ConfigMgr 1602: New Features and Upgrade
Microsoft recently released ConfigMgr 1602. This new version brings several important new features, such as the ability to upgrade the host OS on the CAS or primary site server and Office 365 Suite update management.
This post will talk about the update process and look at the new features from a high level. Be sure to check back for in-depth posts about new features. For a full list of new features, see this blog post from the ConfigMgr Team: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/configmgrteam/2016/03/11/now-available-update-1602-for-system-center-configuration-manager/.
New Features
First, there’s a new icon to indicate whether or not a device is online in Assets and Compliance. This makes it easier to see what is available and what is not. Next, we can now manage Office 365 desktop client updates using native ConfigMgr workflows. This will help with keeping Office 365 desktop at a level that is supportable by your organization. Next, we have new antimalware policy settings that will allow you to scan network drives.
If you have Intune integrated with ConfigMgr, you can now control Edge configuration settings. There is also support in the ConfigMgr console for the Apple Volume Purchase Program. You can also bypass the activation lock on corporate-owned iOS devices.
Running the Update
If you installed ConfigMgr Tech Preview 4, you may have already seen this process. Updates are now done directly from the ConfigMgr console under Administration > Cloud Services > Updates and Servicing. When the update is made available to you, this is what you will see there:
If you do not see this yet, you can run a PowerShell script to enable the update. The ConfigMgr team indicated that the update will be released over the next few weeks. If you cannot wait, Microsoft provides a PowerShell script at the bottom of the blog post to go ahead and enable the update. I also had to restart the SMS_DMP_DOWNLOADER component from the Configuration Manager Service Manager. This service only runs every 24 hours by default, so you may need to restart it as well.
After the update show up for you, the ribbon will populate with options for installing the update and running a prerequisite check. I encourage you to do the prerequisite check first. One popular warning is the Windows Firewall. I don’t allow SQL traffic to my primary site server, so I get that warning because I do not have a firewall rule allowing SQL traffic into the box. After the prerequisite check is done, you can install the update by clicking “Install Update Pack”.
The first option is whether or not to enable new features. For 1602, here are the features:
If you elect to not enable them now, you can enable them later from the Features node below Updates and Servicing. You also have the option to specify how you want your clients updated. You can use a collection to validate the client, or deploy it to all of your devices immediately.
The installation will do a new prerequisite check. You can follow the status by clicking “Show Status” at the bottom of the Updates and Servicing page. You can also follow the CMUpdate log in your ConfigMgr installation directory.
