Month: October 2012

Creating custom right-click tools with Orchestrator, Runbook Commander and ConfigMgr 2012

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A few weeks ago I already wrote a post about the cool things that are possible by using Orchestrator in combination with ConfigMgr 2012 (and MDT 2012 Update 1). This week I ‘m going to show that there are even more cool things possible by using Orchestrator in combination with Runbook Commander and ConfigMgr 2012. Runbook Commander is a great free tool made by Neil Peterson and is actually a dynamic console extension for ConfigMgr that allows for console initiated execution of Orchestrator Runbooks. So actually this is a very cool tool to create custom right-click tools for ConfigMgr. Anything that is possible to run on a client via Orchestrator can be added as a right-click action in the console. The only limitation is a …

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Merging Endpoint Protection Policies in ConfigMgr 2012

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This week I want to devote a small post to merging Endpoint Protection policies in ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 (which is currently still in BETA). Since ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 there are two different ways/ types of merging Endpoint Protection policies. In short we can define two sides: Server-side merge – On the server-side there is now the console option to merge multiple policies into one policy. In this case, when two settings conflict, the most secure setting is applied. Also settings like exclusion lists are really merged together. Client-side merge – On the client-side there is now the automatic behavior to merge multiple polices into the client settings. In this case, when two settings conflict, the highest priority option is used. Also settings like exclusion lists …

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Creating a Cloud Distribution Point with Windows Azure and ConfigMgr 2012

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This week I decided to start with Windows Azure. One of the biggest reasons for that, was that I knew that with ConfigMgr 2012 SP1, which is currently still in BETA, it is possible to create a Cloud Distribution Point based on Windows Azure. So that’s what I decided to start with this week. Prerequisites First I started with figuring out how exactly Windows Azure works. It’s actually quit easy to set-up, but after another good look at ConfigMgr 2012 I figured that it’s not even necessary to do anything within Azure. The following things are a prerequisite for creating a Cloud Distribution Point: Create a Windows Azure subscription. Create a certificate for the management of Windows Azure. Add the management certificate to Windows Azure. …

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How to perform an action directly after the task sequence is finished with ConfigMgr 2012

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Last week I already did a post about a new task sequence variable and this week my post will be about another new task sequence variable. This one will probably be used a little less, but can be very useful in some specific situations. Think about situations where an action needs to be performed directly after the task sequence is finished, without impacting the status of the task sequence. In this post I will use a situation where I want the machine to shutdown at the end of the task sequence, as an example. Configuration Just like last week, the configuration is actually very easy and it’s just more about knowing that the task sequence variable exists. This is another new task sequence variable in …

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