Upgrade from SCCM 2007 to SCCM 2012 - Point of View

This is a white paper that my buddy - Digvijay Singh Rajawat and I wrote on upgrade strategy from SCCM 2007 to SCCM 2012. A quick over view of the white paper before you can download the rest of the document:

The key objective of this document is to give a point of view on migration from System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to System Center Configuration Manager 2012 for organizations who are already running System Center Configuration Manager 2007. The document includes an overview of the migration of various features and entities of System Center Configuration Manager such as collections, packages, task sequences, etc.

The Target Audience of the document includes:

·         Technology heads / CIOs to make an informed decision on migrating from System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to System Center Configuration Manager 2012.

·         Technical Teams to understand the nuances in migrating from System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to System Center Configuration Manager 2012.

We share an overview on the following aspects of the migration in the document:

·         Aspects of the migration that can be managed by internal IT

·         Aspects of the migration where organizations should look for external expertise

·         Impact on existing IT infrastructure, people, and processes due to the migration



https://docs.google.com/document/d/1j0RJfHPcvRQGBqqlOsCRg5USkS1J8B7k_nB99rZRyCE/edit?usp=sharing 

Migrating Sccm Database From Local Site Server To Remote Sql Cluster

Infrastructure Requirements

 

SQL Version:

·         SQL version                                        : SQL Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition

·         Collation                                                : SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS

·         Type                                                     : Active / Passive

 

Disk Details of the Clustered SQL Server:

·         Separate drive for SQL Db: 150 GB for a 15,000 client environment with all features enabled

·         Separate Drive for Logs : 50GB

·         Separate Quorum Drive : 5-10 GB should be good

·         SQL Data and SQL Logs must be setup on different drives.

·         Data on the disk array can be backed up for HA

 

SQL Features that need to be clustered:

 

SQL Services Required for SCCM	Services that need to be clustered
·         Database Engine Service	Yes
·         Analysis Service	Not required
·         Reporting Service	Cannot be clustered. Will be setup on a physical server
·         Integration Service	Not Required
·         Management Tools – Basic	No
·         Microsoft Sync Framework	No

 

Microsoft confirms that we may observe performance degradation while using a clustered SQL database to host the Configuration Manager 2012 site database.

 

Database Backup:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg682077.aspx

SQL Server database mirroring is not supported for the Configuration Manager site database therefore the database backups will be managed and maintained by the SCCM Console itself.

 

Plan to Migrate SCCM Database from local site server to remote SQL Cluster

 

Dependencies:

• SQL Servers should be provisioned and clustered as per requirements
• At least 2 SQL Cluster nodes should be available
• Provision access to the SCCM Production Environment and SQL Cluster Servers

 

SQL Clustering Plan:

Tasks for CAS SQL Migration to Cluster Node

Hours for completion of each activity are mentioned with sufficient amount of buffer.

 

Duration (Hours)	Activity
	1.       Prepare SQL Environment
1	Add the computer account of the site server to the local administrators group of each cluster node.
1	Configure TCP/IP Protocol of the SQL Instance in the SQL Server Network Configuration to have a fixed port. Configure this on each cluster node. E.g. you can use the default port 1433.
1	Allow the ports 1433 and 4022 (SQL Broker) through the Windows firewall of each cluster node
	Migrate Database
6	Open SQL Management Studio on the CAS and back up the CAS site database on a network drive
1	Copy the backed up files and folders to one of the clustered SQL nodes
8	Open SQL Management Studio on the SQL Cluster and restore the backed up CAS database on the database in the SQL Instance on the cluster
	Post Migration Configuration
1	Reconfigure the Configuration Manager 2012 Site server to connect to the database on the SQL Cluster
1	Choose the “Modify SQL Server Configuration” in the “Perform site maintenance or reset this site” setup option. Supply the new SQL cluster information and go through the wizard
2	Remove the SQL Server 2008 R2 Native client and install the SQL Server 2008 Native client
1	Change the SQL Backup options in SCCM to point to the SQL Cluster from the CAS server
24	Troubleshoot in case of any issues
16	Monitor the SCCM and SQL logs to ensure the migration is successful with no errors for normal operations

 

Unable to connect to the SCCM Console - How to fix issues related with connectivity to the SCCM Console

You may see the dreadful screen when SCCM console just refuses to connect to the database and throws up a generic error prompt 

First go through this link and ensure that the required checks are performed:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb932213.aspx

Validate the errors in the AdminUI.log that is stored <Path where SCCM is installed>\Microsoft Configuration Manager\AdminConsole\AdminUILog
Check the event viewer for any specific errors. Perform the below steps for generic issues:

1. Ensure DCOM is active

a. Expand Component services > Computers > Right click My Computer and go to
"Properties".

b. Make sure that "Enable Distributed COM on this computer" is selected.

2. Validate the DCOM Permission

1. From the Start menu, click Run and type Dcomcnfg.exe.
2. In Component Services, click Console root, expand Component Services, expand Computers, and then click My Computer. On the Action menu, click Properties.
3. In the My Computer Properties dialog box, on the COM Security tab, in the Launch and Activation Permissions section, click Edit Limits.
4. In the Launch Permissions dialog box, click Add.
5. In the Select User, Computers, or Groups dialog box, in the Enter the object names to select (examples): box, type SMS Admins and click OK.
6. In the Permissions for SMS Admins section, select the check box to allow Remote Activation.
7. Click OK twice, and then close Computer Management

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb633148.aspx

3. Verify WMI Permission

1. On the SMS Provider computer, click Start, click Run, type wmimgmt.msc, and then click OK.
2. Right-click WMI Control, and then click Properties.
3. On the Security tab, expand Root, and then click SMS.
4. Click Security in the results pane to see the permissions.
5. Click Advanced, click SMS Admins, and then click View-edit.
6. If the SMS Admins group does not have Enable Account and Remote Enable permissions, grant the permissions.
7. Repeat this procedure for any groups used in addition to SMS Admins

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb932151.aspx

4. Check whether the user has the necessary privileges to the SMS provider on the site server

5. Check whether the user has the necessary security rights to the database?

6. Verify namespace connectivity

1. On the computer where the SMS Provider is installed, click Start, click Run, and then type wbemtest.
2. Click Connect, type \\<siteserver>\root\sms, and then click Login.
3. Click Enum Classes, click Recursive, and then click OK.
4. In the Query Result list, double-click SMS_ProviderLocation.
5. Click Instances, and then double-click the line that contains the target site code. For example, SMS_ProviderLocation.SiteCode="ABC."
6. In the Properties section, locate the NamespacePath line. You might have to double-click this line to see the whole line.
7. Copy the NamespacePath value to the clipboard. For example, copy the following value:
8. \\Server1\root\sms\site_ABC

7. To verify server connectivity

1. Close all WBEMtest windows from the preceding procedure.
2. Click Connect, paste the NamespacePath that you copied in the preceding procedure, and then click Login.
3. Click Enum Classes, click Recursive, and then click OK.
4. In the Query Result list, double-click SMS_Site.

8. Verify the SMS Provider details

a. Open sms\bin\i386\smsprov.mof and validate the following text in the mof file

b. instance of SMS_ProviderLocation

c. {

d. SiteCode = "ABC"; -- here ABC refers to 3 digit side code

e. Machine = "CAS Server name";

f. NamespacePath = "\\\\<CAS SERVER NAME>\\root\\sms\\site_ABC";

g. ProviderForLocalSite = TRUE;

h. ;

9. Rebuild the namespaces:

1. Recompiling the mofs located in the sms\bin\i386 directory will rebuild the namespace.
2. This has to be done on the site server itself. Open a command prompt and go to the sms\bin\i386 directory. Once there, enter the following commands:

i. mofcomp smsprov.mof

ii. mofcomp smsstub.mof

iii. mofcomp pollprov.mof

iv. mofcomp netdisc.mof

v. mofcomp cpprov.mof

vi. mofcomp cmprov.mof

How to fix the System Center Portal if it does not show up the published Service Offerings

This is one of the most common issues while installing the SCSM portal and there could be multiple reasons why the SCSM portal may not show up the service requests.

Here is a collation of all the fixes you should try to come out of trouble:

Start with the 5 basic checks suggested by Travis Wright MSFT

1)      The Request Offering Published property must be ‘Published’

2)      The Request Offering must be included in a Service Offering

3)      The Service Offering that includes the Request Offering must have the Published property equal to ‘Published’

4)      The Service Offering must be included in a Category (list). The Category list can be edited in the Lists view. It’s called ‘Service Offering Category’.

5)      The Service Offering Language must match the language of the browser you are using to connect with. A common mistake is to choose ‘English’ as the language when you are connecting with a ‘English (United States)’ browser.

Refer: http://blogs.technet.com/b/servicemanager/archive/2011/11/09/faq-why-doesn-t-my-request-offering-show-up-in-the-category-view-of-the-service-catalog.aspx

6)      If this does not fix the issue, then make sure that appropriate permission is set in SCSM for users to view the self-service portal. Refer to the blog by Duncan Lindquist.

http://blog.concurrency.com/infrastructure/scsmportalpermisions/

If still this does not fix the issue, then there may be an issue with the configuration of the portal. Check the following solution proposed by Jesper - Kristensen.

Refer: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/portals/thread/3aa0f46e-534c-4db3-9548-fe3af2f6843f

Snapshot of the solution from the blog:

1. The webpart and the webservices cant be installed on the same server.

2. When installing the Webpart you must use a FQDN for the webservice including the port

Example: https://scsm01.contoso.com dont work as webservice url but https://scsm01.contoso.com:443 does work

3. When you install it like this you also need goto the server where the webservice is installed and edit the web.config file in the contenthost application with the fqdn.

I used the default location so my web.config file is placed at C:\inetpub\wwwroot\System Center Service Manager Portal\ContentHost\Web.config

Example:

Edit from

<add key="ContentHostAbsoluteUri" value="https://SCSM01:443/ContentHost" />

To

<add key="ContentHostAbsoluteUri" value="https://SCSM01.contoso.com:443/ContentHost" />

7)      Do an IISReset after implementing the solution suggested above and try to access the web portal again.

8)      If you are still having the issue, then the issue may be with the certificate. There is a strong possibility that the certificate selected while installing the SCSMWebContentServer and Service Manager Portal was faulty. Check the following blog from Stefan Koell.

http://www.code4ward.net/main/Blog/tabid/70/EntryId/139/Service-Manager-2012-Self-Service-Portal-not-working-blank.aspx

9)      The blog only suggests fixing the certificate for Service Manager Portal, but you should perform the same steps for SCSMWebContentServer as well.

10)   Do another IISRESET and try to access the portal.

All credits to the authors of the blogs. Also, if your issue is still not resolved, then leave a comment so that I can try to repro your issue.