December 2006 - Posts

SMS2003 Database Sizing
18 December 2006 11:02

Sizing an SMS2003 database is an often misunderstood subject, which can cause a lot issues if not done correctly.

SMSPerfGuy has a really good article available on this subject:

http://blogs.msdn.com/smsperfguy/archive/2004/06/06/149434.aspx

And, if you are responsible for designing an SMS2003 environment for your company then you should definately take a look at the SMS2003 Capacity Planner:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=009e0c30-bded-4b95-a8f9-06037de85c57&displaylang=en

by Rob - MVP | 1 comment(s)
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SMS2003: Change a SMS Sites Site Description
15 December 2006 17:52

Several people have asked me how to change an SMS Sites Description without reinstalling the Site. Say for example they mistype the description, or after a period of time the Site Description may need to be changed due to a division being renamed, taken over due to acquisition or the site server being geographically relocated.

Microsoft currently does not support the change of a Sites Description without a reinstallation taking place. But, there is a very simple way that does not involve hacking registries or database contents in multiple locations. Instead SMS will do the job for you, by processing it's Site Control File and performing the change in a controlled fashion and updating all relevent locations with the change. Be aware this is a not something you should perform in a production environment as Microsoft does not support the method, even though it is a harmless and effective approach to solving the problem.

All of the operations below are carried out on the Site server that you want the Site Description changed on unless stated otherwise

  • Open the SMS Services Manager tool and if the target site server is a secondary connect to it
  • Locate the SMS_SITE_CONTROL_MANAGER component and stop it
  • Open in Notepad the  %SMSDRIVE%\SMS\INBOXES\SITECTRL\sitectrl.ct0 file
  • Locate the Site Definition section,

BEGIN_SITE_DEFINITION

 <Numerical Value>
 <Site Code>
 <Site Description>

Edit the text within <Site Description>

Note: Do not add or change the syntax of the sections in this file or you will cause serious damage to your Site server. Do not remove the < or > symbols or edit anything outside of them

  • Save the updated sitectrl.ct0 file
  • From the SMS Services Manager tool restart the SMS_SITE_CONTROL_MANAGER component
  • The hman.log will inform you that it is processing the Site Control File. A Status Message will be generated, and described in the message is the new Site Description.

    You can also see this information in the Status Messages for the Site under Message ID 3306.
  • Go to the SMS Console and refresh the Site to see the new Site Description.

The reason this works is that SMS will write back to the database the Site Control Definitions held on the Site Server in the Site Control File whenever the SMS Executive service or Site Control Manager component is started, and as a consequence the Site Description is updated in the database.

 

by Rob - MVP | with no comments
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SMS2003 Script: Direct To Query
13 December 2006 16:39

I wrote a little script to convert Direct Membership rules in to Queries. If you ever have a need to do so then check out the Files section of our website where you can download it.

I cannot see this one being helpful to a wide range of administrators, but one in particular Chris from Germany posted on the SMSAdmin Microsoft Newsgroup asking how to do this so I wrote it really for him. However, the script contains loads of interesting ways to go about the task and can help a newbie SMS scripter figure out a few ways to interact with SMS2003.

You can pull down the SMS SDK, WMI SDK and VBScript documentation to assist you in coding up the next best script. And remember, Google is your friend :>

by Rob - MVP | with no comments
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Garry Meaburn joins the Microsofties at Reading
13 December 2006 16:35

Heard some very good news today. Garry Meaburn has become Microsoftified (yes, i just made that word up!). Please join me, in congratulating Garry on making the move to Microsoft.

Garry specialises in MOM, and is co-author of the Microsoft Operations Manager 2005 Field Guide book.

Cool [H]

by Rob - MVP | with no comments
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FindIt!!!
09 December 2006 14:43

This is a great web-game, check it out :>

Find it V1: http://newyorkdesign.hp.infoseek.co.jp/menu06.html

Find it V2: http://newyorkdezyne.com/findit2.html

If you get stuck, here's a cunning way to erm ... cheat!

hint: two copies of MSPaint and trusty PrtScreen ;-)

 

by Rob - MVP | with no comments
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Computer nonsense depicted in movies
08 December 2006 14:47

Had me in stitches :> NSWF

Matt craps on a bunch of ridiculous ideas about programming and code that Hollywood can't seem to stay away from.

http://www.drivl.com/pages/code

by Rob - MVP | with no comments
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Wii Remote carnage
08 December 2006 13:54

Some crazy snaps of damage done by the Wii remote!!!

http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/

by Rob - MVP | with no comments
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Rendering Advertisment, Package and Collection information in the SMS Console
08 December 2006 12:07

When I visit a sms 2.0 customer site, I setup several things to help me during the engagement, one of which is to prepare 3 queries in the SMS console to expose Advertisement, Package and Collection information. Here's how I do this.

Create three queries, if there is a naming standard then that affects how I name these. But for this example I will call them:

1) SMS_Collection
2) SMS_Package
3) SMS_Advertisement

I then insert the following WQL in to each of the queries:

1) Collection

select Name, CollectionID from sms_collection

2) Package

select Name, PackageID, StoredPkgVersion, PkgSourcePath from  SMS_Package

3) Advertisement

select AdvertisementName, AdvertisementID, CollectionID, PackageID, ProgramName from  SMS_Advertisement

You can expose a whole lot more infomation, just replace everything after the select clause and before the from clause with a * to return all the columns (select * from SMS_Package). I prefer the WQL examples above as they expose and line up only the columns I need.

If you want to know more about WQL\WMI then check out these links:

Creating and Editing Query Statements: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sms/sms2003/opsguide/ops_35pn.mspx?mfr=true

WMI Administrative Tools: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=6430F853-1120-48DB-8CC5-F2ABDC3ED314&displaylang=en

SMS2003 Scripting Guide: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=81300e34-09cf-4672-a5c4-06aa238275ec&DisplayLang=en

WMI Reference: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/wmisdk/wmi/wmi_reference.asp

Google: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=wql+sms

by Rob - MVP | with no comments
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