News

Configuration Manager 2007 SP2 Beta Released

Microsoft last week released a public beta of Configuration Manager Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Configuration Manager is part of the company's System Center product family of management solutions for physical and virtual environments. Microsoft's last update to Configuration Manager was Service Pack 1, which was released in May of 2008. In August, an R2 version was released.

SP2 is currently being tested by Microsoft's Technology Adoption Program participants and this public release broadens that testing.

A release candidate version of Configuration Manager SP2 is planned for this summer. The final product is expected sometime in January of 2010, according to the Microsoft Connect site.

For this release, Microsoft expanded Windows support. SP2 supports Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 SP2, as well as client operating systems Windows 7 and Windows Vista SP2.

SP2 adds support for computers using Intel's VPro chipset and Active Management Technology (AMT) versions 4 and 5. Intel claims that its AMT technology helps IT pros better discover assets, such as desktop and remote PCs, even when the power is turned off those machines.

Microsoft has pointed to a problem in SP1 and SP2 in which "AMT clients are 'successfully' provisioned however their accounts are not created in the Out Of Band OU [organizational unit] specified." The problem stems from lack of support for disjointed namespaces, according to this blog, which suggests a workaround.

SP2 will allow users to sync with Microsoft's inventory for hardware and applications via a solution called Asset Intelligence. Microsoft removed a certificate requirement for such access with the release of this service pack.

The new service pack also helps enable BranchCache functionality using Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. BranchCache was first introduced in Windows Vista. It's an operating system feature designed to help speed up data access across a company's branch offices.

Microsoft describes more of the features of Configuration Manager SP2 in its blog here.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

Featured

  • Microsoft Appoints Althoff as New CEO for Commercial Business

    Microsoft CEO and chairman Satya Nadella on Wednesday announced the promotion of Judson Althoff to CEO of the company's commercial business, presenting the move as a response to the dramatic industrywide shifts caused by AI.

  • Broadcom Revamps VMware Partner Program Again

    Broadcom recently announced a significant update regarding its VMware Cloud Service Provider (VCSP) program, coinciding with the release of VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.0, a key component in Broadcom’s private cloud strategy.

  • Closeup of the new Copilot keyboard key

    Microsoft Updates Copilot To Add Context-Sensitive Agents to Teams, SharePoint

    Microsoft has rolled out a new public preview for collaborative "always on" agents in Microsoft 365 Copilot, bringing enhanced, context-aware tools into Teams channels, meetings, SharePoint sites, Planner workstreams and Viva Engage communities.

  • Windows 365 Cloud Apps Now Available for Public Preview

    Microsoft announced this week that Windows 365 Cloud Apps are now available for public preview. This aims to allow IT administrators to stream individual Windows applications from the cloud, removing the need to assign Cloud PCs to every user.

Most   Popular