In this post, we will be looking at using SCCM dynamic queries to populate collections in our deployments. As an SCCM administrator, you most likely had to plan out mass deployments to all your servers or workstations or even both. How did you go ahead and populate your collections? Queries? Since the introduction of SCCM 2012, we now have a multitude of options, most notably: Direct membership Queries Include a collection Exclude a collection Chances are, if you are deploying new software to be part of a baseline for workstations (for example), you will also add it to your task sequence. In my past life, I must admit, I really did like queries. They can be such a powerful tool to populate your collections. I always was looking for ways to pimp the usual types of queries we use. For example, we developed a fabulous list of operational collections that we … Read More
Install Specific Office 365 Version using SCCM
Managing Office 365 with SCCM is becoming a popular task among SCCM administrators. Depending of your company policy and Office 365 Channel, you may have to manage/install/uninstall specific version on client computers no matter the available version in your assigned channel. For example, you may want to downgrade an up-to-date Monthly version (v1711) to a Deferred version(v1705). This procedure also works to upgrade a Deferred version to an up-to-date version. Please note that this procedure is not meant to change Office Channel on a client, use this to install a specific version no matter the Channel. Package Creation The first thing to understand is that to update an Office installation, you need to use the OfficeC2RClient.exe program that resides on the client. This command support various command line and switches. In our example, we will use Updatetoversion to specify the version 7766.2119 (1701) and forceappshutdown to force Office applications to close. The tricky … Read More
Upgrade to Internet Explorer 11 with SCCM
Last week, Microsoft announced the end of support for older version of Internet Explorer . Many organisations will need to upgrade to Internet Explorer 11 soon. This post will describe how to upgrade to Internet Explorer 11 with SCCM. There’s multiple ways to upgrade your Internet Explorer : Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK) Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) Software Update with SCCM Standard Package with SCCM Task sequence with SCCM All of theses options were tested and the fastest installation is by using Task sequence because of the ability to manage restart and multiple consecutive steps to get everything installed in one deployment. IEAK could also do that, but we never had much success with it. Task sequence are made for OS Deployment, but they can be very useful with complex application deployment. In this post, we will cover : How to update to Internet Explorer 11 with SCCM using a task sequence … Read More
SCCM 2012 Useful Resources
I often get question about where to start or where to find the best resources about Configuration Manager. I decided to build a list of the best tools to help you manage your SCCM environment. This list will evolve with time so bookmark this page and come back on a regular basis. SCCM 2012 Books To start learning or to deepen your knowledge, theses are my books recommendation. You can’t go wrong with these authors. They have been working, talking, blogging about SMS/SCCM since forever. The first 3 are about SCCM in general and the last 3 are more oriented toward system deployments. Education Here’s some links to learn about SCCM. Microsoft Virtual Lab | Installing a demo SCCM environment can be a pain if you don’t have experience. Virutal Labs is THE place to start with SCCM . It allows to run an SCCM virtual machine in your web browser for 2 hours … Read More