Microsoft builds on SMS beta

Microsoft launched the SMS (Systems Management Server) 2003 Beta program in early 2002 with plans to release the final version at the end of the year. That plan, however, has slowed — SMS 2003 has only now reached the late stages of its open beta-testing program. To gauge what Redmond will achieve in upcoming months, we put the SMS 2003 Beta through its paces.

Microsoft is well on its way toward achieving three critical goals for SMS 2003: full integration with Active Directory (a long-overdue feature for most MCSEs), better software-metering tools, and added functionality for mobile clients. All told, we were excited by the solution’s new features, but the application still has a ways to go before it’s ready for release.

Nevertheless, we can already recommend SMS 2003 for almost any organization presently using SMS 2.0, especially those that intend to install a Windows 2000/XP network upgrade. Additionally, those running Windows-based networks in large-scale environments need to take a close look at how SMS 2003 addresses those requirements.

We tested SMS 2003 in a Windows 2000 network consisting of two Compaq ProLiant 1600 servers, one acting as an Active Directory domain controller, the other as a structured file repository. Also part of our setup was a Compaq ProLiant 800 running an Exchange 2000 shell and 10 node stations. All servers were running Windows 2000 Server Standard Edition; five workstations were running Windows 2000 Professional; and the remaining five used Windows XP Professional. All connectivity was handled via 100Base-T using two Intel 550T routing switches and two Intel managed 10/100 hubs.

Installing the SMS 2003 Beta is a time-consuming exercise in following detail-specific instructions. First, you must be sure the core CD is installed on the same machine that’s acting as the Active Directory domain controller. You’ll also need Service Pack 3 and IIS, and Message Queuing Service installed on this domain controller (forgetting the last item can lead to serious head scratching). Finally, you’ll need to name the domain controller LAB1, set the Active Directory domain to lab.com, and assign the name LAB2 to at least one Windows XP Professional client within lab.com. Lastly, you’ll need a Microsoft SQL Server 2000 installation CD in order to complete the SMS 2003 installation.

Strengthening ties to Active Directory

Beta problem aside, we were impressed with SMS 2003’s new level of integration with Windows 2000, especially Active Directory and Windows 2000’s embedded management tools, including the Windows Installer, Windows Update, and Windows Management Instrumentation.

The impressive new level of integration with Active Directory is strongest within SMS 2003’s discovery capabilities. The solution can now discover user and system properties based on individual user or group accounts, or any general OU (organizational unit) container level. Additionally, the Active Directory system can be the target of discovery, and if that fails, SMS has network-based and heartbeat discovery modes.

Also new are SMS site boundaries that can use Active Directory site names instead of relying only on IP subnets. This allows SMS administrators to split or combine IP boundaries based on logical, not physical, criteria. That’s a real boon when organizing a large SMS installation. But if you’re married to an IP structure, don’t worry. SMS 2003 still supports additional subnets, providing continued support for environments without Active Directory, including Windows NT 4.0.

We especially liked the way SMS 2003 appears within the Active Directory structure, using containers to group discovered systems. These containers can then be expanded via the Site Settings tree, where administrators can assign and modify all specific configuration and management properties, right down to individual hardware and software components.

Meatier metering

SMS 2003’s software-metering capabilities also have been overhauled. Redmond says this was not only done to increase SMS’ feature set but also to increase its capability of scaling in large networked environments. In SMS 2.0, the system monitors all software processes running on clients using the SMS client. All resulting process usage data is reported to the SMS site server, although it can be tweaked to exclude programs that don’t need monitoring. SMS 2.0 can also enforce usage rules and quota limits across an SMS site and down to the user or end-node station level. Finally, SMS 2.0 provides reports that show process usage and correlates that usage to license limitations.

New features in SMS 2003’s software metering set provide full-featured offline metering functionality, including usage reporting that’s linked to the software inventory and scheduled data summarization. You’ll also find that metering has been fully integrated into the SMS site architecture. This includes a common database, reporting and querying tools, and a shared administrative console, as well as a standard configuration process, and installation and reporting method for all clients. Finally, where SMS 2.0 selected processes via an exclusion list, SMS 2003 has reversed this with an all-inclusive list, allowing new products to be added by the administrator.

These changes required almost a ground-up rewrite of SMS’ software metering code. Microsoft asserts the effort was worthwhile, as the rewritten metering code is far more intuitive and scalable, and it integrates much more neatly with the company’s future software distribution plans.

Readying for the wireless world

The last core new feature of SMS 2003 is added support for mobile users. Microsoft designed these features to encompass users restricted to slower LAN connections as well as those who log in from varying locations on the network. For example, Redmond has modified the Windows Update module embedded in all Windows 2000 and Windows XP desktops to work in conjunction with SMS 2003 via the addition of BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Services). This API allows SMS 2003 to provide variable transfer speeds, enabling Windows administrators to continually provide software, patch, and code upgrades without hurting performance of critical business applications on the network.

The new SMS Advanced Client intelligently manages its relationship with SMS 2003 on the basis of the user’s present location on the network. Microsoft calls these folks “roaming” users, a term that is unrelated to the WLAN feature of the same name. SMS 2003 roaming simply allows users access to the Active Directory structure to determine the nearest SMS distribution point to their present network location. Unfortunately, this is one area where SMS 2003 cannot provide backwards compatibility to pre-Windows 2000/Windows XP platforms. Windows NT and Windows 95/98/Me users will need to stick with the SMS 2.0 mobile feature set.

Overall, SMS 2003 represents a significant increase in functionality over SMS 2.0, especially with regards to back-end integration and support for mobile users. Microsoft has promised some additional features for WLAN users that we eagerly anticipate, but what we found in this iteration is already a big step up from SMS 2.0. Unfortunately, the need to follow the lengthy, detailed installation instructions clearly shows how much work remains before this product is ready for shrink-wrap. Though Microsoft claims a final release will be available this summer, don’t expect to see gold code before fall.