Integrate System Center Updates Publisher (SCUP) 2011 with ConfigMgr

With System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) and WSUS integrated, it's possible to install and use System Center Updates Publisher (SCUP) 2011 also (free usage). With SCUP 2011 you can create and install packages that's not in WSUS by default. That way updates from DELL, HP and ADOBE (for example) can be used in your existing WSUS installation for deploying to clients. By default there are some catalogs that can be imported in SCUP 2011. Manually created packages from JAVA (for example) can be used also.

First download and install SCUP 2011 from the following website:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=11940
Microsoft DotNet 4.0 is needed on the server to have SCUP 2011 installed.

After that install the following hotfix on the server (needed for the Signing certificate):
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=20689 (x86)
or http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?displaylang=en&id=12390 (x64)

When SCUP 2011 is installed successfully choose Options. Choose "Enable publishing to an update server" and create an Signing certificate also. On the next tab select "Enable Configuration Manager integration". Now open a Management Console with the Certificates component in it.

The Signing certificate created will be available in the WSUS Certicate folder after configuraton. Choose copy, and past in on both "Trusted Root certification" and "Trusted Publishers". There is also the choice to save a local copy from it. That way it can be published bij Group Policy if needed for client computers. The Management Console can be closed after that.

Best thing now is to reboot the server, and open the SCUP 2011 console again. Now it's time to import the default catalogs and create additional packages yourself. After synchronization these updates will be available in ConfigMgr. Just select the updates needed, choose Assign and Publish to create them. When synchronization with WSUS is done, they will be available in ConfigMgr.

Kent Agerlund, ConfigMgr MVP, wrote a great getting starting guide to System Center Updates Publisher 2011 up on his blog. Check it out here
http://blogs.technet.com/b/jasonlewis/archive/2011/06/13/scup-2011-installation-amp-configuration-guide.aspx

Microsoft System Center Roadmap 2011-2012

During Microsoft Management Summit 2011 the System Center Roadmap 2011-2012 is presented. As you can see all products from this suite become RTM at second half of 2011. About end 2011 or begin 2012 the complete suite will be presented as System Center 2012 suite.

New products shown in this Roadmap are:

• Orchestrator (formerly known as Opalis; provides automation of processes and workflows between the various System Center products)
• Advisor (analyzing configurations of systems according to best practices and experiences from the Premier Support field. This application is offered by Microsoft from the cloud)
• Codename "Concero" (allows customers to deploy applications and services; manage private clouds with SCVMM 2012, and public clouds with Windows Azure)
• Windows Intune (PC Management and protection from the cloud)

Where "Concero" manage both on-premise and in the cloud, Advisor and Windows InTune manage solutions that literally works from the cloud (Software as a Service).

It will be an exciting year with new Beta's, RC & RTM releases, and finally a brand new System Center 2012 suite!