Implementation of Systems Management Server (SMS) at UW

Overview

What Is Microsoft Systems Management Server?

SMS is a comprehensive solution for managing networked computers. It is an administrative package that will enable us to support the UW network and computers more effectively and at a reduced cost. The major features of SMS are:

Hardware and software inventory. SMS automatically collects detailed configuration information about computers on the network. This capability will allow us to quickly and easily determine information about computers in use at UW. For example, we will be able to gather data about how many copies of a software application are installed on computers throughout the organization, which computers need hardware upgrades, or the specific network address for a computer. In the future, it will be possible to distribute software patches and updates based on software configuration.

Software distribution and installation. These capabilities make it easy to electronically distribute and install applications, upgrades,or any other type of software to computers throughout our organization. It will allow us to offer standardized software packages in a more timely and efficient manner. With the emergence of client-server computing, it has become necessary to upgrade software on hundreds (for example, BSR Advance and PeopleSoft clients) of client computers literally over night when new software versions are released. It has become unmanageable and expensive to do this manually.

Software metering. This capability will allow us to verify that our software use falls within our software licensing agreements. We will also be able to use data from software metering to project our future software needs and balance software use throughout UW so that you can access software programs when you need them.

Product compliance. This feature will enable us to electronically identify software products that might require upgrades or patches to be Year 2000 compliant.

Remote Tools. This feature gives us access to critical diagnostic information about networked computers. When you are having problems with your computer, it will allow your IT user consultant to remotely work on your computer across the network to diagnose and solve software problems. These features will improve the speed and quality of our support.

Additional Information

Why Are We Using SMS?

There are many benefits to using SMS at UW. As with most universities today, we spend large amounts of money upgrading, maintaining, and supporting software on computers. Over a five-year life cycle, the capital cost of acquiring a personal computer accounts for approximately 20 percent of the total cost of owning the computer. The vast majority of the cost of computer ownership is for support, administration, and operations. SMS will enable us to dramatically reduce the cost of managing distributed desktop computers and will result in increased network reliability and more efficient technical support for you.

In other words, using SMS will allow IT to serve you better, while reducing the total costs associated with our support.

How Does SMS Affect You?

We are in the process of testing SMS and will soon begin using it at UW. We are planning a phased implementation, which means that SMS will be installed on an as needed basis and might not be installed on some computers for weeks or months. SMS software will initially be installed on BSR Advance client machines. If successful, SMS software will eventually be used to install other client software such as PeopleSoft, Office 2000, etc. In most cases, SMS will be installed on your computer automatically, when you log on to the network.

SMS is designed to be unobtrusive, so you might not be aware that your computer has SMS client software installed. The SMS Client programs will appear as icons in Control Panel, as shown in the following figure.

Under certain conditions, you will also see icons on your taskbar indicating that SMS programs are running. The following sections describe each of the SMS Client programs that may be installed on your computer.

Systems Management

The Systems Management program can be used to help manage and troubleshoot your computer and to identify and manage the systems management components installed on your computer. You can use the Systems Management Properties dialog box to:

• View identification and troubleshooting information SMS has discovered about your computer.
• Identify the SMS site (or sites) that manage your computer.
• Update SMS configuration data on your computer.
• Identify and manage the systems management components installed on your computer.

Remote Control

With your authorization, an IT user consultant can use remote control to diagnose and correct problems on your computer. Remote control greatly reduces the time required to resolve computer problems because your consultant can perform many troubleshooting tasks without physically visiting your computer.

You can access remote control settings through remote control properties. Your system will be configured to allow you to modify the following settings:

• The level of control the remote administrator has on your computer.
• Whether your permission is required for remote control.
• How you are notified when a remote administrator controls your computer.

When your consultant is remotely controlling your computer, the following status indicator might appear on your monitor, depending on how you configure Remote Control:

Advertised Program Monitor and Advertised Programs Wizard

SMS makes installing software quick and easy. There is no disk shuffling and no visits by technicians. Using SMS, the UWYO domain administrators can make programs available for you to install on your computer. Domain administrators can schedule selected programs to run without your input, or for the most part, offer optional programs for you to run at your convenience.

For example, you can make software installation more convenient by scheduling programs (such as a virus checker or a software upgrade) to run while you are away from your computer, and you can schedule a countdown to alert you when a program is about to run.

The domain administrators will make a program available to you by sending an advertisement for the program to your computer. You can use the Advertised Programs Wizard (in the control panel) to run the program right away, schedule the program to run at a later time, or reschedule a program that has already been scheduled.

After you use the Advertised Programs Wizard to run or schedule an advertised program, you can use the Advertised Programs Monitor to track programs that are scheduled to run, view the properties of a program, or unscheduled a program. You can also modify how you are notified when a new advertised program is made available to your computer or when a scheduled program is about to run.

Icons may appear on your taskbar to inform you about advertised programs. For example, when a new advertised program is available, you can configure the following icon to appear:

Need More Information?

If you have further questions regarding SMS, please contact your IT user consultant.