A

Access Control List

See "ACL".

ACL

Access Control List – A list detailing which entities are allowed to access a particular resource and their level of access.

Active Directory

Microsoft’s Directory Services product.

Active Directory Security Group Discovery

Active Directory (AD), System Group Discovery is a new Discovery Method introduced in SMS 2003 SP2.  It discovers AD Security Groups by querying the nearest AD DC.

Active Directory Site

A list of IP subnets that are deemed to be well connected by LAN speed connections.

Active Directory System Discovery

Discovers computers by querying the nearest AD Domain Controller (DC).  From AD it retrieves the list of systems and then contacts each one to retrieve information such as it’s name, the AD container it sits in, IP address, AD Site, and Operating System (OS).

Active Directory System Group Discovery

Discovers containers and groups for any computers that have already been discovered for the Primary Site it is configured to run on and any Child Secondaries.  It does this by querying the nearest AD DC to gather information such as groups (universal, global, nested, distribution, and other non-security groups), and Organization Units (OUs).

Active Directory User Discovery

Discovers users, user groups, and containers by querying the nearest AD DC.  Information such as the user name, Domain name, AD container name, and any security group memberships is retrieved.

Address

An address is simply a way of telling one SMS Site which other SMS Site it should communicate with and the account it should use to do so.

Advanced Client

Designed to run on any machines running Windows XP, Windows 2000 or later OS, specifically for mobile computers such as laptops.  Includes several enhancements over the Legacy Client such as checkpoint restart, download and execute, use of the machine/ local system account to perform the majority of its operations amongst others.

Advanced Client Installer

See "CCMSetup".

Advanced Client Policy

The configuration settings for an Advanced Client set on the Site Server but retrieved from the Client’s MP.  This Policy can include information such as which software is to be installed on a machine.

Advanced Security

SMS uses the machine/ local system account and therefore the system context to perform the majority of its operations when run in this Security Mode.

Advertised Programs Client Agent

The optional component of the SMS Client that allows software to be distributed to SMS Clients.

Advertisement

In Software Distribution terms the Package is the "what" and the Collection is the "where".  You need a link between the two which tells the Client "when" software is available for it to install and this is where the Advertisement comes into play.

AfterBackup.bat

An ASCII file that contains any commands you want to run once the Backup SMS Site Server Task has completed.

API

Application Programming Interface

Application Pools

A feature of IIS 6.0 that allow you to group several web sites and applications together and run them in their own space.  This means that if an application in one of the pools fails it won’t bring down the whole server (this is known as "Worker process isolation mode").  It also allows one pool to be restarted independently of the others if required without having to restart all of IIS.

Assigned

When a resource is assigned to a Site it simply means it’s IP address or AD Site matches that defined as part of Boundary for an SMS Site.

Assigned MP

The Management Point (MP), within a Site that Advanced Clients connect to by default.

Author Mode

When an MMC is opened in author mode other MMC snap-ins can be added to it.

B

Background Intelligent Transfer Services

See "BITS".

Backup Control File

This file contains configuration information relating to the Backup SMS Site Server Task Maintenance Task.

Backup SMS Site Server

The Site Maintenance Task used to backup an SMS Site Server.

BITS

Background Intelligent Transfer Services – A Windows infrastructure component that provides Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for applications to use to request network data transfers in the background using idle bandwidth.

C

CAL

Client Access License – Regardless of whether you’ll be installing the Advanced or Legacy Client every machine that is going to have the SMS Client installed on it needs to have a CAL.

CAP

Client Access Point – An SMS Site System that acts as an intermediary between Legacy Clients and the Site Server.  Legacy Clients pass information such as inventory data, Status Messages, and Discovery data to the CAP which bundles this up with the data from other Clients and on regular intervals passes this to the Site Server.  In the same way the Site Server communicates with the CAP on a regular basis to pass down management information such as Advertisements of software to be installed/ available for installation to the CAP from where it is retrieved by Legacy Clients.

Capinst.exe

Used to install either the Advanced or Legacy Clients through a login script.

CCM

Definition 1 – Change and Configuration Management encompasses providing, updating, repairing and ultimately removing components from a system (basically womb to tomb).

Definition 2 – Client Configuration Manager – The component of SMS responsible for remotely installing the SMS Client.

CCMSetup

Also known as the Advanced Client Installer.  Manages the installation of the Advanced Client by downloading the Windows Installer package containing the Advanced Client installation files (Client.msi), to the machine in question first, and then passes the parameters you specified as part of the installation command line to Client.msi so that it knows how to install the Advanced Client.

CCR

Client Configuration Request – When a user doesn’t have local admin rights on a machine to install the SMS Client a CCR is raised and sent to the Site Server.  The Site Server connects to the machine using a pre-configured account that does have local admin rights to install the Client.

Central Site

The Primary Site at the top of the hierarchy.  All of the data from all of the other Sites is filtered up to the Central Site and data from the Central is filtered down the hierarchy.  The Central Site has the "big picture" of the complete SMS hierarchy and can administer any site below it.

Change and Configuration Management

See "CCM".

Checkpoint restart

The ability to continue a download from the point it was interrupted the next time the download/ connection is resumed rather than starting the download from the beginning again.

Child Site

Any SMS Site that reports to another Site within the SMS hierarchy.  Child Sites report all of the data from themselves (and any of their Children), to their Parent Site such as Discovery data, Inventory data and Status Messages.

Client.msi

The Windows Installer package that contains all of the necessary components in order to install the Advanced Client.

Client Access Point

See "CAP".

Client Agent

A component of the SMS Client that can be optionally enabled and configured.  The SMS Client Agents are Hardware Inventory, Software Inventory, Remote Tools, Advertised Programs, and Software Metering.

Client Assignment

The process of controlling which SMS Site an SMS Client reports or is assigned to.

Client Configuration Manager

See "CCM".

Client Configuration Request

See "CCR".

Client Push

A Client Installation Method that allows the SMS Client to be pushed from the Site Server to the machine to become an SMS Client.

CML

Configuration Management License – See "CAL".

Collections

Used to group resources together that share a common criteria.  Collections are used as the basis for many SMS functions such as viewing inventory, initiating Remote Tools and targeting Software Distributions.

D

DC

Domain Controller – The computer that controls who has access to the Domain.  DCs are responsible for authenticating users and using a list of security settings and accounts to ensure that users and machines only have access to the resources they’re meant to have.

DDR

Discovery Data Record – Generated when SMS discovers a resource.  Contains limited information about the resource depending on what that resource is.  For example a DDR for a user account will contain different information to that of a computer.

Default gateway

The device on a network to which all packets are directed when a machine attempts to communicate with another machine on a remote network (typically a router).

Delta replication

When an existing Package is modified only the changes between the old and new Package are replicated and not the entire package.

DFS

Distributed File System.

DHCP

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol – A method of automatically issuing IP addresses and other information automatically to machines from a pool of addresses.

Disaster Recovery

See "DR".

Discovery

The process of SMS finding out about what resources are on the network using a variety of Discovery Methods.

Discovery Data Record

See "DDR".

Discovery Methods

The various methods used by SMS in order to find out about resources on a network.  These include:

• Active Directory Security Group Discovery

• Active Directory System Discovery

• Active Directory System Group Discovery

• Active Directory User Discovery

• Heartbeat Discovery

• Network Discovery

• Site System Discovery

• Windows User Account Discovery

• Windows User Group Discovery

Distributed File System

See "DFS".

Distribution Point

See "DP".

Distribution Point Group

DPs can be grouped together so that software can be distributed to the DP group rather than the Administrator having to select each DP they want software to be distributed to.

DLL

Dynamic Link Library – A DLL is simply a collection of common tasks for an application grouped together in a file.  When the application needs to perform a task it simply loads it from the DLL.  This avoids having to include the same code for a task in different parts of a program (it also makes updating tasks easier by simply updating the DLL).

DNS

Domain Name System – An industry name resolution service that allows computer names to be resolved to IP addresses in TCP/IP based networks.

Domain Controller

See "DC".

Domain Name System

See "DNS".

Domain suffix search list

An ordered list of zone names that get appended in turn by a machine when it is unable to resolve the name of another machine.

DP

Distribution Point – A server or a share that acts as a storage location for SMS Package source files.  SMS copies these Package source files to the relevant DP(s) in order to make them available for Clients to install from.

DR

Disaster Recovery – The process of formulating and testing plans to be implemented in the event of a disaster (such as fire, flood, power failure, server failure, etc.), that allows the business to continuing functioning.

DSI

Dynamic Systems Initiative – A Microsoft led industry initiative designed to reduce the complexity of IT systems and improve their manageability.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol

See "DHCP".

Dynamic Link Library

See "DLL".

Dynamic Systems Initiative

See "DSI".

E

Edge location

Those locations at the bottom of an SMS Site hierarchy.  For example in a three tier hierarchy the edge locations would be those at Tier 3.

EADUD

Enhanced Active Directory User Discovery – Allows you to extend the AD information available from within SMS.  For example, using this discovery method you can create Collections, Queries, Reports, etc. based off of AD properties such as building number or manager.

Enhanced Active Directory User Discovery

See "EADUD".

Enhanced System Discovery

See "ESD".

ESD

Enhanced System Discovery – Provides two main features:

• Discover resources in an NT 4 Domain (which SMS 2003 natively cannot do), and create a DDR for any resource it finds.

• Allow an SMS 2.0 Site to discover systems in an AD Domain and create DDRs for any resources it finds.

F

Fallback roaming

There might be times when a Client roams to a different SMS Site and when software is distributed to it the content isn’t available on a DP within the Site the Client has roamed to.  In these cases the Client can access the content from another DP in its assigned Site.  This ability is known as fallback roaming.

FAP

File and Print – A server providing File and Print services to it’s users.

FAT

File Allocation Table.

FQDN

Fully Qualified Domain Name – The complete name of the host and the domain it is a member of.  For example if you have a Domain called "FAQShop.com" that contains a computer called "Server1", the FQDN of "Server1" would be "Server1.FAQShop.com".

FQHN

Fully Qualified Host Name

Fully Qualified Domain Name

See "FQDN".

Fully Qualified Host Name

See "FQHN".

G

Global roaming

Means an Advanced Client can roam to any location covered by the entire SMS hierarchy and still receive software distributions.  For global roaming to work the AD Schema needs to have been extended for SMS and the System Management container needs to have been created.

Globally Unique IDentifier

See "GUID".

GP

Group Policy – A way of enforcing set policies on machines and users.  These policies are defined centrally and can then be applied at various levels such as on the local machine, AD Site, Domain, or OU level.

GPMC

Group Policy Management Console – The MMC used to manage Group Policy.

GPO

Group Policy Object – A setting within a Group Policy.  For example with a GPO it’s possible to remove options from a machines "Start" menu, or prevent users for editing their Registry.

GUID

Globally Unique IDentifier – A unique number generated and assigned to a machine at the time the SMS Client is installed.  The GUID is generated by an algorithm that merges the output of a function called Universally Unique IDentifier (UUID) with the timestamp.  The result is a statistically unique identifier known as the GUID.

H

Hardware Inventory Client Agent

The optional component of the SMS Client that allows hardware-related information such as make, model, CPU, RAM, etc. to be collected from an SMS Client.

HCL

Hardware Compatibility List – A list of hardware that Microsoft has tested that will successfully run Windows and so Microsoft will support.

Heartbeat Discovery

Rediscovers computers that are already in the SMS Site Database to ensure they are still valid resources and the information contained within the Site Database is up-to-date.

By default, every seven days existing SMS Clients submit a new DDR to the SMS Site Server to keep the Site Database up-to-date.

Hierarchy

When you either join one or more Primary Sites together or install a Secondary Site you create an SMS hierarchy.  Think of an SMS hierarchy like an organization chart – it shows what everybody’s role is and who reports to whom.

HTTP

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)|

Hypertext Transfer Protocol

See "HTTP"

I

ICP

International Client Pack – A free download from Microsoft that contain the SMS Client in a number of different languages.

IIS

Internet Information Services (IIS) – Microsoft’s web server application.

International Client Pack

See "ICP".

Internet Information Services

See "IIS".

Intersite traffic

Any traffic that flows from one SMS Site to another.

Intrasite traffic

Traffic within an SMS Site, for example traffic between Clients, Site Systems and the Site Server that make up a particular SMS Site.

IP

Internet Protocol.

IPX

Internetwork Packet eXchange – A protocol used by Novell NetWare.

IT

Information Technology.

IT Infrastructure Library

See "ITIL".

ITIL

IT Infrastructure Library – An UK-based organization that have devised what is considered "best practice" for all disciplines of IT Service Delivery, everything from Service Support to the Business Perspective.

L

LAN

Local Area Network.

LDAP

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

Legacy Client

Primarily aimed at desktop computers running older OSs (such as Windows 98 or Windows NT 4.0), this Client is in effect the SMS 2.0 Client so it relies on using Domain user accounts to perform SMS-related tasks.

Lightweight Directory Access Protocol

See "LDAP"

Local Provider

The name given to the SMS Provider when it’s installed on the same server as the SMS Site server and SQL.

Local roaming boundary

This is where the connection between the Advanced Client and DP is assumed to be over a LAN speed connection and can therefore accept any size SMS Package.

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