By Mark Burnett
I haven’t had a chance to get to use any System Center yet, but after watching the TechNet webcast Microsoft System Center for Server Infrastructure Optimization, I’m anxious to get it up and running. This webcast, given by four different presenters, covers System Center Configuration Manager, Virtual Machine Manager, Operations Manager, and Data Protection Manager.
The webcast starts by explaining the role of each of these System Center components and how they all work together to manage your infrastructure.
The first part of the presentation covers System Center Configuration Manager, which is the predecessor to SMS 2003.
The webcast doesn’t have any live demos, but does include dozens of screenshots which I found easier to follow.
In this screenshot, the webcast shows all the many ways you can configure and deploy Windows.
The second part of the webcast covered the new System Center Virtual Machine Manager for managing physical and virtual environments.
The webcast then covered all of the cool new features of Systems Center Operations Manager, the predecessor to MOM.
TIP: Use Operations Manager to monitor an Exchange Server, the Exchange service, or even a single mailbox.
Finally, the webcast covers System Center Data Protection Manager, a tool that provides continuous data protection for applications.
The webcast doesn’t go into too much depth on how to do specific things on these products, but it does walk through the screens enough to get a good feel for each one. I actually watched this webcast as I built the machines I would be installing System Center on, and after watching, I was anxious to get these applications up and running.
You can view the webcast at Microsoft System Center for Server Infrastructure Optimization