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What's New in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1

 

Updated: May 14, 2015

Applies To: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1

Note

The information in this topic applies only to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1.

Use the following sections to review information about significant changes in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 since System Center 2012 Configuration Manager:

  • Setup and Site Installation

  • Sites and Hierarchies

  • Migration

  • Client Deployment and Operations

  • Software Deployment and Content Management

  • Monitoring and Reporting

One of the most significant changes is support for Windows 8 for Configuration Manager clients. Configuration Manager SP1 supports Windows 8 in the following ways:

  • You can install the Configuration Manager client on Windows 8 computers and deploy Windows 8 to new computers or to upgrade previous client operating versions. Configuration Manager also supports Windows To Go.

  • You can configure user data and profiles configuration items for folder redirection, offline files, and roaming profiles.

  • You can configure new deployment types for Windows 8 applications, which support stand-alone applications (.appx files) and links to the Windows Store.

  • Configuration Manager supports Windows 8 features, such as metered Internet connections and Always On Always Connected.

Other significant changes include the following:

  • Support for Windows Server 2012 on site systems and clients, and support for SQL Server 2012 for the Configuration Manager database.

  • Support for clients on Mac computers, and on Linux and UNIX servers.

  • Support for user-owned mobile devices that run Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, iOS, and Android when you have integrate Configuration Manager with Microsoft Intune.

  • Windows PowerShell cmdlets are available to automate Configuration Manager operations by using Windows PowerShell scripts.

  • Support for cloud services, such as a new distribution point for Windows Azure.

  • More flexible hierarchy management, along with support to expand a stand-alone primary site into a hierarchy that includes a new central administration site, and the migration of a Configuration Manager SP1 hierarchy to another Configuration Manager SP1 hierarchy.

  • Support for multiple software update points for a site to provide automatic redundancy for clients without requiring you to configure a network load balancing cluster.

  • Client notification to start some client operations from the Configuration Manager console. These include downloading computer policy and initiating a malware scan to be performed as soon as possible, instead of during the normal client policy polling interval.

  • Support for virtual environments that allow multiple virtual applications to share file system and registry information instead of running in an isolated space.

  • Email alert subscriptions are now supported for all features, not just Endpoint Protection.

For more information about the supported operating system versions and editions that Configuration Manager SP1 supports, see Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager.

You can read more detailed information about these changes in the following sections.

Setup and Site Installation

The following sections contain information about setup and site installation changes in Configuration Manager SP1.

Site Installation

The following options in Setup for site installation are new or have changed for Configuration Manager SP1:

  • With System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 there is a new option when you install a central administration site. You have the option to install the central administration site as the first site of a new hierarchy, or install the central administration site to expand a stand-alone primary site into a hierarchy with the new central administration site.

For more information, see the Expand a Stand-Alone Primary Site into a Hierarchy with a Central Administration Site topic in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Upgrade Support

You can upgrade from System Center 2012 Configuration Manager to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1.

For more information, see Planning to Upgrade System Center 2012 Configuration Manager in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Windows PowerShell

After you have installed Configuration Manager SP1, you can automate console operations by using Windows PowerShell cmdlets. For example, you can create user and device collections, configure client settings, and create email subscriptions for alerts. Configuration Manager SP1 requires Windows PowerShell 3.0.

To open a Windows PowerShell session, click the Application menu, and then select Connect via Windows PowerShell.

To discover which cmdlets are available, type the following command at the Windows PowerShell prompt. get-command -module ConfigurationManager 

Tip

All Configuration Manager cmdlets include the CM prefix in their name.

For more information about Configuration Manager cmdlets, see Cmdlets in Configuration Manager SP1.

Sites and Hierarchies

The following sections contain information about site and hierarchy changes in Configuration Manager SP1.

Note

The Active Directory schema extensions for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 are unchanged from those used by System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. If you extended the schema for Configuration Manager 2007 or for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, you do not have to extend the schema again for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1.

Site to Site Communication

The following items are new or have changed for site communication for Configuration Manager SP1:

  • File replication routes replace addresses for file-based replication between sites. This is only a change in the name for file-based replication and brings consistency with database replication. There is no change in functionality.

  • Configure database replication links between site databases to control and monitor the network traffic for database replication:

    • Use distributed views to prevent the replication of selected site data from a primary site to the central administration site. The central administration site then accesses this data directly from the primary site database.

    • Schedule the transfer of selected site data across database replication links.

    • Control the frequency that replication traffic is summarized for reports.

    • Define custom thresholds that raise alerts for replication problems.

  • Configure replication controls for the SQL Server database at a site:

    • Change the port that Configuration Manager uses for the SQL Server Service Broker.

    • Configure the period of time to wait before a replication failure triggers a site to reinitialize its local copy of global data.

    • Configure a site database to compress the data that it replicates by database replication. The data is compressed only for transfer between sites, and not for storage in the site database at either site.

For more information about file replication, see the File-Based Replication section in the Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager topic.

For more information about database replication links, see the Database Replication Links section in the Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager topic.

For more information about replication controls for the SQL Server database, see the Site Database Replication Controls section in the Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager topic.

Backup and Recovery

The following item is new in backup and recovery in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • You can recover a secondary site by using the Recover Secondary Site action from the Sites node in the Configuration Manager console. During the recovery, the secondary site files are installed on the destination computer and then the secondary site data is reinitialized with data from the primary site. The secondary site that you recover must have the same FQDN, meet all secondary site prerequisites, and you must configure appropriate security rights for the secondary site.

    For more information about secondary site security requirements, see the Install a Secondary Site section in the Install Sites and Create a Hierarchy for Configuration Manager topic.

    For more information about how to recover secondary sites, see the Recover a Secondary Site section in the Backup and Recovery in Configuration Manager topic.

Site System Roles

The following are new for site system roles in Configuration Manager SP1:

Migration

The following items are new for migration in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • Beginning with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, you can merge data from other hierarchies that run the same version of Configuration Manager as your hierarchy. This includes migrating data from a test environment into your production environment.

  • Some UI labels and descriptions are updated to reflect the change in functionality that lets you migrate data between two System Center 2012 Configuration Manager hierarchies.

For more information about migration, see the Introduction to Migration in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager topic in the Migrating Hierarchies in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Client Deployment and Operations

The following sections contain information about client deployment and client operations changes in Configuration Manager SP1.

Client Deployment

The following items are new or have changed for client deployment in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • Configuration Manager can automatically upgrade Configuration Manager 2007 and System Center 2012 Configuration Manager clients to the version of their assigned System Center 2012 Configuration Manager site. For more information see the How to Automatically Upgrade the Configuration Manager Client for the Hierarchy section in the topic How to Install Clients on Windows-Based Computers in Configuration Manager.

  • You can now specify the following CCMSetup.exe properties as installation options when you use client push:

    • /forcereboot

    • /skipprereq

    • /logon

    • /BITSPriority

    • /downloadtimeout

    • /forceinstall

  • Configuration Manager SP1 clients now use Microsoft Silverlight 5 for the Application Catalog. Configuration Manager automatically installs this version of Silverlight on clients if it is not already installed, and by default, configures the Computer Agent client setting Allow Silverlight applications to run in elevated trust mode to Yes. For more information, see the Certificates for Microsoft Silverlight 5, and elevated trust mode required for the Application Catalog section in the Security and Privacy for Application Management in Configuration Manager topic.

  • There is a new value that is now the default for the Computer Agent client setting, PowerShell execution policy: All Signed. This new value restricts the Configuration Manager client to running Windows PowerShell scripts only if they are signed by a trusted publisher, regardless of the current Windows PowerShell configuration on the client computer. For more information, see the Computer Agent section in the About Client Settings in Configuration Manager topic.

  • The new Computer Agent client setting, Disable deadline randomization, by default, disables the installation randomization delay for required software updates and required application deployments. For more information, see the Computer Agent section in the About Client Settings in Configuration Manager topic.

  • Client notification in Configuration Manager enables some client operations to be performed as soon as possible, instead of during the usual client policy polling interval. For example, you can use the client management task Download Computer Policy to instruct computers to download policy as soon as possible. Additionally, you can initiate some actions for Endpoint Protection, such as a malware scan of a client.

    By default, client notification communication uses TCP port 10123, which is configurable as a site property for a primary site. You might have to configure Windows Firewall on the management point, clients, and any intervening firewalls for this new port communication. However, client notification can fall back to using the established client-to-management point communication of HTTP or HTTPS. Actions taken by client notification are displayed in the new Client Operations node in the Monitoring workspace.

    Note

    Client notification does not support role-based administration. All users of the Configuration Manager console can see notifications in the Client Operations node in the Monitoring workspace.

    For more information, see How to Configure Client Communication Port Numbers in Configuration Manager and How to Manage Clients in Configuration Manager.

  • You can install the Configuration Manager client on computers that run Mac OS X. You can then manage this client by using compliance settings, deploying software, and by collecting hardware inventory. For more information, see How to Install Clients on Mac Computers in Configuration Manager.

  • You can install the Configuration Manager client on servers that run a supported version of Linux or UNIX. You can then manage this client by using deploying software, and by collecting hardware inventory. For more information, see How to Install Clients on Linux and UNIX Computers in Configuration Manager.

For more information, see the Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager topic in the Deploying Clients for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Mobile Devices

The following items are new or have changed for mobile devices in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • The client settings group to configure mobile device enrollment settings is no longer named Mobile Devices but Enrollment. This change and associated changes, such as the change from the client setting of Mobile device enrollment profile to Enrollment profile, reflects that the enrollment functionality is now extended to Mac computers.

    Important

    The client certificates for mobile devices and Mac computers have different requirements. Therefore, if you configure client settings enrollment for mobile devices and Mac computers, do not configure the certificate templates to use the same user accounts.

  • Mobile devices that are enrolled by Configuration Manager SP1 now use the client policy polling interval setting in the Client Policy client setting group and no longer use the polling interval in the renamed Enrollment client setting group. This change lets you configure different client policy intervals for mobile devices that are enrolled by Configuration Manager, by using custom device client settings. You cannot create custom device client settings for Enrollment.

  • You can enroll mobile devices that run Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, and iOS when you use the Microsoft Intune connector. For more information, see Manage Mobile Devices with Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune.

  • Users who have mobile devices that are enrolled with Intune and Android devices that are managed by the Exchange Server connector can install apps from the company portal. The company portal is the Application Catalog equivalent for these mobile devices.

  • The new Retire option for mobile devices in the Configuration Manager console is supported only for mobile devices that are enrolled by Microsoft Intune.

Client Management

The following items are new or have changed for client management in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • The Configuration Manager SP1 client supports Windows 8 Always On Always Connected. The Configuration Manager client can now detect power states for devices that support Always On Always Connected and therefore, these clients might delay client actions. This automatic adjustment helps to maximize performance and preserve battery life for the device. The Configuration Manager client can detect the following states on an Always On Always Connected device.

    • Whether networking is turned on or off

    • Whether the device is running on battery power or plugged in

    • The battery power remaining

    • Whether the device is in idle mode

    • Whether the device is in its Windows Automatic Maintenance window

    • Whether the device is using a metered Internet connection

    Note

    These changes can also improve performance of the Configuration Manager client on computers that do not support Always On Always Connected.

    Configuration Manager supports Always On Always Connected devices that run Windows 8 versions on x86 and x64 platforms. Configuration Manager does not support Always On Always Connected for Windows 8 RT devices.

  • Client notification in Configuration Manager lets some client operations be performed as soon as possible, instead of during the usual client policy polling interval. For example, you can use the client management task Download Computer Policy to instruct computers to download policy as soon as possible. Additionally, you can start some actions for Endpoint Protection, such as a malware scan of a client.

    Actions taken by client notification are displayed in the new Client Operations node in the Monitoring workspace.

    For more information, see How to Manage Clients in Configuration Manager.

  • You can manage how Windows 8 client computers transfer data over metered Internet connections by using the Metered Internet Connections client setting Specify how clients communicate on metered network connections and the software deployment setting Allow clients to use a metered Internet connection to download content after the installation deadline in a required software deployment. For more information, see the Metered Internet Connections section in the About Client Settings in Configuration Manager topic.

  • When Configuration Manager SP1 clients run Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012, you can supplement the Wake on LAN site setting for unicast packets by using the wake-up proxy client settings. This combination helps to wake up computers on subnets without the requirement to reconfigure network switches. For more information about wake-up proxy, see the Planning How to Wake Up Clients section in the Planning for Communications in Configuration Manager topic.

For more information, see the Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager and How to Manage Clients in Configuration Manager topics in the Deploying Clients for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Collections

The following items are new or have changed for collections in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • The built-in collections are now read-only and cannot be modified.

For more information, see the Introduction to Collections in Configuration Manager topic in the Assets and Compliance in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Compliance Settings

The following items are new or have changed for compliance settings in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • You can now configure user data and profiles configuration items that contain settings that control how users in your hierarchy manage folder redirection, offline files, and roaming profiles on computers that run Windows 8. You can deploy these settings to collections of users and then monitor their compliance from the Monitoring node of the Configuration Manager console.

    For more information, see How to Create User Data and Profiles Configuration Items in Configuration Manager.

  • The new Mac OS X configuration item enables you to evaluate and remediate property list (.plist) settings on Mac computers. You can also use shell scripts to evaluate and remediate other Mac settings.

    For more information, see How to Create Mac Computer Configuration Items in Configuration Manager.

For more information, see the Introduction to Compliance Settings in Configuration Manager topic in the Assets and Compliance in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Endpoint Protection

The following items are new or have changed for Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • You can now enable an Endpoint Protection client setting that commits the installation of the Endpoint Protection client on Windows Embedded devices that are write filter enabled. For more information about this client setting, see the Endpoint Protection section in the About Client Settings in Configuration Manager topic.

    Additionally, definition updates that are deployed by software updates can be configured to write to the overlay on Windows Embedded devices, so that these updates are installed immediately and without a restart. For more information, see the Support for Windows Embedded Devices That Use Write Filters section in the Introduction to Software Updates in Configuration Manager topic.

  • You can now configure the Endpoint Protection client to install only during configured maintenance windows. The maintenance window must be at least 30 minutes long to allow installation to occur.

  • Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager now uses client notification to start the following actions as soon as possible, instead of during the normal client policy polling interval:

    • Force antimalware definition updates

    • Run quick scans

    • Run full scans

    • Allow threats

    • Exclude folders and files

    • Restore quarantined files

  • Improvements to software updates to allow more frequent distribution of Endpoint Protection definition updates.

  • Multiple antimalware policies that are deployed to the same client computer are merged on the client. When two settings are in conflict, the highest priority option is used. Some settings are also merged, such as exclusion lists from separate antimalware policies. Client-side merge also honors the priority that you configured for each antimalware policy.

  • A software update deployment template named Definition Updates is included in the Deploy Software Updates Wizard and Automatic Deployment Rule Wizard. This template includes typical settings to use when you deploy definition software updates for Endpoint Protection.

For more information, see the Introduction to Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager topic in the Assets and Compliance in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Asset Intelligence

The following items are new for Asset Intelligence in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • Asset Intelligence supports the 7 mandatory software identification tags that are defined in ISO/IEC 19770-2. The ISO/IEC 19770-2 standard specifies the structure and basic usage of software identification. Software identification tags provide authoritative information that is used to identify installed software. If software contains software identification tag information that is compliant with ISO/IEC 19770-2, then Asset Intelligence collects the software identification tags from the software.

    Note

    You must enable the SMS_SoftwareTag Asset Intelligence hardware inventory reporting class before Configuration Manager will collect the software identification tags.

  • Asset Intelligence provides the three new reports that provide information about software with the software identification tags. The report titles start with Software 14A, Software 14B, and Software 14C.

  • Asset Intelligence collects information about Application Virtualization 5 applications and continues to collect information about Application Virtualization 4.

For more information about Asset Intelligence, see the Introduction to Asset Intelligence in Configuration Manager topic in the Assets and Compliance in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Software Deployment and Content Management

The following sections contain information about changes for software updates, software distribution, operating system deployment and task sequences in Configuration Manager SP1.

Software Updates

The following items are new or have changed for software updates in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • Software update points are redesigned in Configuration Manager SP1. You can install multiple software update point site systems at a site. You can configure a software update point to be in the same forest as the site server or in a different forest, and whether to accept communication from clients on the Internet, intranet, or both. This behavior provides a level of fault tolerance without requiring a network load balancing (NLB) cluster. You cannot install more than one software update point in a secondary site. For more information, see the Determine the Software Update Point Infrastructure section in the Planning for Software Updates in Configuration Manager topic.

    Note

    The active software update point concept is deprecated in Configuration Manager SP1.

  • You no longer have the option to configure a software update point as an NLB in the Configuration Manager console. Before you upgrade from Configuration Manager with no service pack to Configuration Manager SP1, you must remove the NLB for your active software update point. After the upgrade is complete, you have the option to reconfigure the NLB by using the Set-CMSoftwareUpdatePoint PowerShell cmdlet. For more information about a software update point configured to use an NLB, see Software Update Point Configured to Use an NLB section in the Planning for Software Updates in Configuration Manager topic. For more information about the Set-CMSoftwareUpdatePoint PowerShell cmdlet, see the Set-CMSoftwareUpdatePoint topic in the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 Cmdlet Reference.

  • At the top-level Configuration Manager site, you can now specify an existing WSUS server as the upstream synchronization source location. During synchronization, the site connects to this location to synchronize software updates. For example, if you have an existing WSUS server that is not part of the Configuration Manager hierarchy, you can specify the existing WSUS server to synchronize software updates.

  • You can select from two built-in software update deployment templates from the Automatic Deployment Rule Wizard. The Definition Updates template provides common settings to use when you deploy definition software updates. The Patch Tuesday template provides common settings to use when you deploy software updates on a monthly cycle.

  • In the software update point properties, you can provide credentials for the site server to use to connect to the WSUS server. You can specify this account to connect to a software update point in a different forest, for example.

  • You can run an automatic deployment rule up to 3 times per day to align with the Microsoft System Center Endpoint Protection definition updates publishing frequency.

  • You can select multiple software updates to install as a group from Software Center.

  • You can control the behavior of the write filter on Windows Embedded devices when you deploy software updates by using the new user experience setting of Commit changes at deadline or during a maintenance windows (requires restarts). For more information about how Configuration Manager manages embedded devices that use write filters, see the Deploying the Configuration Manager Client to Windows Embedded Devices section in the Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager topic.

  • The new Computer Agent client setting, Disable deadline randomization, by default, disables the installation randomization delay for required software updates and required application deployments. For more information, see the Computer Agent section in the About Client Settings in Configuration Manager topic.

For more information, see the Introduction to Software Updates in Configuration Manager topic in the Deploying Software and Operating Systems in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Application Management

The following items are new or have changed for application management in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • App-V virtual environments in Configuration Manager enable virtual applications to share the same file system and registry on client computers. This allows applications that are in the same virtual environment to share data with one other. For more information, see How to Create App-V Virtual Environments in Configuration Manager.

  • You can configure new deployment types for Windows 8 applications that support stand-alone applications (.appx files) and links to the Windows Store.

  • Configuration Manager includes a new deployment type that you can use to deploy virtual applications that you have created by using Microsoft Application Virtualization 5.0.

  • Configuration Manager includes a new deployment type that you can use to deploy applications to Mac computers that run the Configuration Manager client.

  • Configuration Manager includes new deployment types for the following mobile devices when you use the Microsoft Intuneconnector: Windows Phone 8, Windows RT, iOS, and Android. Users download these apps from the new self-service portal for mobile devices, the company portal. For more information, see Manage Mobile Devices with Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune.

  • You can control the behavior of the write filter on Windows Embedded devices when you deploy applications, and packages and programs, by using the new user experience setting of Commit changes at deadline or during a maintenance windows (requires restarts).

  • For Windows Embedded devices that have the write filter enabled:

    • Software deployments that have a purpose of Available are not supported. If you target a software deployment to these devices, users can see the deployment in Software Center but if they try to install it from there, they see an error message that they do not have permissions.

    • Users on these devices cannot configure their business hours in Software Center.

    • Users on these devices do not see user notifications to let them postpone a software deployment to nonbusiness hours.

  • Users can no longer install applications from the Application Catalog if the Client Policy client setting Enable user policy on clients is set to No.

  • The new Computer Agent client setting, Disable deadline randomization, by default, disables the installation randomization delay for required software updates and for required application deployments. For more information, see the Computer Agent section in the About Client Settings in Configuration Manager topic.

For more information, see the Introduction to Application Management in Configuration Manager topic in the Deploying Software and Operating Systems in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Operating System Deployment

The following items are new or have changed for operating system deployment in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • Changes to Configuration Manager Setup:

    • Configuration Manager SP1 uses the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) instead of Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) to deploy an operating system. Before you run Setup, you must download and install Windows ADK on the site server and the provider computer.

    • The User State Migration Tool (USMT) for Windows 8 is installed as part of the Windows ADK. At the top-level site, Setup automatically creates the package for this new version of USMT at the site.

    • Setup automatically updates default boot images at the site. You must manually update any custom boot images.

  • Changes to task sequence:

    • The default task sequences were changed to optimize the deployment of operating systems starting with Windows 7.

    • Support for computers that are in Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) mode. The task sequence sets the SMSTSBootUEFI built-in task sequence variable when it detects a computer that is in UEFI mode.

    • The default task sequence automatically partitions the computer based on whether it was booted in UEFI mode or BIOS mode (conditioned based on the value of the _SMSTSBootUEFI variable).

    • The build and capture task sequence was updated to apply an operating system image instead of running Setup.exe for installation. You can still run Setup.exe for Windows 8 deployments by editing the task sequence in the task sequence editor.

    • Support for operating system deployments to devices with limited available disk space, such as embedded devices. You can configure the Apply Operating System Image step to install the image directly from a distribution point even if the task sequence deployment is configured to download content to the task sequence cache first.

    • You can control the behavior of write filters on Windows Embedded devices when you deploy task sequences.

    Note

    For information about task sequences, see Planning a Task Sequences Strategy in Configuration Manager.

  • Changes to how you create pre-staged media:

    • You can specify applications, packages, and driver packages to deploy with the operating system.

    • When you deploy the task sequence by using pre-staged media, the wizard checks the local task sequence cache for valid content first, and if the content cannot be found or was revised, the content is downloaded from the distribution point.

    Note

    For information about how to create pre-staged media, see the How to Create Prestaged Media section in the How to Deploy Operating Systems by Using Media in Configuration Manager topic.

  • Changes to BitLocker support:

  • You can configure the Windows PE scratch space in the boot image properties. For more information, see the How to Modify a Boot Image section in the How to Manage Boot Images in Configuration Manager topic.

  • Added language neutral boot images:

    • You can use the SMSTSLanguageFolder built-in variable to change the language for information displayed by Windows PE.

    • Languages are auto-detected and used when boot images are started from Software Center.

    Note

    For information about boot image deployments, see Planning for Boot Image Deployments in Configuration Manager.

  • Added the following task sequence built-in variables:

    • SMSTSPersistContent: Use this variable to temporarily persist content in the task sequence cache.

    • SMSTSPostAction: Use this variable to run a command after the task sequence is completed.

    • SMSTSLanguageFolder: Use this variable to change the display language of a language neutral boot image.

    • OSDPreserveDriveLetter: This variable determines whether or not the task sequence uses the drive letter on the operating system image WIM file. In Configuration Manager with no service pack, the drive letter on the WIM file was used when it applied the operating system image WIM file. In Configuration Manager SP1, you can set the value for this variable to False to use the location that you specify for the Destination setting in the Apply Operating System task sequence step. For more information about the Apply Operating System task sequence step, see the Apply Operating System Image section in the Task Sequence Steps in Configuration Manager topic.

    • SMSTSDownloadProgram: Use this variable to specify an Alternate Content Provider, a downloader program that is used to download content instead of the default Configuration Manager downloader, for the task sequence. As part of the content download process, the task sequence checks the variable for a specified downloader program. If specified, the task sequence runs the program to perform the download.

    • SMSTSAssignmentsDownloadInterval: Use this variable to specify the number of seconds to wait before the client tries to download the task sequence policy since the last attempt that returned no policies. You can set this variable by using a prestart command from media or PXE.

    • SMSTSAssignmentsDownloadRetry: Use this variable to specify the number of times a client will attempt to download the task sequence policy after no policies are found on the first attempt. You can set this variable by using a prestart command from media or PXE.

    • _SMSTSBootUEFI: The task sequence sets the _SMSTSBootUEFI variable when it detects a computer that boots in UEFI mode.

    • _SMSTSWTG: Specifies if the computer is running as a Windows To Go device.

    Note

    For more information about built-in task sequence variables, see the Task Sequence Built-in Variables in Configuration Manager topic.

  • Changes to software update installation for offline operating system images:

    • Ability to continue to update an image even when one or more software updates cannot be installed.

    • Software updates are copied from the content library on the site server instead of the package source.

  • Ability to provision Windows To Go in Configuration Manager. Windows To Go is an operating system stored on a USB-connected external drive. You can provision the Windows To Go drive the same as you pre-stage media in Configuration Manager. For more information about how to provision Windows To Go, see How to Provision Windows To Go in Configuration Manager.

  • New site maintenance task (Delete Aged Unknown Computers) to delete information about unknown computers from the site database when it has not been updated for a specified time. For more information about site maintenance tasks, see the Planning for Maintenance Tasks for Configuration Manager section in the Planning for Site Operations in Configuration Manager topic.

  • Better monitoring and status for task sequence content and task sequence deployments.

  • New deployment setting lets you deploy task sequences that are available only in Windows PE.

  • You can manage Windows PE optional components from the Optional Components tab in the properties for boot images.

  • You can export and import driver packages from the Driver Packages node in the Software Library workspace.

Content Management

The following items are new or have changed for content management in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • You can configure the drive location for the content library in the Create Site System Server Wizard and Add Site System Roles Wizard when you create the distribution point site role.

  • You can configure some distribution points as pull-distribution points. When you distribute content to a pull-distribution point, the Configuration Manager site server does not transfer the content that you distribute to the distribution point computer. Instead, Configuration Manager notifies the pull-distribution point which then transfers the content from a source distribution point that you specify.

For more information, see the Introduction to Content Management in Configuration Manager topic in the Deploying Software and Operating Systems in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Monitoring and Reporting

The following sections contain information about monitoring and reporting changes in Configuration Manager SP1.

Reporting

The following items are new or have changed for reporting in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • Configuration Manager SP1 supports Microsoft SQL Server 2012 Reporting Services.

  • When Microsoft SQL Server 2012 or SQL Server 2008 R2 runs on the Reporting Services point, Configuration Manager opens Reporting Services Report Builder 3.0 when you create or modify reports. When Microsoft SQL Server 2008 runs on the Reporting Services point, Configuration Manager opens Reporting Services Report Builder 2.0 when you create or modify reports.

  • The Monitoring workspace now displays links to SQL Server Reporting Services Report Manage from the Reporting node.

For more information, see the Introduction to Reporting in Configuration Manager topic in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

Alerts

The following items are new or have changed for alerts in Configuration Manager SP1:

  • You can create email subscriptions to all alerts that are generated by Configuration Manager.

For more information, see the Configuring Alerts in Configuration Manager topic in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.