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ConfigMgr 2103

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Deploy App and Distribute its Content in ConfigMgr

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In this post, we will go through steps required to deploy an application and distribute its content to the Distribution Point or Distribution Group.

Once you have create an application in the ConfigMgr, you must deploy to the targeted collection. This collection could be users or computers.




This post is still in development. Feedback is welcomed 😃

1. Deploy the App and Distribute the Content

    1. Browse to \Software Library\Overview\Application Management\Applications and select application. Right click the application and select Deploy. This will open the Deploy Software Wizard.

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    2. On the General page, browse to the Collection where you would like to deploy and click Next
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      Deploy Software Wizard – General
    3. Add Distribution Point or Distribution Point Group, and click Next once added
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      Deploy Software Wizard – Content
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      Deploy Software Wizard – Content
    4. For rest of the settings, I will keep default as shown in the screenshots below. You can change settings to suit your requirements where possible.

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      Deploy Software Wizard: Deployment Settings

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      Deploy Software Wizard: Scheduling

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      Deploy Software Wizard: User Experience

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      Deploy Software Wizard: Alerts

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      Deploy Software Wizard: Summary

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      Deploy Software Wizard: Completion

2. Confirm Deployment

To confirm deployment, check the Deployments tab in the details pane. You will see the targeted collections.

Targeted Collections

3. Monitor the deployed content

To view the status of deployed content, browse to the application \Software Library\Overview\Application Management\Applications and click on the Content Status in details pane. This will take you to the Monitoring screen where you can see Success or Progress.

Check Content Status
Content Monitoring

4. Check Software Center

Deployed app should be available in the Software Centre on one of the devices which belongs to the targeted collection. In my case, targeted collection is Teknex Management Computers and ACER-01 device is part of that collection.

Software Centre


5. Important Logs

Logs! Logs! Logs!
Logs are very important while troubleshooting. You would not remember all logs unless you work on that specific ConfigMgr component often. Here is the well written support article from Microsoft which covers the log file reference.

distmgr.log
Server Side Log: This will show you the detailed information about distribution of the content. You need to grab the package ID from the Monitoring workspace. For me it was \Monitoring\Overview\Distribution Status\Content Status\Visual Studio Code x64. Then find relevant information in the distmgr.log.

Log Location: ConfigMgr_Installation_Drive\Microsoft Configuration Manager\Logs

Find Package ID
distmgr.log


Appenforce.log
Client side log: This will show you information about installation, uninstallation and detection of the application.
Location: %WinDir%\ccm\logs

Well! this is all.
Leave your feedback in the comments below 😃

ConfigMgr-Lab-2002-VHDs-Configuration

Part 6: Configure VHDs for ConfigMgr CB Lab

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In production, you will definitely use physical drives considering performance and other factors like backup and restoration. However, we will mimic production environment in our lab with the help of virtual drives. It gives you the feel and same look as production, and gives you a clear picture where specific data is stored.

Last updated 09/05/2021

Check-out related video to this blog post

1. Storage configuration for ConfigMgr VM

Here is the what I recommend minimum storage for different drives. If you could afford more, definitely go ahead with that.

DriveStorage NameSizeComments
C:\Local Disk50 GBOS, SQL Server Installation, ADK
D:\CM_Install40 GBConfiguration Manager Installation, MP
E:\CM_TempDB20 GBSQL Server Data Services Engine TempDB
F:\Content_Library40 GBDP, WSUS Content
G:\WSUS_Database20 GBWSUS Database
H:\CM_SQL_MDF20 GBConfigMgr Database
I:\CM_SQL_LDF20 GBConfigMgr Log Files
File ShareCM_ContentSource20 GBSource files for Applications/Packages deployment
Total250 GB

2. Configure Drives

Drive C
This drive will already be configured during OS installation on TEKNEX-CM01. No further action will be required.

Drive D
Configuration Manager and Management Point role will be installed on this drive. It will be formatted as a standard NTFS volume.

Steps to create a new VHD, attach to the Virtual Machine and format it as per the requirements.

  1. Open Hyper-V Manager > Select your ConfigMgr VM (TEKNEX-CM01 in my case) > Right-click and select Settings
  2. In the Settings Wizard select SCSI Controller > click on Add to add a hard drive
  3. Select New and this will open New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard
  4. Click Next on the Before You begin page
  5. Keep default selection dynamically expanding and select Next
  6. Specify name and location where you would like to save the virtual drive
  7. Enter size in GB and click finish

Once VHD is created and attached to the ConfigMgr VM, next thing is to format the volume.

  1. Login to ConfigMgr server and open Server Manager > Select File and Storage Services > Disks
  2. Select the drive you recently attached, which will be marked offline > right-click and click bring online > click Yes when prompted
  3. Disk will be online > select the disk and right-click > click New Volume and this will open New Volume wizard
  4. Server and Disk will be listed on the next page > click Next and select OK if prompted to bring the disk online
  5. Maximum volume size will be listed and select Next
  6. Select Drive letter (I am selecting D as I documented) for this disk and click Next
  7. On the Select file system settings page, update the following:
    – File system: NTFS (keep default)
    – Allocation unit size: Default (unless it is mentioned specifically)
    – Volume label: CM_Install (update accordingly)
  8. Click Create on the Confirmation page
  9. Open File Explorer and check the new drive

Follow the above steps mentioned to create and attach the following drives to ConfigMgr server.

Drive E
SQL Server Data Services Engine TempDB files will be saved on this drive.

Important: Microsoft recommends to format this as 64KB size (update step 7 allocation unit size while formatting this drive). Name the volume to CM_TempDB so that it can be differentiated in the File Explorer.
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Drive F
Content Library will be saved on this drive and WSUS content. It will be formatted as a standard NTFS volume. Name the volume to Content_Library so that it can be differentiated in the File Explorer.

Drive G
WSUS database will be saved on this drive. It will be formatted as a standard NTFS volume. Name the volume to WSUS_Database so that it can be differentiated in the File Explorer.

Drive H
ConfigMgr database will be saved on this drive. It will be formatted as a standard NTFS volume. Name the volume to CM_SQL_MDF so that it can be differentiated in the File Explorer.

Important: Microsoft recommends to format this as 64KB size. Ensure to select 64 K Allocation Unit Size for Drive H.
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Drive I
ConfigMgr database log files will be saved on this drive. Name the volume to CM_SQL_LDF so that it can be differentiated in the File Explorer.

Important: Microsoft recommends to format this as 64KB size. Ensure to select 64 K Allocation Unit Size for Drive H.

File Share

This drive will be used to save applications and packages content. It will be formatted as a standard NTFS volume. Name the volume to CM_ContentSource so that it can be differentiated in the File Explorer.

Your feedback is important to me. Leave it in the comments below 😃.

Part_3_ConfigMgr_2002_Lab

Part 3: ConfigMgr CB Lab Software Requirements

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It is a good idea to pre-download all the required files before hand to save time while we configure the lab and deploy required software and applications. I put together the list of required software for Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) Current Branch 2103.

Update: Last updated on 09/05/2021

Windows Server 2019 ISO

Download 180 days evaluation version as an ISO file from the Microsoft Download Centre.

Windows 10 Ent ISO

Download 90 days evaluation version of Windows 10 Enterprise ISO file.

Configuration Manager

Download ConfigMgr Current Branch 2103 exe file.

SQL Server

Check the supported version of SQL versions for ConfigMgr here. This is a direct download link to SQL Server 2017 Standard edition. You will download an exe file first and then run that exe to download offline ISO file.

You can use SQL Server 2019 Standard or Enterprise as well with minimum cumulative update version 5 or later.

SQL Server Reporting Services

It used to be bundled up with the SQL Server installation in SQL Server 2016. However, it is not the case in SQL Server 2017 and Reporting Services is a separate installation. Download SQL Server Reporting Services 2017.

SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

Direct link to the download of SSMS

SQL Server CU

You can use SQL Server 2017 version with cumulative update version 2 or higher, as long as your cumulative update version is supported by the SQL lifecycle.

Check updates here and download the latest one. In this example, I am using CU 20.

Windows ADK

Check the supported versions of ADK for ConfigMgr Current Branch here.

Direct link to download Windows ADK 2004.

WinPE Add-on

WinPE used to be bundled together with the ADK. However, it has been changed to a separate add-on. Here is the link to download WinPE add-on.

Configuration Manager Update Files

Update files will be required during ConfigMgr installation. You need the ConfigMgr installation files pre-downloaded and extracted in order to download update files. Follow the steps listed below:

  • Extract ConfigMgr downloaded files
  • Browse to SC_ConfigMgr_SCEP_2002\SMSSETUP\BIN\X64
  • Run the file named SETUPDL.EXE
  • Save the files to your preferred location

Once all the files are downloaded and now you are ready to move forward with the Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr/MEMCM/MECM/SCCM) lab setup.