Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Configuration Manager, Endpoint Protection, and Windows Intune

I’ve got 4 blog posts for you to read.

As I was commuting yesterday, Mary Jo Foley blogged about a Microsoft announcement on how System Center Service Pack (SP) 1 – Configuration Manager (SCCM/ConfigMgr) and Windows Intune will be changing in the near future.  Some highlights:

• System Center 2012 SP1 Beta is out
• A new version of Windows Intune with WP8 and Windows 8 support is coming in early 2013
• You will be able to integrate ConfigMgr with Windows Intune for unified device management, both company and BYOD – or use ConfigMgr and Intune separately
• Windows Intune will switch to per-user licensing from per-device. The new per-user license covers 5 devices.  ConfigMgr client ML owners will also get a discount.
• Windows Intune will (at last!!!) be sold without Windows 7/8 Enterprise; currently anyone with SA on the desktop OS gets a 50% discount because they already own Windows 7 Enterprise

A follow up blog entry was posted by Microsoft, discussing the support changes in ConfigMgr and Endpoint Protection for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012:

ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 will support:

• Windows 8 Pro/Enterprise and Windows Server Std/DC as clients
• All site roles on WS2012 Std/DC

ConfigMgr 2007 SP1 will support Windows 8 Pro/Enterprise and WS2012 Standard/Datacenter as clients only.

System Center 2012 SP1 Endpoint Protection (SCEP) will protect:

• Windows 8 Pro/Enterprise and Windows Server Std/DC as clients
• WS2012 Std/DC

You can also protect those OSs with Forefront Endpoint Protection 2012 with Update Rollup 1.  Note that this 2010 version won’t support WS2012 as a management server.

Make sure you read the following to get more info and to fill in the gaps:

• The original announcement
• The news post by Mary Jo Foley
• The supplemental support post by Microsoft

EDIT#1

Let’s not stop there.  You might want to learn about the cross-platform support that’s being added to ConfigMgr 2012 SP1

• Mac OS will be added as a supported client: h/w discovery, software inventory, policy settings management, and software/patch distribution
• Linux and UNIX will also be added: h/w discovery, software inventory, policy settings management, and software/patch distribution

SCEP 2012 will also support Mac OS – please don’t say that there is no malware on Mac OS because you’re living in a dreamland under a very dark rock if you think that’s the case.  If did not realise this but:

Endpoint Protection 2012 Client for Linux is also available now.