SCCM2012 R2 First Steps

[Gongalong]

Hi All,

 

I have setup SCCM2012 R2 for the first time (following the completion of the 10747D course a few weeks ago).

 

I have deployed the CM agent to a couple of machines, and am testing deployments with an application created from the Java 7u67 update. And this is where the problems start.

 

I've spotted that for both CM clients that they only show 6 tabs, rather than the full set. If I click on the site tab and try to find the site it doesn't find it.

 

Equally I have deployed the Java update, but have 0% compliance for both machines.

 

Where do I start trying to troubleshoot this?

 

TIA

[Sam_Brown]

The two areas I'd check are...

 

* Make sure Site Boundaries \ Boundary Groups are set up correctly. (we have IP range and AD site set up and then both of these are added as our "main boundary group")

 

* Admin > Site Config > Server and System Roles > Distribution Point (right click properties) > Boundary Groups (make sure this is set as a boundary group containing your site boundaries)

Edited August 11, 2014 by Sam_Brown

[Gongalong]

There's both a boundary and boundary group in place. I've set an IP boundary, for 10.121.244.0/255.255.252.0. CM has resolved that with a subnet ID of 10.121.244.0 (which I assume is correct!).

 

I thought back to the training, and remembered to look at Monitoring > System Status > Component Status. SMS_SITE_COMPONENT_MANAGER is saying it cannot create objects in the Active Directory. I remember there being a pre-requisite for rights to the AD, and it talks about the site server's machine account needing full control rights for the "System Management" container in Active Directory. I'll have to do some digging to figure out which of these it is.

[Sam_Brown]

Yeah that's right. You will need to create it by hand using ADSI edit if you've not had an SCCM installation on site before. There's also an AD Schema Extension you need to run as well.

 

Check steps 3 -5 in here.

 

using SCCM 2012 RC in a LAB - Part 1. Installation - Configuration Manager 2012 - Release Candidate - www.windows-noob.com

[Gongalong]

I ran the schema extension (using the bundled EXE) and that seemed to have worked, based on the log it produced, but I wasn't sure about the AD permission prerequisite :-/

[Sam_Brown]

Let us know how you get on. Always interesting in how others get on. Any other queries let me know. Happy to help where I can

[Gongalong]

I still have to correct the AD container permissions, on the assumption that the schema extension had worked. I found another reference here, but I'm in the middle of updating servers. Will get there eventually :-) SCCM 2012 R2 Step by Step Installation Guide – Update | SCCMentor - SCCM Tips and Fixes

[Gongalong]

Container permissions fixed, and that has kicked the CM client into life on the two test machines. I have followed this guide to setup Java (7u67) as a deployed applications: Deploy Java Runtime Environment 7 Update X with ConfigMgr 2012 |

 

The problem now is that although the deployment appears under Installation Status in Software Center, it's stuck at 0% on both test machines.

[Sam_Brown]

Container permissions fixed, and that has kicked the CM client into life on the two test machines. I have followed this guide to setup Java (7u67) as a deployed applications: Deploy Java Runtime Environment 7 Update X with ConfigMgr 2012 |

 

The problem now is that although the deployment appears under Installation Status in Software Center, it's stuck at 0% on both test machines.

 

Under monitoring have you checked Distribution Status > Content Status to make sure it's been distributed?

 

Can also check under Deployments > (your java deployment) to see if that gives any info.

 

First thing that comes to mind though it that is your DP set to allow prestaged content? Try turning that off and redistributing.

[Gongalong]

Distribution Status > Content Status shows the app with 100% compliance. (I did just deploy the app without distributing, but from memory it does distribute it as part of the deployment wizard if it isn't already)

 

Deployments shows me that for both machines the app is distributed, and deployment is "In Progress", although clearly it's stuck at the client end on this 0% downloading.

 

DP was not enabled for prestaged content, so I have enabled that. In the DP properties it shows both the CM client and the Java app.

[Gongalong]

I went back to the boundary group, and it didn't have a site system server associated with it. I added that, and it seemed to kick things into life. Presumably the client had no idea what site server was associated with the boundary group, so didn't know where to get the software from.

 

Now both clients have installed their first app. Yippee!

[Sam_Brown]

Glad it works. You might want to turn "Prestaged Content" off. Only reason I mentioned it was in case it was turned on. I've had it cause issues by being enabled for me in the past.

[Gongalong]

I've expanded the test group to five machines, and they've all got the client installed and the test deployment without any issues. Further yippees!

[Norphy]

Well done! It's an incredibly complicated piece of software which only makes it more satisfying when you get it working well

[Gongalong]

Now struggling with Adobe Flash and Reader. Mixed success with Flash, confused by IE on Win 8 not needing it.

 

Reader seems to be very complex, on the assumption that it needs to be slipstreamed for every version, as per this guide Deploy Adobe Reader 11.0.3 with ConfigMgr 2012 | Problem is the latest MSP won't update the base version, at least according to these instructions.

 

I hope other software packages are easier...

[Norphy]

Mostly they will be. Flash is OK as long as you get it from the Flash Player Distribution site and with the ActiveX version you can tell SCCM not to install it on Windows 8.1. You still need the plugin version of course.

 

Adobe installers can be a real pain in the behind. The only one that causes more pain on a regular basis is the Java installer.

[gshaw]

Tip for you from my past experiences, don't use the Flash Player MSI to update the version once it's installed - Adobe made a mess of it and it bombs out with errors. Using the EXE with the silent switch however works fine

[nickbro]

Personally I'd use SCUP to publish the Adobe Reader and Flash Player updates in WSUS

[Gongalong]

Curiously Flash has been the biggest pain so far, out of Java, Flash, and Reader.

 

With Java (7u67) I extracted the MSI, and it just worked.

 

With Reader I've followed this guide Deploy Adobe Reader 11.0.3 with ConfigMgr 2012 | Bit tedious to go from 11.0.0 to 11.0.7 and then to 11.0.8. I've only just tried to deploy it though, so will wait and see if it works! Perhaps it would just be easier to deploy it as an EXE package? Simpler seems better to me for CM.

 

I've failed to get to Flash to deploy. Of course it failed on Win 8, which I hadn't realised. On one test machine it failed because it can't seem to uninstall the previous version, even though when I install it from the web it works fine. I've just about given up with Flash on Win 7, although doesn't it update itself now?

[Norphy]

Curiously Flash has been the biggest pain so far, out of Java, Flash, and Reader.

 

With Java (7u67) I extracted the MSI, and it just worked.

 

I've found that doing that may work for the initial installation but as soon as you start trying to update the thing, interesting things start to happen. There was a time that doing that killed ActivInspire which lead to me having a very interesting morning one day.

 

The way I deploy Java now is to use a Powershell script to nuke any installed version of Java and install it using the EXE with a /s switch.

[Gongalong]

I had lots of problems with Java and GPO deployment before, which broke Java and caused machines to hang for an hour before logging on (!). It had to be manually updated in that situation.

 

Curiously this is updating Java on the tested machines at least (over 30 machines tested). I was at the point of rolling out to the school.

 

Not sure if it's version specific issues?

[Arthur]

Now struggling with Adobe Reader. Reader seems to be very complex

Adobe Reader is easy! Either use SCUP as @nickbro mentioned or the Setup.exe method detailed below. It's much quicker than messing around with creating admin installs.

 

1. Extract the MSI from the EXE installer.
    
   

   AdbeRdr11008_en_US.exe -nos_o"C:\AdobeReaderXI" -nos_ne

   
    
   

2. Customize the Adobe Reader MSI by using the Customization Wizard. e.g. suppress EULA, disable updates, delete desktop icon, run installer silently etc.
    
   If you have customized it correctly your Setup.ini file will now look like the one below. The commands highlighted in red will tell Setup.exe to install Adobe Reader silently, apply the customizations in AcroRead.mst and install both 11.0.07 and 11.0.08 patches.
    
   

   [startup]
   RequireMSI=3.0
   CmdLine=[color="#FF0000"]/sall /rs[/color]
   
   [Product]
   msi=AcroRead.msi
   PATCH=[color="#FF0000"]AdbeRdrUpd11007.msp;AdbeRdrSecUpd11008.msp[/color]
   CmdLine=[color="#FF0000"]TRANSFORMS="AcroRead.mst"[/color]
   
   [MSI Updater]
   Path=http://ardownload.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/8.x/8.0/misc/WindowsInstaller-KB893803-v2-x86.exe

The install/uninstall commands for SCCM are as follows (use the script-based deployment type):

 

Install

Setup.exe

 

Uninstall

msiexec /x {AC76BA86-7AD7-1033-7B44-AB0000000001} /qn

Edited August 15, 2014 by Arthur

[JJonas]

Having used an ageing Fog server for a number of years I've taken the plunge and just set up a SCCM 2012 server for the first time (as in clicked install and followed the prompts from the CD start screen)

 

What do I need to do next? I want to be able to capture images of machines and deploy to other machines.