From the course: Career Essentials in System Administration by Microsoft and LinkedIn

System Center Suite

From the course: Career Essentials in System Administration by Microsoft and LinkedIn

System Center Suite

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- [Instructor] System Center is a suite of applications that are for both on-premises and cloud resources. They allow CIS admins to manage all your devices in your organization. System Center solved a big problem for CIS admins from years past. They needed to control computers to help deploy and secure them. Microsoft came up with a centralized system that has evolved to include mobile devices and cloud devices over the years. There's a long history of System Center products with Microsoft. System Manager Server was originally deployed with NT4 in the 1990s. This product was difficult to use and mainly deployed applications for Microsoft and third parties to control and monitor basic computer functions. MOM, or Microsoft Operations Manager, came out in the year 2000 to incorporate active directory to SMS. We could now use group policy and security groups to manage computers and deploy products like applications and operating systems and monitor computers and servers. In 2007, we had the first System Center Suite. The main product was the configuration manager. Microsoft said it could deploy operating systems, software applications, software updates, meter software usage, assess variation from desired configurations, provide hardware and software inventory, and remotely administering computers. That is a lot for one program to provide. 2012 System Center improved on 2007, but added additional functionality with mobile device management orchestrator and better endpoint protection capabilities. The main additions were to mobile and overall security. 2016 System Center is more about refining and upgrading the capabilities of 2016, such as incorporating Intune for even better mobile management and better monitoring and asset management. The 2019 System Center release focused on three main areas. It adds more capabilities to the existing components and features. It brought integration for Windows Server 2019, and System Center 2019 adds more hybrid cloud integrations with Microsoft Azure. Configuration Manager manages PCs, servers, and mobile devices like Apple and Android. Data Protection Manager can back up and recover data for servers, applications, and services. Operation Manager monitors servers, services, all kinds of devices across the enterprise. It helps identify problems and can deploy scripts for immediate fixes. Orchestrator automates the creation and deployment of resources in the Windows Azure environment. Service Manager manages incidents and controls the asset lifecycle. Service Management Automation can automate the creation and deployment of resources in Windows Azure. Virtual Machine Manager provides and manages resources needed to rapidly create and deploy virtual machines. Service Provider Foundation delivers infrastructure as a service to clients by providing virtual machines management capabilities. Endpoint protection used to be part of System Center Configuration Manager, but is now embedded in the SCCM client, which is pushed out to each computer that's utilizing SCCM. There is no need for a separate product in the suite anymore now that it's integrated. By understanding the history of System Center, you can appreciate the application in its current form and see how Microsoft developed their product over two decades. For the modern CIS admin, System Center might be a good choice for your company.

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