Administering Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0

Introduction

This three-day, instructor-led course provides students with the knowledge and skills required to administer Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2.0. It could be subtitled "A Day in the Life of an SMS Administrator." Students will learn how to discover and install clients, distribute software to client computers, collect hardware and software inventory, use software metering features, and use the remote tools. Students also will learn to troubleshoot common errors.

This course is a prerequisite for Course 828, Deploying and Supporting Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0.

This course supports the Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification program.

At Course Completion

At the end of the course, students will be able to:

• List and describe the elements that make up an SMS 2.0 site.
• Discover and install an SMS client.
• Collect and view hardware and software inventory.
• Distribute software to selected resources (computers, users, user groups).
• Configure and use software metering.
• Produce database reports.
• Configure, install, and use remote tools.
• Troubleshoot common problems with inventory collection, software distribution, remote tools, and software metering.

Microsoft Certified Professional Exams

This course will help the student prepare for the following Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) exam(s):

• Exam 70-086: Implementing and Supporting Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0

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Prerequisites

Before beginning this course, students should:

• Experience installing and configuring software applications and Microsoft Windows NT® operating systems
• Experience helping end users solve computer problems
• Pass the Networking Essentials certification exam or equivalent knowledge

The course materials, lectures, and lab exercises are in English. To benefit fully from our instruction, students need an understanding of the English language and completion of the prerequisites.

Course Materials and Software

The course workbook and lab book are yours to keep.

You will be provided with the following software for use in the classroom:

• Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 network operating system
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 operating system
• Microsoft Systems Management Server version 2.0

Course Outline

Day One

Module 1: Introduction to SMS 2.0

Topics

Microsoft Systems Management Server 2.0 features
Elements of an SMS 2.0 site
SMS site hierarchies
Web-Based Enterprise Management (WBEM) concepts
SMS Administrator console

Lab

Customizing Microsoft Management Console (MMC) for SMS

Skills

Students will be able to:

• List and describe the key features of SMS 2.0.
• List and define SMS 2.0 terminology.
• List and describe the elements that make up an SMS 2.0 site.
• Define WBEM and explain its application with SMS.
• Use MMC to carry out SMS administration.

Module 2: Discovering and Installing Clients

Topics

Discovery, assignment, and client installation
Assigning resources to sites
Configuring discovery methods
Installing clients
Troubleshooting client installation

Labs

Discovering network resources
Adding a client to an SMS site

Skills

Students will be able to:

• List the various methods of discovering site resources.
• Configure site assignment boundaries.
• Install SMS clients using a variety of methods.
• Remove SMS client software.

Module 3: Collecting Hardware and Software Inventory

Topics

Collecting hardware inventory
Collecting software inventory
Belonging to multiple sites
Viewing inventory data
Troubleshooting inventory collection

Labs

Configuring hardware inventory collection
Configuring software inventory collection
Viewing software and hardware inventory data

Skills

Students will be able to:

• Configure software inventory.
• Collect client files.
• Configure hardware inventory.
• View inventory data (current and historical).

Day Two

Module 4: Querying and Reporting Data

Topics

Querying the site database
Reporting data using Crystal Info
Reporting data using other tools

Lab

Querying and reporting data

Skills

Students will be able to:

• Build queries to locate specific objects in the site database.
• Produce simple reports using Crystal Reports.

Module 5: Distributing Software

Topics

Overview of software distribution
Creating packages and programs
Defining collections
Advertising programs to a collection
Running advertised programs at the client
Troubleshooting software distribution

Labs

Advertising programs to a collection
Running advertised programs

Skills

Students will be able to:

• Create a software package.
• Configure a program.
• Create a collection of resources.
• Advertise a program to a collection.
• Use Advertised Programs Wizard to run program advertisements received at the client computer.
• Identify where software distribution failed for a given situation.

Module 6: Using SMS Installer

Topics

Installing SMS Installer
SMS Installer environment
Creating an Installer executable file
Testing the Installer executable file
Compiling the script file
Rolling back an application
Patching an application installation

Labs

Installing software using SMS Installer
Modifying a registry setting
Patching software using SMS Installer

Skills

Students will be able to:

• Install SMS Installer.
• Install an application using SMS Installer.
• Modify an SMS Installer script file.
• Package a client task using SMS Installer.
• Roll back a client computer to its former state.
• Patch an application or data file using SMS Installer.

Day Three

Module 7: Using Software Metering

Topics

Configuring software metering
Using software metering
Troubleshooting software metering

Lab

Metering software usage

Skills

Students will be able to:

• Configure software metering.
• Configure application licensing.
• Use the software metering reporting functions.
• Troubleshoot common software metering problems.

Module 8: Remotely Supporting Computers with SMS

Topics

Network Trace
Health Monitor
Introduction to the remote tools
Configuring remote tools
Using remote functions
Multiple-site issues
Troubleshooting the remote tools

Labs

Using Network Trace
Using Health Monitor
Using remote control to solve problems

Skills

Students will be able to:

• Use Network Trace to determine status of SMS site systems.
• Use Health Monitor to determine status of computers running Microsoft Windows NT.
• Configure a site to use remote control.
• Use the SMS remote diagnostic utilities.
• Use remote functions.
• Troubleshoot common remote tool problems.

For more information or to give feedback, send e-mail to info@OneApex.com or call 949-597-2100