Archive for: ‘October 2011’

SCSM2012 Beta – Powershell improvements

October 29, 2011 Posted by Anders Asp

Even though Service Manager 2010 had some CMDlets for us to utilize, there weren’t much we could do with them. In fact, we had a total of 28 CMDlets and most of these is used to do maintenance tasks or behind the scene configuration. Let’s say there were plenty of CMDlets to wish for…

Well, guess what. Microsoft must’ve felt the same way, because in Service Manager 2012, we now have a totalt of 122 CMDlets! With the combination of these CMDlets and the SMLets, we can now do pretty much anything in Service Manager using powershell! (No, these new CMDlets does not replace SMLets in any way, we’re still going to have a use for those)

Here’s a list of all the CMDlets in SCSM 2012:

Add-SCSMAllowListClass
Export-SCManagementPack
Export-SCSMManagementPack
Get-SCClass
Get-SCClassInstance
Get-SCDiscovery
Get-SCGroup
Get-SCManagementGroupConnection
Get-SCManagementPack
Get-SCObjectTemplate
Get-SCRelationship
Get-SCRelationshipInstance
Get-SCRunAsAccount
Get-SCSMAllowList
Get-SCSMAnnouncement
Get-SCSMChannel
Get-SCSMClass
Get-SCSMClassInstance
Get-SCSMCommand
Get-SCSMConnector
Get-SCSMDCMWorkflow
Get-SCSMDeletedItem
Get-SCSMDiscovery
Get-SCSMEmailTemplate
Get-SCSMEmailTemplateContent
Get-SCSMGroup
Get-SCSMManagementGroupConnection
Get-SCSMManagementPack
Get-SCSMObjectTemplate
Get-SCSMPortalCMConfiguration
Get-SCSMPortalContactConfiguration
Get-SCSMPortalDeploymentProcess
Get-SCSMPortalSoftwarePackage
Get-SCSMQueue
Get-SCSMRelationship
Get-SCSMRelationshipInstance
Get-SCSMRunAsAccount
Get-SCSMSetting
Get-SCSMSubscription
Get-SCSMTask
Get-SCSMUser
Get-SCSMUserRole
Get-SCSMView
Get-SCSMWorkflow
Get-SCSMWorkflowStatus
Import-SCManagementPack
Import-SCSMInstance
Import-SCSMManagementPack
New-SCADConnector
New-SCClassInstance
New-SCCMConnector
New-SCManagementGroupConnection
New-SCManagementPack
New-SCManagementPackBundle
New-SCOMAlertConnector
New-SCOMConfigurationItemConnector
New-SCOrchestratorConnector
New-SCRelationshipInstance
New-SCRunAsAccount
New-SCSMADConnector
New-SCSMAlertRule
New-SCSMAnnouncement
New-SCSMClassInstance
New-SCSMCMConnector
New-SCSMDCMWorkflow
New-SCSMEmailTemplate
New-SCSMManagementGroupConnection
New-SCSMManagementPack
New-SCSMManagementPackBundle
New-SCSMOMAlertConnector
New-SCSMOMConfigurationItemConnector
New-SCSMPortalDeploymentProcess
New-SCSMRunAsAccount
New-SCSMSubscription
New-SCSMUserRole
New-SCSMWorkflow
New-SCVMMConnector
Protect-SCManagementPack
Protect-SCSMManagementPack
Remove-SCClassInstance
Remove-SCManagementGroupConnection
Remove-SCManagementPack
Remove-SCRelationshipInstance
Remove-SCRunAsAccount
Remove-SCSMAllowListClass
Remove-SCSMAnnouncement
Remove-SCSMClassInstance
Remove-SCSMConnector
Remove-SCSMDCMWorkflow
Remove-SCSMEmailTemplate
Remove-SCSMManagementGroupConnection
Remove-SCSMManagementPack
Remove-SCSMPortalDeploymentProcess
Remove-SCSMRelationshipInstance
Remove-SCSMRunAsAccount
Remove-SCSMSubscription
Remove-SCSMUserRole
Remove-SCSMWorkflow
Reset-SCSMAllowList
Restore-SCSMDeletedItem
Set-SCManagementGroupConnection
Set-SCSMChannel
Set-SCSMManagementGroupConnection
Set-SCSMPortalCMConfiguration
Set-SCSMPortalContactConfiguration
Start-SCSMConnector
Test-SCManagementPack
Test-SCSMManagementPack
Update-SCClassInstance
Update-SCRunAsAccount
Update-SCSMAnnouncement
Update-SCSMClassInstance
Update-SCSMConnector
Update-SCSMDCMWorkflow
Update-SCSMEmailTemplate
Update-SCSMPortalDeploymentProcess
Update-SCSMPortalSoftwarePackage
Update-SCSMRunAsAccount
Update-SCSMSetting
Update-SCSMSubscription
Update-SCSMUserRole
Update-SCSMWorkflow

I know the list is long, and maybe it really wasn’t necessary to list them all in this post – but I wanted to show you how many 122 CMDlets actually is.

Microsoft also added a task to launch a powershell session from the Service Manager console. This makes it even easier to use powershell to do certain things and it feels like they encourage us to use it aswell.

Is there a use for all this CMDlets? I don’t know, but the risk of not having a CMDlets when you need it, has certainly decreased alot! I know for sure that I’m going to use some of these new CMDlets to script the configuration of freshly installed Service Manager environments.

 

SCSM2012 Beta – Two “minor” important news

October 28, 2011 Posted by Anders Asp

There’s two “minor” news that’s actually pretty important.

First – The ability to search for users using their usernames in the User Pickers! A simple thing that all my customers has asked for. The userpickers also displays the selected users username in the field.

Second – Parallel activities in Change. At first when Microsoft stated that they would introduce parallel activities to Service Manager, the plan was actually to do so for Service Request and Release Management only! But after discussing this with the community and customers, Microsoft realised that they had to implement this in the Change Request process as well. As if that wasn’t enough, the Change Request form was updated with the new, good looking and drag n’ drop interface for activities!

 

There’s plenty of more SCSM 2012 blogposts to come – stay tuned! ๐Ÿ™‚

 

Installing SCSM 2012 Beta

October 28, 2011 Posted by Anders Asp

I hope that you’re as excited about the release of the public beta as I’m, and I wanted to write this blogpost to help youย get started with it. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, please see my previous post for a link to the download page.

Let’s start by taking a looking at the Software Requirements for SCSM2012 beta and compare them to SCSM2010:

Server role SCSM 2010 SP1 SCSM 2012 Beta
Management server
  • Windows Server 2008 x64 – or higher
  • .Net 3.5 framework with SP1
  • Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 x64
  • .Net 3.5 framework with SP1
  • Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable
  • ADO.NET Data Services Update for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
  • Powershell 2.0
Data Warehouse server
  • Windows Server 2008 x64 – or higher
  • .Net 3.5 framework with SP1
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 x64
  • .Net 3.5 framework with SP1
  • Powershell 2.0
Database server(s)
  • SQL Server 2008 SP1 x64 – or higher
  • .Net 3.5 framework with SP1 (if hosting DW dbs)
  • SQL Server 2008 SP1 x64 – or higher
  • .Net 3.5 framework with SP1 (if hosting DW dbs)
Service Manager console
  • Windows XP SP3
  • Windows Vista (Ultimate/Enterprise)
  • Windows 7(Professional/Ultimate)
  • .Net 3.5 framework with SP1
  • Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable
  • Windows Vista SP2 (Ultimate/Enterprise)
  • Windows 7(Professional/Ultimate)
  • .Net 3.5 framework with SP1
  • Powershell 1.0/2.0
  • ADO.NET Data Services Update for .NET Framework 3.5 SP1
  • Microsoft Analysis Management Objects (AMOs)
  • Microsoft Report Viewer Redistributable
Portals
  • Windows Server 2008 x64 – or higher
  • IIS 7 with IIS 6 metabase compatibility
  • ASP.NET 2.0
  • Windows Server 2008 R2 x64
  • IIS 7 with IIS 6 metabase compatibility
  • ASP.NET 2.0
  • .NET Framework 4
  • SharePoint 2010
For more info regarding the requirements, please take a look at TechNet
SCSM 2010 SP1 reqs:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff460997.aspx
SCSM 2012 Beta reqs:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh519608.aspx

 

As you can see the list has changed from 2010 to 2012, and the most significant changes is marked in red.

You are now required to have Windows Server 2008 R2 Sp1 on your management, data warehouse and portal servers. This means that if you have a current installation of SCSM2010 on another OS (which would be a non R2 version), you will not be able to upgrade to SCSM 2012 the day it is released. Another important thing to note is that you won’t be able to install the SCSM 2012 client on a Windows XP machine. (Okey, we’re in a beta, so all this could change, but i highly doubt it…)

As the Self-service Portal is completly re-done, it will now require SharePoint 2010 (and all clients that connects to the portal requires Silverlight 4.0 – which only works in IE).

Allright, so in my scenario I have a freshly installed Windows Server 2008 R2 Sp1 x64 which will act as my SCSM 2012 management server. The databases will be placed on a separate SQL server. All required accounts has been pre-created and given the correct permissions.
(Take a look at this link for required accounts and permissions: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh519599.aspx)

  1. When running the setup I will be prompted that .NET framework 3.5 SP1 is required. It allows me to press Ok to download and install it, so let’s do that…
    Even though this looks all good, it will result in an error message and a failed installation. But don’t worry – the error message is actually helpful (for once).
  2. Press OK to close the error message and close the little setup windows. Now open Server Manager – go to Features and press the Add Features button. Expand the .NET Framework 3.5.1 Features and check .NET Framework 3.5.1. Then hit Next followed by Install.
  3. When that’s done we can start the setup again. Once the setup wizard is loaded, we’ll chose to install a Service Manager management server.
  4. On the next page we’ll check the “Install as an evaluation edition” and that we’ve “Read and understood the license terms” (and remember to read everything!! ;P )
  5. Next, the wizard will check if you fulfill all the requirements to be able to install SCSM 2012. I do not…
  6. The report viewer redist. can be installed from the wizard, so start by doing that. The “Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Native Client” and the “Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Management Objects” cannot however. The wizard does provide us with link to where we can get it though. So go to those links, download and install these. Please note that these download pages is a bit messy with loads of different downloads. Be careful to read what you are actually downloading!
  7. After you’ve installed the mising requirements, you are actually forced to restart the setup. Clicking the “Check prerequsities again” doesn’t work on theย “Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Analysis Management Objects”. This time when you get to this page, you should be able to continue though.
  8. On the next page we’ll have to specify where the database should be hosted. There’s nothing special to this page, just enter the information asked for and hit Next.
  9. Here you’re supposed to enter a management group name and an admin group. Just make sure to use a unique management group name here and if you haven’t created the necessary groups and accounts in AD – now is the time to do so ๐Ÿ™‚
  10. The next two pages requires you to enter the service account credentials and the workflow account credentials. Then you’re basicly done.
  11. When you’ve pressed the install button, the actually installation will begin and we’ll be able to follow the installation process. If something goes wrong revise the installation log for more information. I’ll gladly help you troubleshoot failed installations – just post a comment in this blogpost and we’ll sort it out ๐Ÿ™‚
  12. And we’re finished! We can now start exploring SCSM 2012!
    We would need to install the rest of the server roles to get full functionallity, but the installation process hasn’t really been touch and it’s not like it’s rocket science to get through these wizards. The portal installation which requires SharePoint 2010 might cause some headache though, so I might do an installation blog-post on that later on.

 

SCSM 2012 Public Beta is here!

October 27, 2011 Posted by Anders Asp

No, this isn’t a typo. The public beta of System Center Service Manager 2012 is finally here!

This means that we now can discuss and blog about all the new exiciting features, improvements and fixes that are included in this version. My guess is that we will see loads of new blogposts on various SCSM blogs all over the internet now, including www.scsm.se of course! ๐Ÿ™‚

Download link:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=27844&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3a+MicrosoftDownloadCenter+$Microsoft+Download+Center$

Edit – TechNet is also updated with the SCSM 2012 documentations, take a look here:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh305220.aspx