Since this is my first video, I didn't record any audio. Please give me as much feedback as possible so I can improve the next 2 videos in this set, as well as all other videos going forward. Thanks!

[View:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ1mt3gqdX8]

Part 01 - The Installation Process

Part 02 - Importing Integration Packs

Part 03 - Configuring Integration Packs in the RunBook Designer

We had a customer request to provide a dashboard that would show Distribution Points that had less than 5% disk space on all drives. So using one of the standard reports, we customized the report, but found that we were unable to import this report into our dashboard. The SQL query from the standard report looked like this:

SELECT SYS.Name, SYS.SiteCode, LDISK.DeviceID0,

LDISK.Description0,

LDISK.FreeSpace0, LDISK.Size0,

LDISK.FreeSpace0*100/LDISK.Size0  as C074

FROM v_FullCollectionMembership SYS

join v_GS_LOGICAL_DISK LDISK on SYS.ResourceID =

LDISK.ResourceID

WHERE

     LDISK.DriveType0 =3  AND

     LDISK.Size0 > 0

     AND

LDISK.FreeSpace0*100/LDISK.Size0 < @variable

     AND SYS.CollectionID = @CollID

ORDER BY SYS.Name

After making changes, this is what the query looked like this:

SELECT SYS.Name, SYS.SiteCode, LDISK.DeviceID0,

LDISK.Description0,

LDISK.FreeSpace0, LDISK.Size0,

LDISK.FreeSpace0*100/LDISK.Size0  as C074

FROM v_FullCollectionMembership SYS

join v_GS_LOGICAL_DISK LDISK on SYS.ResourceID = LDISK.ResourceID

WHERE

     LDISK.DriveType0 =3  AND

     LDISK.Size0 > 5

     AND

LDISK.FreeSpace0*100/LDISK.Size0 < 5

     AND SYS.CollectionID =

'CollectionID'

ORDER BY SYS.Name

What the changes in the query do is pre-populate the fields that would otherwise be prompting you for information. Since this request requires the same static information, we are placing that inside the query itself. The final step that we had to figure out what that in order to use the report in the dashboard, the query cannot ask for prompts, so if you go into the SQL Query, you will see a button called 'Prompts' as shown below:

Once you click on the button, you will see the following:

Just remove the 2 items in the fields. Once this is complete, you can go into your Dashboard, and add the new custom report.

1. Ensure your Orchestrator environment has at least 2 runbook servers connected. This ensures Orchestrator will be fault tolerant in the event of server maintenance or failure. If you only have one runbook server, use Deployment Manager on your Orchestrator Management Server to deploy another runbook server.

2. Patch each runbook server, one at a time, by doing the following:

a. Invoke a “Wait Runbook” on the current runbook server to patch. This runbook should do nothing, but run forever. For example, it might infinitely loop a PowerShell sleep command.

b. Set the maximum jobs to 1 on this runbook server by invoking "C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft System Center 2012\Orchestrator\Management Server\aspt.exe" from the command line on the Orchestrator Management Server. Your path to aspt.exe may be different if you chose a non-default installation location for the Management Server. The syntax for this command is: astp.exe RunbookServerName MaxNumberofJobs

c. Wait X seconds for all non-monitor running jobs on this runbook server to complete, where X is some amount of time that makes sense for the type of runbooks your organization typically runs. X should be large enough that a normal runbook should finish in that amount of time.

d. Move any jobs that are still running other than the “Wait Runbook” (probably monitors) to another runbook server by manually stopping them and then starting them again. These jobs will restart on a different runbook server than the one you are trying to patch since the max jobs for this runbook server is set to 1 and the “Wait Runbook” is holding that slot.

e. Confirm all jobs except the “Wait Runbook” have successfully switched runbook servers.

f. Do whatever work is required to fully patch this runbook server, including machine restarts.

g. Set the maximum jobs back to 50 on this runbook server by invoking aspt.exe again as in step 2.b

h. Stop the “Wait Runbook” on the runbook server you just patched.

 

Great! Now we have a guide to put a runbook server into a “pseudo-maintenance mode“ to keep automation up and running and not interrupt running jobs. But wait a sec…Orchestrator is so good at automating the patching of other services, wouldn’t it be great if Orchestrator could automate the patching of itself? It turns out this kind of patching “inception” is actually possible via a set of Orchestrator runbooks. An IT Pro can even automate the repetitive, time-consuming, and error-prone task of patching the service that lets them automate the patching of others services!

The runbook export for automating the patching of Orchestrator in a highly-available manner is available here. Remember, this is just an example and does not contain all of the error logic that you would want to apply in production usage. Some notes about using this set of runbooks:

• Prereqs:
  • Requires 2 or more Runbook Servers
  • Requires the Orchestrator Web Service Integration Pack be registered and deployed on every runbook server.
• Before importing:
  • Download, register, and deploy the Orchestrator Web Service Integration Pack
  • Create a connection configuration for the Orchestrator Web Service Integration Pack you just installed. Name it “SCO”
    • In the configuration, “OrchestratorServiceURL” should be in the form https://SERVER-NAME:81/Orchestrator2012/Orchestrator.svc if your Orchestrator web service uses the default port and path.
• After importing:
  • Make sure that the “Runbook Identifier” parameter in the "Get Wait job details" activity in the "3: PatchServer" runbook matches the correct path to the "4: WaitRunbook" runbook (ex: '\PatchRunbook\4: WaitRunbook').
  • In “3: PatchServer” change the “Wait 10 seconds for jobs to complete” activity to wait for X seconds, where X is the same X as described in the manual steps above. This activity is meant to wait for running jobs on the runbook server to patch to complete.
  • Replace the contents of “7: Run Patch” with your patching logic (integration with Configuration Manager, etc).

That's IT!

Standard Switches:

OSInstall=YES/NO
SkipAdminPassword=YES/NO
SkipApplications=YES/NO
SkipAppsOnUpgrade=YES/NO
SkipBDDWelcome=YES/NO
SkipBitLocker=YES/NO
SkipCapture=YES/NO
SkipComputerName=YES/NO
SkipComputerBackup=YES/NO
SkipDeploymentType=YES/NO
DeploymentType=NEWCOMPUTER
SkipTaskSequence=YES/NO
TaskSequenceID=TaskIDNumber

SkipPackageDisplay=YES/NO
SkipProductKey=YES/NO
SkipSummary=YES/NO

SkipFinalSummary=YES/NO

 Domain Membership Switches:

SkipDomainMembership=YES/NO
JoinDomain=EnterDomainName
DomainAdmin=Administrator
DomainAdminDomain=Domain
DomainAdminPassword=Pa$$w0rd

Language and Locale Switches:

SkipTimeZone=YES/NO
TimeZoneName=Eastern Standard Time

SkipLocaleSelection=YES/NO
KeyboardLocale=en-US
UserLocale=en-US
UILanguage=en-US

User Data Migration Switches:

SkipUserData=YES/NO

UserDataLocation=Auto Or UserDataLocation=NETWORK
UDShare=\\ServerName\MigData$
UDDir=%ComputerName%

Bitlocker Drive Encryption Switches: There is a little more to this than just adding the commands. As soon as I can, I will add those steps HERE!

BDEDriveLetter=C:
BDEDriveSize= 2000
BDEInstall=TPM
BDERecoveryKey=FALSE
BDERecoveryPassword=FALSE
BDERequired=YES

There will be more to come, and I will also be adding the custom switches for Hardware Type, Machine Make/Model and Architecture :-)

1. Bitlocker requires at least 2 disk partitions. One un-encrypted and one or more encrypted partitions.
2. The unencrypted partition has to be a size of 150MB or greater.

Now, if you already have an existing task sequence, and in this scenario we will assume you do, there are a few lines that need to be edited. The first piece to be edited is the “Format and Partition Disk” task. In my case this step is called “Partition Disk 0” which is also the default if you created it using the task sequence wizard. You can choose to remove all volumes and recreate them or edit the existing ones. No matter which you choose, your task sequence step should look like the below.

1. Partition 1

• Partition name: This can be anythingyou choose. In my case I just named it BootDrive.
• Partition options: Use specific size of at least 150MB or more. I used 300MB because it is a standard.
• Make this the boot partition: Checked.
• Formatting options: File system = NTFS. Quick format = checked (You can choose not to check this option, but without it, your format process can be incredibly slow depending on your hard drive size).
• Variable: BDEPART (This can also be whatever you want).

Once you are finished with this part, your partition screen should look like this:

Figure 1: Boot Drive

1.  Partition 2

• Partition name: This can be anything you choose. In my case I just named it OSDrive.
• Partition options: Use a percentage of remaining free space; size(%) = 100. Again you can change this depending on how many partitions you want to end up with.
• Make this the boot partition: Greyedout.
• Formatting options: File system = NTFS. Quick format = checked (You can choose not to check this option, but without it, your format process can be incredibly slow depending on your hard drive size).
• Variable: OSPART (This can also be whatever you want, however it is incredibly important to remember this because you are going to reference it later).

Once you are finished with this part, your partition screen should look like this:

Figure 2: OS Drive

Once you are finished with both of these sections, your final product for this section should look like this:

Figure 3: Partition Final

The next step requires you to move to the “Apply Operating System” section in your task sequence. In this next section will be the section that you will need to reference the variable name that you entered in “Figure 2: OS Partition”. What you need to do is change the destination location of where the operating system image will be applied to.

All fields in the section can remain default with the exception of the 2 sections underneath the “Select the location where you want to apply the operating system” field. Edit the 2 sections below to match:

• Destination:     Logical drive letter stored in a variable.
• Variable name: OSPART (This is the part where you will enter the variable from the above figure).

Once you are finished with this part, your screen should look like this:

Figure 4: Apply OS

The last question I get asked many times is where to place the final step of enabling Bitlocker. The logical location is to place it at the very end of the task sequence.  As seen in the above figure. I just recommend that inside that final step, you leave the check box that says “ Wait for the Bitlocker drive encryption process to complete on all drives before continuing task sequence execution” unchecked, especially when placed at the very end. This will allow the task sequence to complete while the machine continues the encryption process.

I do want you all to keep in mind that this is just a basic configuration of Bitlocker. There are some other action variables that can be included. Some of those variables can be found at the below link:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd252736.aspx

As always, questions and comments are welcome! Happy Bitlocking!

Check back for the next 2 pieces of this set which will include:

• Enabling Bitlocker: Bypassing the partitioning process
• Enabling the TPM using SCCM

Scenario:

We were testing some deployment task sequences using a virtual machine that was housed on a VMware server and ran into an issue where the task sequence would fail after the first reboot during the build process. After quite a bit of research, we were finally able to determine the root cause to the failure.

Cause:

Configuration Manager does not have drivers for a VMware Virtual Machine.

Solution:

After a bit of grueling research, I was finally able to locate the drivers that were needed to create a “Network” package in Configuration Manager to allow the build process to complete. I have listed the steps below that we took in order to correct the
problem.

To add VMware network driver to the boot images:



This first part was the hard part to find:

1. Connect to your VMware Virtual Machine (Any of them will do) and navigate to C:\Program Files\vmware tool. Copy the entire “driver” folder that is in this directory over to a network share that Configuration Manager has rights to.
2. Connect to your SCCM Server (or a machine that has the SCCM console installed).

This next
part I was able to pull from the Microsoft TechNet site located at:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb633285.aspx

1. From the SCCM Console and navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Computer Management / Operating System Deployment/ Drivers.
2. To start the Import New Driver Wizard, do any of the following:
1. Click Action on the file menu in MMC snap-ins, and then click Import.
2. In the Actions pane, click Import.
3. Right-click the Drivers node, and then click Import
3. On the Locate Driver page, specify whether you want to import a specific device driver or all device drivers contained in a specific directory.
1. To import a specific driver, select Import a specific driver and specify the source file directory in UNC format and the Windows device driver.INF or mass storage txtsetup.oem file to be imported.
2. To import all of the device drivers in a specific directory, select Import all drivers in the following network path (UNC) to its .inf or txtsetup.oem file and specify the network path to the device driver directory. (note 1)
3. On the Driver Details page, specify a descriptive name and optional description for the driver.INF file or files that will be imported. To allow computers to use the device drivers, the Enable these drivers and allow computers to install them check box must be checked. This check box is selected by default. (note 2
4. To assign the device drivers to a category for filtering purposes, such as "Beta" or "Production," click the Categories button. The category assignment is also used to configure the device drivers that will be considered by the Auto Apply Driver task sequence step.
5. On the Platforms Applicability page, confirm the platforms where these drivers will be installed.
1. To make the driver available to all platforms, select This driver can be run on any platform.
2. To specify a particular client platform for the device driver to be installed, selectThis driver can run only on the specified platforms, and then select the applicable platforms.
6. On the Add Driver to Packages page, assign the device driver to an existing package, or create a new package by clicking the New Package button to open the New Driver Package dialog box.
7. Specify the Name, and Description that should be associated with the new driver package and provide the source directory in UNC format, and then select Update distribution points when finished to update the distribution points immediately. (note 3)
8. On the Add Driver to Boot Images page, specify the boot image or images you would like to add the driver to. (note 4)
9. Select Update distribution points when finished to update the distribution points immediately with the updated boot images.
10. On the Summary page, review the action details, and then click Next to complete the wizard.
11. Advertise your task sequence to your collection.

And then you are ready to deploy your task sequence to a machine that is housed on a VMware server farm.

I would like to note that this is in no way a guarantee that this will work for your environment. Every environment is different, but these steps worked for me. Any comments or feedback would be appreciated.

Note 1: To import a subset of device drivers from a large directory, you can create a new subdirectory and copy the desired drivers into the newly created directory. Use the method above to import the contents of that subdirectory. Each device driver should be imported into its own subdirectory.

Note 2: If a device
driver is causing a problem or you want to suspend deployment of a device driver, you can disable the device driver by clearing the Enable these drivers and allow computers to install them check box. For computers to use and install a driver, this option must be enabled.

Note 3: Drivers must be part of a package and deployed to distribution points before computers can install them. If you do not update distribution points immediately, you must update the distribution points later using the Update Distribution Point wizard.

Note 4: Only mass storage and network device drivers should be added to the boot images for operating system deployment scenarios.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 6.5 is an agentless, automated, multi-product planning and assessment tool for quicker and easier desktop and server migrations. MAP provides detailed readiness assessment reports and executive proposals with extensive hardware and software information, and actionable recommendations to help organizations accelerate their IT infrastructure planning process, and gather more detail on assets that reside within their current environment. MAP also provides private and public cloud planning assessments, and server utilization data for Hyper-V server virtualization planning; identifying server placements, and performing virtualization candidate assessments, including ROI analysis for server consolidation with Hyper-V. Other significant new features in MAP 6.5 include the discovery of active Windows devices, Software Usage Tracking for Forefront Endpoint Protection (FEP), and the discovery of Oracle instances on Itanium-based servers with HP-UX to assist in the planning of migration to SQL Server.

MAP is one of the tools provided by the Microsoft Solution Accelerators team. The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit, and Security Compliance Manager provide tested guidance and automated tools to help organizations plan, securely deploy, and manage new Microsoft technologies—easier, faster, and at less cost. All are freely available, and fully-supported by Microsoft.

What’s in the MAP Toolkit?

The MAP Toolkit includes the following components:

• Microsoft_Assessment_and_Planning_Toolkit_Setup.exe. Installation package containing the tool, release notes, Getting Started Guide and toolkit help (chm file).
• readme_en.htm. Available as a separate download. Provides information to read before installing the MAP Toolkit, including installation prerequisites and known issues.
• Getting_Started_Guide.en.doc. Provides information about toolkit installation, environment preparation, and assessment scenarios supported by toolkit wizards and the UI.
• MAP_Training_Kit.zip. Available as a separate download. Contains sample databases and training materials.
• MAP_Sample_Documents.zip. Available as a separate download. Contains sample reports and proposals.

The Datacenter solution from Microsoft provides a comprehensive platform on which to build and run your infrastructure. With supporting technologies ranging from Identity Management, Systems Management, Virtualization, Storage, and Networking, you can be sure that you have all the tools you need to run a highly efficient and modern datacenter.

Microsoft datacenter solutions are built with industry standards and integration in mind. By connecting together technologies such as Windows Server, Windows 7, Hyper-V, and System Center, you can be sure you are getting the best ROI and lowest TCO for your datacenter.

Integrating the below technologies is what makes the Microsoft Datacenter Solution the perfect choice for the server environment.

Datacenter Virtualization & Management:
Your business depends on a highly reliable, scalable, and manageable datacenter. We can relate. At Microsoft we run large-scale cloud services like Bing, Windows Live, and Windows Azure in our datacenters around the world on hundreds of thousands of servers. As such, we take the core learnings from running these datacenters as the foundation for the software that we deliver to you to run in your own datacenters.

For many organizations, a highly virtualized datacenter is just the beginning for realizing large scale benefits such as improved utilization, reduced floor space, and reduced power costs. With virtualization as the starting point, you can add on to that foundation with highly agile and flexible datacenter services through both private and public cloud solutions.

 Microsoft provides you with the most comprehensive set of technologies to evolve your datacenter over time. Whether you want to virtualize, build a private cloud, scale your services through a public cloud, or have a mix of all three, Microsoft datacenter solutions can help you better manage your datacenter today and accelerate your journey towards cloud computing.

Core Server Infrastructure:
Using the Core IO model, your server and branch infrastructure can be transformed into a powerful strategic advantage. For many organizations, their current server and branch architecture is often the result of a history of tactical, point solutions to specific business needs.

 However, by implementing a branch solution, you can leverage your branch infrastructure to provide a competitive advantage in providing world-class customer service.

Key Benefits:

• Comprehensive identity management
• Integrated physical and virtual management
• Best Microsoft building blocks for your cloud journey
• Best Microsoft solutions for branch offices and remote workers

Networking Solution from Microsoft:

The comprehensive networking solution from Microsoft, powered by Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, helps connect your datacenter to your users, virtually wherever they are, in the most efficient way possible.

With the Microsoft networking solution in your datacenter, you can count on having some of the most up to date industry standards and can connect your servers both physically and virtually. You can help your users be more productive with virtually seamless connections to the corporate network and access to files. In addition, we work with key industry partners to ensure our solution supports and extends your investment in a broad range of hardware.

There are key industry trends that are occurring in almost every business today: IT is moving to virtualization and cloud based workloads, and there is a marked increase in the size of the remote workforce. The networking solution you deploy needs to be robust and comprehensive enough to grow with your infrastructure and your end users.

The Virtual Private Networking (VPN) solution from Microsoft

The VPN solution is seamlessly integrated into both Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 to ensure your users can connect to your corporate network from virtually anywhere (internet connection required). With most VPN solutions, the user must manually initiate a connection to the corporate network through a cumbersome process involving additional software and launching of an application. Microsoft’s VPN solution, Direct Access, is directly integrated into the operating system allowing users to visit a corporate internal SharePoint collaboration website to view documents just as easily as they can visit Bing.

The Branch office networking solution from Microsoft

Help drive down the cost of WAN connectivity by ensuring that copies of key documents are cached locally in branch offices. BranchCache reduces the amount of networking traffic over your WAN links by allowing users to download local copies of these documents instead of traversing the WAN to retrieve.

Storage Solution

One of the biggest challenges that IT administrators face today is the exponential growth in file storage needs. This trend is the result of numerous business drivers such as regulatory requirements to retain data and increased levels of digitization of content. IT budget cuts have forced CIOs and system administrators to manage and deal with this data growth with reduced staff. Enterprises are looking for new and additional ways to cut costs.

 Microsoft offers cost effective, enterprise storage solutions for Windows and mixed environments through Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Storage Server 2008 R2, and Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010.

Windows Server 2008 R2

Delivers extensive file-serving, data management and data protection capabilities as part of an award winning set of technologies and features.

Windows Storage Server 2008 R2

Is built on the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system to provide a platform for network-attached storage (NAS) appliances. Optimized to deliver a better file serving experience, the Windows Storage Server product family includes storage technologies such as file de-duplication, an iSCSI software target for unified file services and block I/O storage, simplified deployment and management of individual appliances, and dual-node, highly available storage clusters.

Data Protection Manager 2010

Delivers unified data protection for Windows servers and related workloads such as SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, Virtualization and file servers -- as well as Windows desktops and laptops.

Benefits

• Storage Solutions from Microsoft offer capabilities that span all of your storage needs.
• Microsoft’s storage offerings helps to ensure your data is backed up, protected, and available for easy and quick restores in the event of a disaster. Our tools use industry leading standards and include broad support for devices you already have and can purchase for your infrastructure.

I hope this informaiton is useful and a good read. I would like to hear any feedback on it. Thanks!