Configuration Manager Servicing Extension user guide

 

Updated: May 14, 2015

Applies To: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP2, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager SP1

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager Servicing Extension provides useful information for maintaining a Configuration Manager environment. Servicing Extension provides the following capabilities:

  • Notifies you of Configuration Manager updates as they become available, with the ability to filter updates according to which major release they apply to

  • Provides details on the sites in your environment, including the last major Configuration Manager version installed and the most recently installed Cumulative Update

  • Provides a list of Configuration Manager client versions that may be present in your environment, and makes it easy to create queries to locate these clients

  • Provides a built-in RSS reader to display recent blog postings from the System Center Configuration Manager Team Blog and The Configuration Manager Support Team Blog

Software requirements

The following must be installed on the server or client computer on which Configuration Manger Servicing Extension will be installed:

  • An operating system supported by System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. For a list of supported operating systems, see Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager, but please note that Windows XP clients and Windows Server 2003 clients are not supported by Servicing Extension.

  • The Configuration Manager console from System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 or later, or System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager or later.

To install Configuration Manager Servicing Extension

  1. Download Configuration Manager 2012 Servicing Extension.msi from the Microsoft Download Center.

  2. Follow the instructions in the setup wizard to install Configuration Manager Servicing Extension.

After the installation completes, you are ready to maintain your Configuration Manager environment using Configuration Manager Servicing Extension.

Configuration Manager Servicing Extension UI Reference

This section describes the user interface (UI) for the Configuration Manager Servicing Extension add-in, which is included in the Administration workspace in the Configuration Manager console.

Note

Throughout the Servicing Extension add-in, you can click Mark as Read to note that you have read a blog post or visited the web page associated with for an update. When you click Mark as Read, the blog post or update is switched from bold to normal, to remind you that you have already reviewed this information.

Site Servicing pane

The Site Servicing pane is a top-level overview of information that you can use to maintain your Configuration Manager environment. It includes collapsible lists that show only the most recent updates to the following:

  • Updates to configuration manager

  • System Center Configuration Manager Team Blog

  • The Configuration Manager Support Team Blog

  • About

You can expand these lists to see these items, and then you can click the link associated with each item to read update KB articles or read blog posts. You can also expand the About list, to view the Servicing Extension version number, access forums and documentation, configure proxy server settings, and manage RSS subscriptions.

Configuring proxy server settings

By default, Servicing Extension will use the same proxy server settings that are configured in Internet Explorer on the computer where Servicing Extension is installed.

To configure proxy server settings
  1. In the About list, click Configure Proxy.

  2. Complete the dialog box as follows:

    Setting

    Information

    Server

    Enter the IP address of the proxy server

    Port

    Enter the port used to contact the proxy server

    Bypass proxy for local addresses

    Select this checkbox to bypass the proxy server for any local addresses.

    Proxy requires authentication

    Select this checkbox if the proxy server requires authentication. Then, enter credentials in the Username and Password dialog boxes.

  3. Click Accept.

Managing RSS Subscriptions

By default, Servicing Extension provides a set of RSS feeds that are useful for servicing Configuration Manager. You can add, remove or organize your RSS feeds.

To add, remove, or organize RSS feeds
  1. In the About list, click Manage RSS Subscriptions.

  2. To add an RSS subscription, click Add, and then enter the URL for the RSS subscription that you want to add.

  3. To remove an RSS subscription, select the subscription that you want to remove, and then click Remove.

  4. To organize your RSS subscriptions, click a subscription and then click Move Up or Move Down.

  5. When you are done updating RSS subscriptions, click Close.

Site Updates pane

The Site Updates pane shows the updates that are applicable to a specific release of Configuration Manager. By choosing a release in the Show releases for list, you can filter which updates are shown in this pane to show the updates that are applicable to a specific release.

For each update listed, you can see the release date and click a link to read the update KB article.

Site Versions pane

The Site Versions pane provides information that you can use to plan updates to sites that are running older versions of Configuration Manager. It provides the following information about the sites in your Configuration Manager environment:

  • Server Name. The name of the server that hosts the site.

  • Site Code

  • Site Name

  • Base Version. This is the version number of the most recently installed Configuration Manager Service Pack or “R” release. This version number does not reflect which hotfixes or cumulative updates have been applied to the site.

  • CU Level. This is the latest cumulative update that has been applied to the site.

    Note

    To display the CU level for all sites in your Configuration Manager environment, you must ensure that the Remote Registry service is enabled on both the computer that is running Servicing Extension, and on all other site server computers in your environment (Remote Registry service is enabled by default on Windows Server). Additionally, the user account must have sufficient privileges to use the Remote Registry service and to read the Configuration Manager registry path on all site server computers in your environment. For more information, see Enable the Remote Registry Service.

Client Targeting pane

The Client Targeting pane helps you to create queries that you can use to target client computers in your Configuration Manager environment for updates. You can target clients with a version below a selected release, or with a version at or above a selected release.

Example: You could create a query to find all clients running a version below System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager. You could later use that query to deploy a package that updates those clients to this release. Then you could re-run the query to confirm that all clients were successfully updated.

To create a client targeting query
  1. Click the release that you will use for your query in the release list.

  2. Click Create Client Query.

  3. In the Client Version Query Creator dialog, choose to query clients with a version below your selected version, or choose to query clients with a version at or above the selected version.

  4. Click Create Query.

Blogs pane

The Blogs pane provides a dedicated RSS reader for Microsoft’s official Configuration Manager blogs. Choose a blog to display from the Display Blog list, and then click the title of the applicable blog to open it in a browser window.