nomad enterprise und microsoft configuration manager 2012
DESCRIPTION
Die möglichen Kosteneinsparungen mittels Nomad Enterprise v4.0 mit Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Nomad Enterprise und Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081804/55372bea55034686768b4cbf/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
All rights reserved. No part of this document shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without permission from 1E. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the
information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document, 1E and the authors assume no
responsibility for errors or omissions. Neither is liability assumed for damages resulting from the information contained herein. The 1E name is a
registered trademark of 1E in the UK, US and EC. The 1E logo is a registered trademark of 1E in the UK, EC and under the Madrid protocol.
NightWatchman is a registered trademark in the US and EU.
NOMAD ENTERPRISE
AND
MICROSOFT CONFIGURATION
MANAGER 2012 STILL BETTER TOGETHER
MARK BLACKBURN
1E
JULY 2011
ABSTRACT: This whitepaper describes the cost savings that can be realized by using Nomad Enterprise v4.0 with
Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012.
![Page 2: Nomad Enterprise und Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081804/55372bea55034686768b4cbf/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
© 1E 2010 2
Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Faster and lower cost deployment ............................................................................................................................... 3
Windows XP environments ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Large numbers of branches ...................................................................................................................................... 3
Distribution point selection ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Network Planning ..................................................................................................................................................... 4
Lowering operational costs........................................................................................................................................... 5
Managing change ..................................................................................................................................................... 5
Distribution point management ............................................................................................................................... 5
Disk space management ........................................................................................................................................... 5
Central Multicast ...................................................................................................................................................... 6
Reducing Windows 7 migration costs ........................................................................................................................... 6
Automation of Windows 7 migration ....................................................................................................................... 6
Local multicast .......................................................................................................................................................... 6
Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................ 6
![Page 3: Nomad Enterprise und Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081804/55372bea55034686768b4cbf/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
© 1E 2010 3
Introduction
Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012 (ConfigMgr) is a significant release including enhancements across almost all
aspects of the solution while adding a new user centric management model amongst other innovations. There are
substantial improvements in Content Management over ConfigMgr 2007, with most of the new features adding
value to the combined ConfigMgr and Nomad Enterprise solution.
Microsoft and 1E’s long standing partnership continues to thrive. 1E has 16 million software licenses deployed on PCs
running the ConfigMgr client. Microsoft and 1E continually share roadmaps, planning strategies and technical
insights so that 1E’s solutions can continue to add value to System Center customers. Nomad Enterprise has already
saved our shared clients over $500m through server reduction.
In this document we describe how Nomad Enterprise continues to add value to ConfigMgr 2012.
Faster and lower cost deployment
Windows XP environments
ConfigMgr 2012 distribution points (including client OS based ones on Vista SP2 and above) now include simple
bandwidth throttling and scheduling of distributions that works with BranchCache in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2
environments so that if the remote Distribution Point (DP) fails then clients can still retrieve content from their peers.
Nomad Enterprise extends these benefits to branch environments with Windows XP workstations (and above) but no
servers, allowing a single dynamic peer-to-peer distribution mechanism across your entire PC estate, and giving you
the ability to rapidly migrate to Windows 7 without having to provision and deploy remote servers. Nomad’s dynamic
bandwidth throttling ensures that content is delivered rapidly whilst guaranteeing zero impact to business usage of
the WAN.
Large numbers of branches
ConfigMgr2012 supports a much higher client count per site requiring fewer sites than an equivalent ConfigMgr 2007
implementation; however a larger client count needs more DPs.
Nomad Enterprise retrieves packages from central DP’s to a single client on each subnet and simultaneously deploys
them to the branch by peer-to-peer distribution, removing the need for a secondary site layer. Reducing server
numbers directly reduces costs and time to deploy. In very large environments, removal of a hierarchy level also
makes replication and speed of deployment of updates and applications faster.
![Page 4: Nomad Enterprise und Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081804/55372bea55034686768b4cbf/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
© 1E 2010 4
Distribution point selection
ConfigMgr 2012 remote DPs must still be manually selected and managed; they must have spare capacity so the user
of the workstation is not disrupted, must be running the right OS, and have enough disk space to contain all of the
packages for the branch. You also need to ensure that they are always available (i.e. never turned off or allowed to
sleep). In large organizations significant preparation time is required to identify workstations or servers in branches
which can serve as remote DPs
Nomad Enterprise dynamically elects the best peer at a branch to act as the master for each package, completely
removing the work required to identify and manage specific remote DPs.
Network Planning
The simple bandwidth throttling and scheduling in ConfigMgr 2012 can be used to attempt to reduce the impact of
network contention caused by software distribution traffic, but it requires additional work to analyze the network
and decide on appropriate throttle values, and then to configure this for each distribution point individually. It also
results in slower deployments and there is additional work required to keep up to date with changes to the network
infrastructure.
Nomad Enterprise automatically and continually scales data transfer speed, using only a percentage of the end-to-
end available bandwidth. When there is little use of the WAN link (which is the usual case) this produces much faster
deployments. When any other application needs bandwidth Nomad Enterprise automatically backs off to maintain
business responsiveness. Not having to plan for available network bandwidth to each branch minimizes the planning
and deployment effort. Furthermore there is no need to consider further changes across the network as Nomad
Enterprise continually revaluates for optimal performance.
![Page 5: Nomad Enterprise und Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081804/55372bea55034686768b4cbf/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
© 1E 2010 5
Lowering operational costs
Managing change
Large branch environments are constantly in a state of flux; subnets are reconfigured, available network bandwidth
changes, shared servers are rebuilt, workstations and servers are upgraded and other solutions are being
implemented.
Nomad Enterprise dynamically assesses the download point and network speed automatically optimizing content
distribution. Network, server, desktop, application and security teams often have different schedules and priorities,
and changes are always being made. By automatically adapting to change, Nomad Enterprise reduces the
management overhead significantly.
Distribution point management
Remote DPs have to be continually managed to ensure they are powered on and have sufficient capacity. Any issues
which can stop distribution need to be resolved quickly and troubleshooting is complex as it involves many disparate
components. In distributed environments it is operationally difficult to maintain strict control of all workstations and
servers acting as DPs, as people and other services are using the same hardware. Servers and workstations are
switched off, new services are installed, and even OS upgrades are performed without consultation with every
service owner
Nomad Enterprise automatically fails over to the next best machine should the current package master fail (be
switched off, drop off the network, become unresponsive etc.). Status messages are sent from the package master
for each package distribution, including percentage of download complete. Self-remediation and error logging to a
single file further ease troubleshooting which has a significant positive impact on operational costs. The dynamic
nature of Nomad Enterprise completely removes the need for DP management overhead.
Disk space management
The increase in both the size and number of packages over time has resulted in package source repositories in large
organizations being hundreds of gigabytes in size. ConfigMgr 2012 includes single instance storage which helps when
there are multiple packages that use the same files. Using Workstation class hardware for DPs can cause issues with
disk space management, even with today’s larger hard disk sizes and especially on older hardware, and it therefore
incurs a manual management overhead.
Nomad Enterprise automatically selects the best peer with available disk space for distribution per package which
greatly expands the amount of free disk space available for deployment. Automatic cache management ensures that
old and redundant packages are cleared and the use of hard links minimizes file redundancy and ensures efficiency of
storage.
Replacing manual tasks being performed at each branch with automation reduces the overhead by 1 to 8 hours per
month per branch, fewer people are needed to manage the infrastructure, and failures of content distribution due to
lack of disk space are eliminated.
![Page 6: Nomad Enterprise und Microsoft Configuration Manager 2012](https://reader036.vdocument.in/reader036/viewer/2022081804/55372bea55034686768b4cbf/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
© 1E 2010 6
Central Multicast
As OS image and other package size increases, multicast is becoming more important to preserve core bandwidth
and reduce the number of servers. Some organizations also want to use ConfigMgr to distribute video/multimedia
content such as staff training and executive announcements.
Nomad Enterprise can use central multicast so that only a single stream of data is sent from head office to some or
all branches simultaneously. ConfigMgr customers can avoid significant network device upgrades and implement
fewer servers by using Nomad Enterprise within ConfigMgr to multicast data. Senior executives want to
communicate with all staff using multimedia and this capability is enabled at the lowest cost.
Reducing Windows 7 migration costs
Automation of Windows 7 migration
When migrating to a new OS or rebuilding a PC in break/fix cases, you need to either pay for factory image
installation of the OS, use on-site build engineers across all remote environments, or configure automated bare
metal provisioning. Having an automated solution yields the lowest costs. ConfigMgr 2012 supports bare metal
provisioning, however it is dependent on a Windows Server 2008 R2 server running Windows Deployment Services
(WDS) for Pre-boot eXecution Environment (PXE) network boot services.
Nomad Enterprise’s PXELite feature enables bare metal boot for OS migration or rebuild without the need for a
dedicated server. With a combination of ConfigMgr 2012, the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) and Nomad
Enterprise, all build scenarios including bare metal are automated so factory imaging or build engineers are not
needed desk side, thereby reducing costs.
Local multicast
Most OS migrations target multiple PC’s at a time, since it is often easier to manage the process by tackling it location
by location. In these instances there is the requirement to copy large amounts of data (an OS image is usually several
gigabytes in size) across the LAN multiple times (once for each PC being migrated). This can end up taking a very long
time and limit the rate at which PCs can be migrated. This extends the time it takes to complete migration across the
PC fleet and therefore increases cost.
Nomad Enterprise can use local multicast to send data from one peer to many or all machines in the branch
simultaneously. The image is transferred once across the network vastly increasing the rate at which PCs can be
migrated without requiring any change to network infrastructure. Deploying faster reduces the time to roll out the
new OS across the organization and therefore greatly decreases the overall cost of the project.
Conclusion
Whilst the improvements made in ConfigMgr 2012 greatly improve many aspects of the product, Nomad Enterprise
can continue to add value for software distribution and Operating System Deployment (OSD) in many areas, resulting
in faster and lower cost software deployments, lowering on-going operational costs, and increasing the speed and
lowering the cost of Windows 7 migration.