[BBLISA-announce] May meeting -- THIS WEDNESDAY!

[Adam Moskowitz]

Wednesday, May 11th
MIT E-51, Room 376

7:00 - Announcements & Introductions
7:25 - Door prizes (worth anywhere from $43.99 to $2.99)
7:30 - Formal presentation

Topic: Automating Inventory, Deployment and Configuration of Your
Windows Infrastructure

Presenter: Dan Stolts, Microsoft

    WAIT! Before you say "Windows; Microsoft; I'm staying home," consider
    the following: For many years, the Unix/Linux community has had the
    luxury of using tools like bcfg2, cfengine, puppet, etc. to automate our
    control and management of our machines -- but on the Windows side the
    choices have been either touch each individual machine or use tools that
    allow some automation but often lack much of the sophistication of the
    *nix tools we know and love.

    Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager -- the product Dan will be
    presenting -- represents a significant step forward when it comes do
    dealing with Windows. No, it's not the same as cfengine et al., and no,
    it can't manage both Windows and *nix machines; on the other hand, it's
    a heck of a lot better than most of the tools we've heard about up until
    now.

    If you're strictly a *nix admin, come hear about the progress being made
    for managing Windows. If you manage both Windows and *nix, this
    presentation is for you! If you wok in a mixed shop but aren't
    responsible for the Windows systems, find your Windows counterparts and
    drag them to this meeting.

Abstract:
    Like most IT professionals, you are an administrator in a heterogeneous
    environment. You have a myriad of tools to inventory, deploy and
    configure your Unix/Linux machines but how do you do this for the rest
    of
    your machines? Come to this session to learn about the tools you must
    have in your toolbox to inventory, deploy, and remotely configure your
    windows desktops and servers. We will discuss the free tools as well as
    the top of the line fully automatable solutions available by Microsoft.

    Dan Stolts is a technology specialist with more than 24 years in the
    industry. He is proficient with many Microsoft products especially
    those in the server area and holds many certifications including MCT,
    MCITP, MCSE, TS, etc. Dan is currently specializing in Systems
    Management and Security and is also very passionate about virtualization
    technologies. Dan is and has been a very active member of the community.
    He is the current president of Boston User Groups
    (www.BostonUserGroups.org).