Summary

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As we've seen, Windows 2000 and SMS 2.0 both offer system management solutions for your enterprise network. IntelliMirror technology provides the means to leverage Active Directory and Group Policy to ensure that the user's desktop remains constant and available and that the user's settings and data are retained as the user moves from computer to computer. SMS 2.0 not only enables you to distribute software with more options and flexibility than IntelliMirror provides, but it also extends that functionality to Windows operating systems other than Windows 2000.

In addition, SMS 2.0 hosts many other features to provide a complete management solution for your organization, scaling to large enterprise networks that span the globe. Together, Windows 2000 and SMS 2.0 work in a complementary fashion to provide you with a complete strategy.

The product compliance feature of SMS 2.0 can be used with other SMS features to help you determine whether clients and applications are Windows 2000 compatible. For example, hardware inventory can be used to determine which clients may require hardware upgrades to support Windows 2000. Through software inventory and SMS 2.0 queries against the product compliance database, you can identify those applications that might not be compatible with Windows 2000 and that might require updates of some kind. Finally, you can use package distribution to send out and schedule these updates.

Microsoft has published several white papers dealing with the Windows 2000 upgrade process in general, and with integrating and leveraging SMS 2.0 functionality into the process in particular. One white paper of particular interest is "Planning, Deploying, and Managing Microsoft Windows 2000 with Systems Management Server 2.0." It can be found at Microsoft's SMS Web site (http://www.microsoft.com/smsmgmt). This document offers a viable blueprint for successfully implementing a Windows 2000 upgrade using existing SMS 2.0 technology, including a sample company upgrade. Combined with the information provided in this chapter, it will leave you well-prepared to design and implement your own Windows 2000 upgrade strategy.

Well, it seems we have come to the end of our exploration of SMS 2.0. This book has endeavored to provide you with a clearer understanding of SMS's many features and how to use them. Along with this understanding, you have hopefully developed a greater appreciation of the exceptional management potential this product can bring to your network environment. The inventory, package delivery, Remote Tools, and software metering features provide you with a complete management solution. Good luck as you embark on your own implementation and administration of SMS 2.0.