System Center Essentials 2007 is a new management solution in the System Center family of IT systems management products specifically designed for midsize businesses. This session will begin with a look at some of the mid-market challenges IT administrators may face and how System Center Essentials 2007 addresses those challenges. After discovering how Essentials 2007 addresses mid-market challenges, we will take a closer look at just how Essentials 2007 is able to help you take control of your environment. Essentials 2007 provides a unified management solution that enables IT Professionals in midsize organizations to proactively manage their IT environment with increased efficiency. In the final section we will see how this is accomplished through the management and monitoring of your environment.

1. System Center Essentials
2007 Technical Overview

2. What Will We Cover?
• Addressing Mid-Market Challenges
• Securing Your Enterprise
• Asset Visibility and Inventory

3. Helpful Experience
• Knowledge of Microsoft Operations
Manager (MOM)
• Familiarity with Windows Server Update
Services (WSUS)
Level 300

4. Agenda
• Challenges and Solutions
• Taking Control of Your Environment
• Maintaining Control

5. Mid-Market Challenges
“Email is critical for my company, server
downtime is bad for business”
“Software installation “Keeping OS and
for desktops should applications updated
be quick and easy – with the latest
it’s not!” patches is time
consuming.”
“End-user
“Our hardware and
troubleshooting is
software inventory is
manual for us –
in spreadsheets, it’s
telephone, email,
hard to pull it all
and remote desktop
together”
in Windows XP”

6. System Center Essentials 2007
• Simple to Use
• Simple to Deploy and Maintain
Increased
Efficiency
• Single Solution
• Single Console
Unified
Experience
• Accelerates Troubleshooting and Problem Resolution
• Automates System Updates and Data Collection
Proactive
Management

7. Addressing IT Challenges
Maintain and Ensure Security
Update management for Windows and applications as well as third-party updates
Keep Network Up and Running
Monitoring and knowledge for servers, desktops, network devices and hardware
Resolve End-User Issues
Diagnostics tasks, reporting and end-user software deployment
Inventory Management
Hardware and software asset inventory and reporting

8. Helping IT Generalists
User info/persona
IT Specialist
Do It Yourselfer (DIY)
IT Generalist
Manages server as Manages 1-2 full time IT 5-10 full time IT Specialists per
secondary server as Generalists Generalists with some workload
responsibility primary shared area of focus
# of users MS Segment
responsibility
Small Business Mid Market Enterprise
Upper Midmarket
Home Users Lower Midmarket Core Midmarket
250
50 100
10 500
25

9. Requirements and Planning
Essentials Management Server
•Server Windows Server 2003 SP1
•Microsoft
Minimum Software •Microsoft Windows SBS
•Memory: 1 GB / 2 GB 2003 SP1
•Microsoft GB / 20 GB
•HD: 11.5 Windows Server 2008
•Active Directory
Requirements •CPU:Server 2005 SP1
•SQL 1.8 GHz / 2.8 GHz
•Internet Information Services 6.0
•Console-only Framework 2.0 and 3.0
•Microsoft .NET installation
Hard disk space
•Can be Virtualized 1 GB
•Memory: 512 MB /
•HD space: 512 MB
Minimum Hardware Managed Computers
•CPU: 1.0 GHz / 2.8 GB
•Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional SP4
Requirements •Managed Windows 2000 Server SP4
•Microsoft Computers
•Microsoft Windows Server 2003 SP1
•Refer to Minimum OS Requirements
•Microsoft Windows SBS 2003 SP1
Performance
•Microsoft Windows Vista
•Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2
•Windows XP Tablet PC Edition SP2
•Windows Server 2003 Web Edition SP1
Planning for •Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
•Microsoft Virtual Server 2005
Capacity

10. Demonstration Environment
SEA-DC-01.Contoso.com
Domain Controller
System Center Essentials 2007
IIS Server
192.168.16.1
Internal Network
192.168.16.1/20
SEA-WRK-001.Contoso.com
Workstation
192.168.16.10

11. demonstration
Installing and Configuring System
Center Essentials 2007
Review Pre-Installation Tasks

 Perform Configuration Tasks

12. Agenda
• Challenges and Solutions
• Taking Control of Your Environment
• Maintaining Control

13. Managing IT Assets
• 30+ Inventory attributes collected
• 22-hour cycle
• Inventory reports accessed through the console
• Administrators
• Monitor health
• Diagnose problems
• Evaluate need for software or updates
• Evaluate need for hardware upgrades

14. demonstration
Configuring and Collecting
Inventory
Collect Inventory Information

Review Inventory Information

View Software Reports

View Hardware Reports


15. Getting Secure and Staying Secure
Built on WSUS 3.0

16. demonstration
Getting Secure with Update
Management
Configure Update Management

Explore Update Management

Create New Update

Verify Updates with Reporting


17. Agenda
• Challenges and Solutions
• Taking Control of Your Environment
• Maintaining Control

18. Monitoring Capabilities
Same MPs as Operations Manager
Customized for mid-market environments
Complete monitoring
Knowledge and in-line tasks for servers, clients,
and network devices
Monitoring your key network devices
Switches, routers, printers, wireless access points

19. demonstration
Monitoring and Troubleshooting
Review Monitor Capabilities

Manage Alert Information

Explore Reporting Features


20. Session Summary
• Essentials 2007 addresses mid-market
challenges
• Provides a more unified management
experience
• Enables proactive management

21. For More Information
Visit TechNet at:
www.microsoft.com/technet
Visit the following site for additional information:
www.microsoft.com/technet/MGT-304

22. Readiness with Skills Assessment
• Self-study learning tool, free to anyone
• Determines skills gaps
• Provides learning plans
• Post your score, see how you rank
Visit:
www.microsoft.com/assessment

23. Become a Microsoft Certified Professional
• What are MCP certifications?
Validation in performing critical IT functions
• Why certify?
WW recognition of skills gained through experience
More effective deployments with reduced costs
• What certifications are there for IT Pros?
MCP, MCSE, MCSA, MCDST, MCST, MCITP
www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp

24. Introducing: TechNet Plus Direct!
All the benefits of TechNet Plus for 30% less,
TechNet Plus Direct subscribers receive…
• Online Benefits Portal – New!
• Immediate download access: software and betas – New!
• Two free Professional Support Incidents
• Managed Newsgroups and Online Concierge
• The TechNet Library containing the KB, security updates, service
packs, resource kits, and more
…TechNet Plus Direct is available exclusively online without media
shipments
For more information, please visit:
www.microsoft.com/technet/subscriptions

25. Where Else Can I Get Help?
• Live Events and Online webcast series
• Microsoft Professional Blogs Directory
• Chats, Newsgroups, Forums, and Virtual Labs
• Local Locator for Professional User Groups
www.microsoft.com/technet/community