SolutionBase: Performing common administrative tasks with SMS 2003

Managing patches

SMS is nothing if not extremely flexible. To that end, in order to use SMS to reliably scan client workstations for missing patches, you need to install a scanner provided by Microsoft that shares similar traits to WSUS. Named the SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates, in order to install this scanner into your SMS 2003 system, you need to be running SMS 2003 SP1 and have installed a number of hotfixes and updates.

The SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates uses version 5.8 of the Windows Update Agent, which provides update support for the following Microsoft products:

• Microsoft Windows XP Embedded
• Microsoft Windows 64-bit edition
• Microsoft Office XP and Office 2003
• Microsoft Exchange 2000 and Exchange 2003
• Microsoft Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 and later
• All Windows components (such as MSXML, MDAC, and Microsoft Virtual Machine)
• Microsoft SQL Server 2000 SP4 and SQL Server 2005
• Additional products as published to the Windows Updates catalog

To get started using the scanner, download and install the SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates. After downloading completes, extract the contents of the file to a folder. Before you actually install the scanner, you need to address some hotfix prerequisites. All of the hotfixes are available in the SMS2003ITMU_ENU\HOTFIXES folder of the download.

Specifically, make sure you have address the following four points before you continue.

• Onto machines that are site servers or clients onto which you have deployed the SMS administration console, install the hotfix outlined in Microsoft knowledgebase article 900257. This hotfix is available in the SMS2003ITMU_ENU\HOTFIXES\KB900257\ENU folder of the downloaded file. From that location, run SMS2003-SP1-KB900257-X86-ENU.exe.
• Install an update for the SMS Administrator that corrects a display problem with SMS reports. Note that, in order to install this update, you must exit the SMS Administrator and stop the SMS_SITE_COMPONENT_MANAGER and SMS_EXECUTIVE services. Next, from SQL Server Enterprise Manager (SQL Server 7, 2000) or the SQL Server Management Studio (SQL Server 2005), run the update.sql script located in the download. Find this file at SMS2003ITMU_ENU\HOTFIXES\KB900401\update.sql.
• Install a more recent version of the Advanced Client that supports the SMS 2003 Inventory Tool for Microsoft Updates. Note that this installation will stop and restart all SMS services. After installation of this update completed, you will need to push the client back out to workstations to enable this update. This can be accomplished by pushing the client out to an appropriate collection, making sure that the checkbox next to "Always install (repair of upgrade existing client)" is selected. In my lab, my systems were originally running version 2.50.3174.1018 of the client. This update upgraded my clients to 2.50.3174.1152. Locate the client version on your managed systems by, from a collection, right-clicking a system and choosing Properties.
• Install the Microsoft Windows Installer and install it on all of your managed clients. As of this writing, the latest version for currently supported operating systems is Windows Installer 3.1 (v2). This version of the installer supports Windows 2000 SP3 , Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003. Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Server R2 include this version of the installer, so you don't need t update it. Windows Vista and Longhorn Server will use version 4.0 of the Windows Installer. You can see which version of the Windows Installer you're running by executing 'msiexec' from the command line.