Using Systems Management Server to Analyze Your Network Infrastructure

Using Systems Management Server

SMS is an extremely scalable system that you can use to perform a variety of computer administration tasks. When deploying Windows 2000, you can use SMS to expedite the performance of many repetitive tasks. The deployment planning tasks for network analysis and preparation are shown in Figure 8.1.

Note

For this chapter, network infrastructure is defined to include all of the SMS-compatible computers in your network. This includes computers running Windows 2000, Windows NT Server, Windows NT Workstation, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 3.1, and Windows for Workgroups.

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Figure 8.1 Process Flow for Analyzing Your Network Infrastructure with SMS

Using SMS for your Windows 2000 planning and deployment processes requires additional resources. However, the costs you incur to plan for and use SMS are easily recouped through the ability to automate Windows 2000 deployment tasks.

You can use SMS to automate tasks for deploying Windows 2000 to many end-users at once. The tasks, and even the inclusion of computers into SMS in the first place, can all be done without technical staff visiting the computers. The automated tasks provide the following benefits:

Greatly reduced manual labor and site visits.
Distribution over a large geographical area.
Graceful recovery in the event of some errors.
Flexible scheduling.
Status updates on a daily (or more frequent) basis.

Note

SMS is dependent on software components that run on the client and that (at least occasionally) connect to the SMS infrastructure through a network. Therefore, you cannot use SMS to install Windows 2000 on new computers that do not yet have an operating system and network client. The chapter "Automating Client Installation and Upgrade"in this book suggests methods that you can use to set up new computers with Windows 2000.