With some delay I finally managed to wrap up my notes from the last ConfigMgr 2012 CEP session. Topic for Theme 7 is Compliance and Settings Management, formerly known as Desired Configuration Management (or DCM) in Configuration Manager 2007.
The session is presented by Onur Koc, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft. Next to Compliance and Settings Management he is also responsible for the Power Management features in Configuration Manager 2012.
Vision:
- Provide a unified platform for customers and partners to define, monitor, enforce and report configuration compliance in the enterprise for users accross all supported ConfigMgr devices.
Key TakeAways:
Simplified Administration Experience
- Role Based Access Control (RBAC): builtin role for Compliance Settings Management
- CI Creation by browsing a master (or gold) system
- Baseline creation is simplified
Baseline Deployment
- Terminology change: "Assignment" as known in ConfigMgr 2007 is no longer used.
- This is consistent throughout other ConfigMgr features.
User & Device targetting
- Compliance SLA’s and Alerting
- Per user evaluation and remediation
Monitoring Compliance status
- From within the SCCM console
- Report on remediation, conflict and errors
Monitoring vs Remediation
- Automated Remediation for registry, WMI and script based settings
- Remediation reporting to identify what settings were reconfigured
CI Revisioning and Audit tracking
- CI Versioning capabilities
- Audit changes (eg who modified what and when)
Support for mobile phones
- Support for WM 6.1 and WP 6.5.x
- Windows Phone 7 not supported
Migration from SCCM 2007
- Investments on v4 config packs will be maintained
- Import CI’s and Baselines into ConfigMgr 2012
- Migration tool will automatically convert v4 schemas to v5
Noteworthy items from the Q&A:
- Monitoring compliance status will also be possible using a new Management Pack for System Center Operations manager.
- Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 release still on schedule for H1 release. Quality driven so if needed some slip will be allowed.
