Dealing with the Issues

I talked with Phil Holden, the Microsoft SMS Product Manager, to find out how Microsoft was dealing with the "Issues of Concern" for SMS 1.0 (given on this page). His responses were as follows:

• Issue: Incorrect leased-address information under WINS or DHCP.

Holden: This problem has been fixed in the latest release, version 1.1.

• Issue: The same machine can show up in the hardware inventory twice or more.

Holden: This is a feature: We have to track potential duplicates. In a real environment, a number of changes can occur (e.g., a user may change his or her machine name), and we need to track them. In release 1.1, we have provided a feature within the SMS Administration program that allows you to monitor these changes and then remove them from the database.

• Issue: The NOT operator.

Holden: In release 1.1, we have provided a feature that enables you to query on NOT conditions so you can track missing systems software.

• Issue: Documentation is not as comprehensive as it could be.

Holden: In release 1.1, we have added a huge amount of on-line documentation to help administrators to use the system. This includes step-by-step guides on how to get the system up and running, how to get SMS working in different environments, such as NetWare, etc. We have also added other items, such as a large Q&A file and Fast Facts.