What’s New in Service Pack 1 and R2 for Configuration Manager 2007?

What’s New in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1

• Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 introduces a new feature for out of band management.
• Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 provides significant enhancements to the Asset Intelligence feature introduced in Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 and included in Configuration Manager 2007.
• The length of the evaluation period has changed in Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 to be more consistent with other Microsoft products. In Configuration Manager 2007, the evaluation period is 120 days. In Configuration Manager 2007 SP1, the evaluation period is 180 days.
• The Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) Connector and the System Center Updates Publisher are no longer included with the Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 installation media.
• Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1 provides support for Windows Server 2008 as clients and site systems.

Note
Windows Server 2008 does not include WebDAV by default, which is required for Configuration Manager 2007 management points and distribution points. For more information, see the release notes.

What’s New in Configuration Manager 2007 R2

• Application Virtualization management support
• Forefront Client Security Integration
• SQL Reporting Services Reporting – Allows you to report on Configuration Manager activity using SQL Reporting Services
• Client Status Reporting – Provides a set of tools and Configuration Manager 2007 reports to assess the status of client computers, sometimes referred to as "client health." Clients that show a change in activity patterns might need administrative intervention.
• Operating System Deployment Enhancements
  • Unknown computer support
    In Configuration Manager 2007 R2, you can deploy operating systems to computers using a PXE service point without first adding the computer to the Configuration Manager database.
  • Multicast deployment
    Previously, all operating system deployments used unicast. Multicast can make more efficient use of network bandwidth when deploying large images to several computers at the same time.
  • Running command lines in task sequences with credentials other than the local system account.

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