick all the components that you would to make
part of your policy.
4. Go through and edit all of the settings that make up your policy and then press OK.
5. Right click your newly created policy and select deploy.
6. Select the Device Collection that you would like this antimalware policy to apply to
(All Systems, MAKE London Desktops and Laptops etc.) and then press OK.
You have now deployed a new antimalware policy to your selected Device Collection.
Endpoint Definition Updates
I have configured the Endpoint updates so that they are downloaded, packaged and
deployed automatically to all client machines on a daily basis. This ensures that the policy

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definitions are kept up to date therefore maintaining a secure environment. This is done by
creating a Deployment Package and then an Automatic Deployment Rule which makes the
package run on a daily basis (the Deployment Package is shown below).
Administration
The administration tab houses multiple options for configuration, you only need to go here
to make administrative changes which isn’t very often. I will explain the different nodes that
you will need to use.
Boundaries & Boundary Groups
This section basically controls the IP ranges and groups that are able to receive endpoint
updates, applications and software updates from the SCCM server. If you need to add an IP
range for a site office or a new office you will need to follow these instructions:
1. Navigate to the Boundaries node under the Hierarchy folder in the Administration
tab.
2. Under the home tab press ‘Create Boundary’.
3. Enter a description for the Boundary, such as ‘Boundary IP range for X site office’.
4. In the type field select IP address range.
5. Enter the starting IP address and the ending IP address.

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6. You then have to go into Boundary Groups which is situated just below the
Boundaries node.
7. Under the home tab press ‘Create Boundary Group’.
8. Enter a name for your boundary group (name of your site office).
9. Press Add and select the IP range that you previously created.
10. Press OK.
This completes the steps required to configure the boundary settings for a new office or site
office.
Distribution Points
Distribution Points receive data that is pushed out to them from the site server and then
they cache that data for use in the location that the DP is located, this can include updates
or applications etc. For example, the DP in Beijing has had content distributed to it so that
the users in the Beijing office can download and install applications or re-build workstations
with ease. The Distribution Points node under the Administration tab is where you will find
the configured DP’s, you can go into the properties of any of these DP’s and configure them
so they behave in a way that is suited to your organization.
There are various options in the properties window of a selected DP that you will need to
use at some point.
Content Tab
The content tab shows you any Applications, Driver Packages or Deployment Packages that
have been pushed out to that DP, from there you can validate, redistribute or remove the
content from the selected distribution point. The content tab is generally the only one you
will need to access or edit from within the DP properties.
Prestaging Content
This involves creating a .pkgx file which contains the application and information that allows
it to be imported on a remote DP, you would use this method of distribution if the line to a

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remote site is too slow to send a large package. The only DP that you would need to use this
setting on is ‘Remote DP’ this is because the line to this studio is severely overloaded. To
prestage an application you need to follow these instructions:
1. Right click the DP and select properties.
2. Under the General tab tick the box that says ‘Enable this Distribution Point for
prestage content’.
3. Navigate to the Applications node from within the Software Library.
4. Select the application that you want to prestage.
5. Right click and select ‘Create Prestage Content File’.
6. Press browse and choose a location for the .pkgx file to be created, give it a name
(test.pkgx) and then press next.
7. Wait for the content to validate and then press next.
8. On the Content Locations tab press Add and select ‘SCCM Server’ & ‘Local DP’. Press
next.
Transferring the file
1. Copy the .pkgx file and paste it on your desktop.
2. Open Newforma and go into the IT project.

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3. Click on Info Exchange.
4. Select ‘New File Transfer’.
5. Put in your MAKE email address and enter a subject like .pkgx file.
6. Select the ‘files to transfer*’ tab and click ‘Add Files’.
7. Find the .pkgx file you pasted on your desktop and select it.
8. Press Transfer and await confirmation that the file has been sent.
Importing the file.
1. Log in to the remote DP.
2. Open up Internet Explorer.
3. Navigate to FTP Site and log in with your details.
4. You will see an email that you have received a file from Newforma, click on the
email and click on the link that will let you download the file from the Info Exchange
server.
5. Once the file has downloaded on to the remote DP copy it into C: you need to
extract & import it using the extractcontent.exe command line tool (this can be
found on ‘SCCM Server’ here: C:Extract Content Command Line
Toolextractcontent.exe). Copy the command line tool into C:.
6. Log on to the remote DP and open up an Administrative Command Prompt.
7. “cd” to C: and run the following commands (*=name of .pkgx file):
 “extractcontent.exe /P:C:*.pkgx /C /I”
 “extractcontent.exe /P:C:*.pkgx”
8. You can monitor the progress of the export by opening the PrestageContent.log on
the remote DP which can be found here:
C:SMS_DP$smslogsPrestageContent.log
9. After about 30 minutes you will be able to monitor the progress of the distribution
by navigating to the Content Status node under the Monitoring tab on the site
server.
Drivers
Keeping your drivers up to date in your SCCM environment is extremely important. You
need to keep your boot images and your task sequences equipped with compatible drivers
for new workstations and laptops.
Downloading Drivers
There is a built in utility by HP that allows you to download driver packages for certain
workstations (HPZ400) without leaving the server, so you can download and import right
from the ‘SCCM Server’. Downloading drivers for Dell machines means that you have to go
out and download the driver packages from the internet.

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Importing Drivers
It is easy to import drivers with the HP & Dell utilities, just select which publisher you want
and then run through the wizard.
Adding drivers to Boot Images
Sometimes you will need to add drivers to the boot image for you to be able to boot into
WinPE on newer machines.
1. Navigate to the Boot Images node from within the Software Library tab.

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2. Right click Boot Image (x64) and select properties.
3. Click the Drivers tab.
4. Select the Add Drivers button
5. Select the driver that you want to inject into the boot image, press OK.
6. Press OK when you have finished adding drivers.
7. Right click the boot image and click on ‘Update Distribution Points’.
8. Run through the update process.
Troubleshooting & Logs
It is important you are able to effectively troubleshoot problems with SCCM which requires
an understanding of PowerShell and scripting as well as being able to read the various
different log files that are created by SCCM.
PowerShell & VBS Scripts
In C: there is a folder called ‘Scripts’ which houses various scripts that I have put together
while troubleshooting problems within the environment. It’s also the location where I store
the .pkgx files before they are copied down to my local machine. Gain a better
understanding of what each script does before you start using them as you can do some real
damage if you go changing things and running scripts blindly.
SQL Management Studio
Sometimes the log files do not tell you enough so you will need to go into the SQL
Management Studio to find out if there are any issues with any of the packages (PLEASE BE
CAREFUL IN HERE, MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT EDIT ANYTHING UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT
YOU’RE DOING!). It is important that you learn how to run Queries to find what you are
looking for more effectively.
Viewing & Understanding Logs
SCCM is constantly writing log files, they are your best friend when it comes to getting to
the bottom of a problem. The log files are located on MAKELONSC01 here: ’SCCM
Server’SMS_M01Logs and the best viewing tool to use is CMTrace. CMTrace will
automatically highlight any errors in the log file in red and any warnings in yellow so learn
what each log file represents so you know where to look in the event of an error.

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