In September were announced, by Microsoft, various news about Operations Management Suite (OMS) and System Center. Our community releases monthly summary that provides a general overview of the main new features of the month, in order to keep you informed on these arguments and have the necessary references to conduct further study.
Operations Management Suite (OMS)
Azure Automation
In Azure Automation was introduced the ability to import (package format .whl, .tar or .gz), create and run runbook in Python 2. For these runbooks it is also provided the use of Automation resources such as schedules, variables, connections and credentials. Their execution can be done either by Azure that through Hybrid Runbook Worker. To investigate this new feature you can see this article.
Figure 1 - Import of a package in Python 2
In Azure Update Manager these new features have been released:
- Pre/post installation tasks (preview): you have the possibility of running Azure Automation runbooks before and after updates installation.
Figure 2 – Pre/post installation tasks
- Dynamic groups (preview): allows you to create dynamic groups of Azure VMs as targets for update deployments. These groups are defined by using query (based on Subscriptions, Resource groups, Locations and Tags) and the membership is calculated at startup of the update deployment.
Figure 3 – Dynamic groups
- Update inclusion: allows you to specify the list of updates included, to control exactly which updates are applied during deployment.
Figure 4 – Update inclusion
Azure Backup
In Azure Backup support has been extended to allow protection of virtual machines that have linked up to 32 disks. The previous limit was 16 disks.
System Center
System Center Configuration Manager
Released the version 1809 for the branch Technical Preview of System Center Configuration Manager.
In this release are covered several improvements regarding:
- The functionality CMPivot. It is a new utility available in the Configuration Manager console to provide real-time information on connected devices in your environment. On this information you can apply filters and groupings, then perform certain actions.
- Product lifecycle dashboards.
- Data warehouse.
- Maintenance windows for software updates.
Please note that the Technical Preview Branch releases help you to evaluate new features of SCCM and it is recommended to apply these updates only in test environments.
Released the version 1808 for the Current Branch (CB) of System Center Configuration Manager. The main novelty of this update reveals the possibility of a gradual release of the software updates automatically (Phased Deployment). The button that allows you to configure this is present in the console nodes All Software Updates, All Windows 10 Updates, and Office 365 Updates.
Figure 5 – Phased Deployment creation button
In this interesting article are reported the announcements made during Microsoft Ignite 2018 about System Center Configuration Manager and Microsoft Intune.
System Center Operations Manager
Microsoft has announced that the cloud service Global Service Monitor (GSM) present in SCOM and used to monitor the availability of external web applications from different geographical locations, will be retired in November 2018. The recommendation is to use Azure Application Insights, that offers next generation advanced capabilities for web applications monitors. For further information you can consult theMicrosoft's official announcement.
System Center Updates Publisher
It is reported the release of a update rollup for System Center Updates Publisher (SCUP) that resolves some important issues.
Evaluation of OMS and System Center
Please remember that in order to test and evaluate for free Operations Management Suite (OMS) you can access this page and select the mode that is most appropriate for your needs.
To try out the various components of System Center you must access theEvaluation Center and after the registration you can start the trial period.
