Motivations for, and barriers to, using Cornell's MS Configuration Manager (CM) more powerful tools and capabilities, such as application updating. Especially within Research.
Resources
Interesting CM/Casper/Encryption stats CIT website
CM book. Considering ordering "Mastering System Center Configuration Manager 1st Edition" to save CM training costs.
- https://www.amazon.com/dp/1119258456/ .
- Publisher: Sybex; 1 edition (January 24, 2017)
Overview
The decision to have CM installed "on all Windows which are in CU AD" is fine within Research as long as the following condition holds true:
- CM on all Windows within CU AD is OK as long as nothing else is automatically done to those computers via CM simply because the are on CM. No MS patching, no Flexera, etc!
- See: CM question/expectations/understandings
We can roll out CM within Research ONLY IF we have the option, per computer, to pick and choose CM capabilities to best meet that research computer's business need.
- KEY requirement: Do not force use of MS updates (OS, Office, etc.) on a computer simply to benefit from other CM services such as CM SCEP or CM Firefox.
- Many research computers, especially those attached to instruments, must only be updated and restarted by the user, and not forced on them.
- See: CM question/expectations/understandings
Table tracking concerns, questions, and progress
| Function | Gap, as understood by Chemistry IT | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Create and maintain easy-to-access page with current list of apps managed by 3rd party updater. | Unknown products been installed or updated by 3rd party updater. | All or nothing, right? |
| Enable stand-alone CM SCEP install | ||
| Enable stand-alone CM MS updates with forced reboots | Do not automatically link this capability with any other enrollments. | Forced reboots moving from ~2pm to ~4pm, once moved to CIT's schedule. |
| Ideal: Enable stand-along CM MS updates with non-forced reboots (and/ or other algorithms) | The more choice, the more likely to find a good fit to ensure patching. | |
| Enable stand-alone A&S CM Java install | In progress. A&S testing. | |
| Enable stand-alone A&S CM Firefox install | Easy? | Easy since CIT has package already? |
| Enable stand-alone A&S CM Flexera install | DONE! | |
| Enable stand-alone A&S CM FileZilla install | DONE! | |