Archive
User-centric application delivery with Microsoft System Center and the #XenApp Connector for Configuration Manager
Another good blog post from Citrix:
This week we are happy to announce the release of the XenApp Connector for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (a.k.a. Project Thor), marking the culmination of several months of collaboration between Citrix and Microsoft.
System Center 2012 Configuration Manager helps IT empower people to use the devices and applications they need to be productive, while maintaining corporate compliance and control. It provides a unified infrastructure for mobile, physical, and virtual environments that allows IT to deliver applications and manage user experiences based on identity, connectivity, and device.
More so than any previous release of Configuration Manager, the 2012 release supports the model of user-centric IT management. The new focus of Configuration Manager is one of empowering users by putting them at the center of the IT universe; one that supports user self-service, bring-your-own-device initiatives, workforce mobility, and the overall IT consumerization trend. We are very excited about the power this user-centric model provides and how that model is realized via integration of Configuration Manager and XenApp.
So what does the XenApp Connector do? Put simply, it extends the reach of admins using Configuration Manager to a much broader range of devices and user locations. Historically, Configuration Manager has been used for management of Windows OS & applications deployed to Windows PCs, Windows laptops, Windows Servers and Windows Phones operating within the traditional IT periphery – in other words Active Directory domain joined machines.
The XenApp Connector and Citrix Receiver extend the reach of Configuration Manager to deliver apps not just to Windows devices but all kinds of office and mobile devices including Linux, iOS, and Android devices; in fact nearly every device on the market today.. The Connector also enables a more flexible and mobile workforce. Users are able to gain access to the applications they need regardless of whether they are in the office, working from home, or on the road.
To deliver this functionality, the XenApp Connector leverages three capabilities introduced with System Center 2012:
- Deployment Types
- User-centric administration, and
- The Application Catalog
New Online Training Sessions Available for System Center 2012 – #SC2012, #Microsoft
Microsoft Virtual Academy has released a new training series that delves into System Center 2012 SP1 Service Manager. Topics covered include:
– Import Data and Runbooks
– Build and Publish Request Offerings
– Create, Invoke & Monitor
– Chargeback
These sessions are now available to view online.
And now that System Center Universe 2013 is over, those sessions are also available online. You can now view the System Center Universe 2013 recordings online to learn about VMware and Hyper-V Data Protection, Advanced System Center Reporting, Windows Azure Infrastructure as a Service…
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Correct – SCCM 2012 doesn’t support SQL Mirroring! via @agerlund – #SCCM
Beware before upgrading to SP1. SCCM does not support database mirroring and if you’ve configured it don’t just try to upgrade! Thx @agerlund!
As stated here SQL mirroring is not supported for the ConfigMgr database. However a technet article do not stop all database administrors’s from enabling the setting anyway believing that it will not cause any issues – but boy it does. SQL mirroring will break the SCCM SP1 upgrade process and leave the primary site server in a non-functional mode where a site restore is the only way back.
The issue can be found in the ConfigMgrSetup.log file.
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Great Microsoft System Center 2012 documentation – #SCCM, #SCOM
If you’re looking for something to read when not busy working or have a day of then I recommend to have a look at these great docs for System Center 2012!
- Technical Documentation for System Center 2012 – Configuration Manager;
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Operations Manager›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Virtual Machine Manager›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Service Manager›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Orchestrator›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – Data Protection Manager›
- Technical Documentation Download for System Center 2012 – App Controller›
Happy reading! 😉
//Richard
SCCM 2012 for Linux and UNIX
Ok, this is interesting! Microsoft is adding more support for Configuration Manager in terms of managing Linux and UNIX targets. It will be interesting to see what the end-result will be when SP1 ships and most interesting will be if Microsoft will be able to convince the Linux and UNIX community out there that this is something that is competitive with other solutions like Puppet, Chef, STAF etc.
Here is a summary of the feature set planned for the SP1 release;
| Functionality | More information |
|---|---|
| Collections, queries, and maintenance windows | Collections of Linux and UNIX Servers |
| Hardware inventory | Hardware Inventory for Linux and UNIX Servers |
| Software Distribution | Software Deployment to Linux and UNIX Servers |
| Monitoring and reporting | Monitoring the Configuration of Linux and UNIX Servers |
The IT Melting Pot! 