Frequently Asked Questions
Software Inventory
Q: I would like to know more about the Software and Inventory side of things, can we also use it to monitor our Microsoft Licenses such as XP, Office etc?
A: Yes, you can quickly obtain reports based on self-defined computer groups to count up the number of licences you are currently using. To perform this task, navigate to the "Computers" space, select a computer group, and click "Computer Group Summary Report". The right-hand column will display all the software in your environment, and the number of licences in use.
Q: What software inventory does SCE collect?
A: SCE collects all software that is registered on a managed computers "Add/Remove Programs" list. If you see it when you go to "Add/Remove Programs" in the control panel, it will be tracked by SCE.
General
Q: Does System Center Essentials 2007 include both MOM & SMS?
A: No, SCE 2007 includes Operations Manager 2007 (formerly known as MOM), and Windows Server Update Services 3.0. These are the core technologies in place to support all of our client and server monitoring, as well as software distribution, patch management, and inventory collection.
Q: Does SCE include the “service desk” capability?
A: No, not in version 1.
Q: Where can I buy Essentials 2007?
A: Essentials 2007 is available for purchase, go to http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/sce/howtobuy/default.mspx for information on how to buy.
Pricing
Q: Where can I get information on approximate cost of this product????
A: Licensing and pricing information is available at http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/sce/howtobuy/default.mspx. Keep in mind that these are estimated retail prices. Actual prices will vary based on your method of purchase.
Supported Topologies
Q: How many SCE servers can I have in my domain?
A: You can only have one SCE server per domain.
Q: Is SCE 2007 domain restrictive? (Can it be used to manage more than one domain/client?)
A: SCE 2007 can manage any computer that exists in the Active Directory forest in which the SCE server itself resides. Any computer in a trusted domain can be managed.
Q: If it can manage more than one domain/client, what is required at the central management center? (SCE 2007? MOM?)
A: The central management server consists of the SCE 2007 server. There are no additional components to buy.
Q: Are there any plans for branch offices support with lower network bandwith?
A: As long as the branches are domain joined - yes! We are also investigating an optimized branch-office topology. Watch for future communication on this.
Q: Do I have to install SCE on my server that has Active Directory? Or can I use one of my other servers?
A: No, you can install SCE on any server in your domain which meets our minimum pre-requisites.
Agent Management
Q: How often does SCE query the environment, and is this configurable?
A: SCE does not query the environment, but rather the agents installed on computers will post information about events and health on a periodic basis. These postings can be ever few minutes, depending on the need to send anything new to the server.
Q: The FAQ mentiones that the client agents will send information to the server as needed. Is there any specified default time that they send in information; whether changes are made or not or do they only send information to the server if something about the client changes/updates.
A: Each managed computer is running a service call the “Health Service” this service is always running, and is configured to detect state changes at many intervals. For instance, it could be checking for a registry setting one moment, then a performance counter the next. If it detects a change, or is configured to send data at a specific interval, it will communicate with the SCE server.
Q: Can I manage and monitor some clients with the full capabilities of SCE and some - only using WSUS functions?
A: No, all clients are automatically managed for monitoring and the WSUS functionality. You could put clients in different groups to allow for managing them in different ways, such as approving different updates or software.
Monitoring
Q: At TechReady3 I was told that SCE can monitor any network device with an IP address and SNMP monitoring software. Does this include Unix machines?
A: Yes it does. SCE can monitor the up/down of any device that has SNMP enabled. If it can respond to a PING request, we can monitor for its ability to respond. Further, by leveraging our Management Pack capabilities, there's an opportunity for partners to provide deeper management, including tasks, for non-Windows-based devices.
Q: How much overhead does an Essentials 2007 server add to a network?
A: Think of an Essentials 2007 server in similar terms to a web server, it sends and receives information from other computers. Depending on the number of computers its sending and receiving information to/from, the bandwidth consumed by the server will vary. If the server (or management agents) detect that they are consuming excessive resources, they will back-off and send their information later.
Q: What SCOM 2007 functionality will be included in SCE 2007? What will not?
A: For the most part, SCE includes all SCOM functionality with the following exceptions:
- No granular role-based security (there's just an "Admin" role)
- No MOM connector framework (no way to inject outside monitoring tools alerts)
- No datawarehouse (db only stores 40 days worth of data)
Third-Party Integration
Q: Can I forward alerts from my Essentials 2007 system to other monitoring systems and vice versa?
A: No, SCE doesnt support integration into/out-of the monitoring system.
SCE's Database
Q: What version of SQL does SCE require?
A: SCE comes with SQL Express in-the-box, for free. You do not need to buy other versions of SQL to run SCE. SCE does support all other versions of SQL 2005, such as Express, Standard, Workgroup, and Enterprise.
Q: Does SCE support SQL in a clustered topology?
A: No, SCE does not support SQL in a clustered topology. For high-availability configurations, you need to upgrade to Ops Mgr 2007.
Software Distribution
Q: Can SCE uninstall applications that were not installed by SCE but appear in Add/Remove programs, or can you only remove applications that have been installed by SCE?
A: You can remove apps not installed by SCE using a workaround. You would create an “uinstall package” for that particular application, and deploy it. Its sole task would be to deploy the package down to the client, and run the uninstall command. Does that make sense?
Server & Client Scale (node count)
Q: This product is great but needs a way support that special group of organizations such as non-profit that have limited IT resources and do not have the experts staff to use System Center Configuration Manager, System Center Operations Manager. SCE limits of 15 servers and 500 pc's do not help these guys. I know of many organization that have 20 servers and between, 500-750 PC that would be better served by SCE than being forced to move to System Center Configuration Manager, and System Center Operations Manager. I truly believe there's a market you’re leaving out in the cold with your 15/500 limits. What about printers and routers? When you add these devices, I’m sure a lot of company will fall in that gray area where they'll be anywhere from 3-10 or 11-20 over making them just a little short of being able to use the SCE. I think a good solution for SCE limits should be up to 800 devices but not more than 1000. After 1000 devices you should move to the other enterprise level tools. But truly in today world I think a medium sized businesses is considered to have somewhere between 500-800 devices when you add in printers routers and switches along with workstations and servers. Especially when some of these customer considering moving to Exchange 2007 and using UM and don’t forget about SharePoint all which will add more devices.
A: SCE supports managing 30 servers, and 500 client PCs.
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