System Center is more than just a buzzword

I tried to ignore all the System Center products being sent my way. Every time I turned around, I kept getting a new System Center demo of one kind or another. Like other Microsoft buzzwords that I try to ignore (case in point: “dynamics”), I just imagined System Center being a group of side products that weren’t important when compared to the big veteran releases over the past couple of years, including Windows Vista, Server 2008, Exchange 2007, and SQL 2008. But something changed all that and made me take notice of the System Center product line again.

It was MOM. No, not my mom, nor my mother-in-law (who is about to install Ubuntu on her laptop. Sigh. That is a long story that begins with a Vista-ready sticker). MOM, or Microsoft Operations Manager, a product I’ve worked with since its 2000 release, is a very helpful tool that watches systems for performance and/or troubleshooting concerns and keep an administrator informed about what is happening on monitored machines. Personally, I’ve used MOM 2005 extensively with Exchange 2007 by applying what are called “management packs” that allow a MOM system to watch for specific Exchange performance issues through the logs and such.

Curiosity led me to wonder, “Hey, when are they going to release a new version of MOM?” — only to find out they already did. But now it’s called SCOM (not scum) or System Center Operations Manager 2007. And there is a Service Pack released for it too (SP1). The embarrassment of being in the dark about a product that I should have been right in line with is what made me take that second look at the entire System Center product lineup, which is ever increasing.

So, for those of you who aren’t in the know like you should be, here is what the System Center core product line has to offer:

Configuration Manager 2007 R2: This application includes a variety of features such as OS deployment (for both servers and desktops), software distribution, update management, configuration management, and asset visibility for both hardware and software.

Operations Manager 2007: As already mentioned, this solution helps you with performance monitoring and troubleshooting by watching your systems and reporting back to administrators.

Data Protection Manager 2007: With DPM, Microsoft steps into the backup/recovery world a bit further than the integrated backup solution provided with Windows can offer. DPM helps to protect your data on SQL, Exchange, Server (2003 and 2008) systems, as well as SharePoint Server and even your desktop OSes.

Virtual Machine Manager 2008: VMM 2008 is used to migrate existing legacy hardware onto virtual machines, as well as manage virtual machines running on Server 2008. Hyper-V is logically supported, as is Microsoft Virtual Server, but there is also support for VMware ESX. David Marshall wrote about it in the InfoWorld Virtualization Report.

Essentials 2007 SP1: This is designed specifically for midsized businesses (up to 500 PCs and 30 servers) and provides monitoring and alerts for the entire environment including servers, clients, applications, network devices, hardware, software, inventory, and more. My Enterprise Windows predecessor Oliver Rist gave it a thumbs-up for “do-it-all administrators.”

And then there are some of the additional System Center products:

Capacity Planner 2007: This solution is designed to assist with server deployment and future planning by allowing you to perform what-if analysis on your systems (including Exchange 2007, SharePoint and more). Once again, my predecessor Oliver gave the product his approval:

Mobile Device Manager 2008: As discussed in a previous posting, this is a server that takes the place of what ActiveSync policies can do by providing a true management solution for your mobile users — one that can go head-to-head with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Service Manager: This is designed to assist help desk needs including incident and problem management.

Hopefully this has whet your appetite to investigate further if any of these solutions might provide you what you need. Now, for some of them you may already have a solution in place. For example, you haven’t been waiting all this time for Microsoft to finally design and develop a backup solution; you probably have one. How would you say it fares when put next to DPM? Is Microsoft looking to pull new clients in from thin air — or has the company developed products that can pull clients away from existing third-party solution users?

What’s your opinion? I’d like to know.