SMS 2.0 includes a product compliance database that was intended to be used with its inventory and package distribution component to create Y2K management solutions. You can use the compliance database to determine Y2K compliance among SMS client computers, or to determine other kinds of compliance for applications running in your organization.
In the previous section, we discussed the need to determine the Windows 2000 compatibility of the existing clients and software applications before you implement a Windows 2000 upgrade strategy. In this section, we will see how the product compliance feature of SMS 2.0 can be used to assist you in developing that strategy.
You can customize the product compliance database by modifying existing entries or by adding new entries. Since you can use this database to test compliance of any kind within your organization, if you want to test applications for Windows 2000 compliance, you can modify or create your own product compliance database to include these products and their level of compliance. Furthermore, you can define your own method for upgrading and then use SMS to assist you in determining compliance.
To add new products to the product compliance database, follow these steps:
If you choose a product from the Product Name list, some fields may be blank. You can either fill them in or leave them blank, as appropriate.
Figure 20-9. The Product Compliance Properties window.
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If you are entering the information in these fields manually, refer to the Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide for a complete description of each field, the data it should contain, its Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) object name, and the type and length of the field value. Refer to this information also if you are importing product information from other sources.
Figure 20-10. The Information tab.
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You can connect to the URL entered for the product by right-clicking on the product in the Product Compliance folder and choosing All Tasks, and then choosing Go To Web Page.
Existing entries can be modified in much the same fashion as described here. For example, you might want to modify the Comment or URL settings on the Information tab to reflect company-specific information or the location of an intranet Web site where the update file has been stored for download.
MORE INFO
For a detailed discussion about using SMS 2.0 and the product compliance database to determine Microsoft Windows 2000 compatibility among your SMS clients, refer to Chapter 8 of the document "Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Deployment and Planning Guide." This document is available from a variety of sources, including Microsoft TechNet and the Microsoft Windows Server 2000 Resource Kit at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/library/resources/reskit.
The product compliance database can be exported to a file in Unicode format which can then be used in other applications for reporting or analysis purposes. The entire database can be exported, or you can filter what is exported by data source, compliance type, or both. To export the database, follow these steps:
Figure 20-11. The Export Product Compliance Data dialog box.
NOTE
If you need to convert the file from Unicode format to ASCII, open and save the file using a text editor such as Microsoft Notepad.