Microsoft released SCCM Technical Preview 1906 a week ago or so and I upgraded my lab but never got around to blogging about it. So here’s some info about it, better late than never :P.
And here it is in all its glory. Another fine (lab based) release from Microsoft.
So what’s new in this release ?
SCCM 1906 Technical Preview includes:
User categories for device-targeted application deployments now show as filters in Software Center
Improvements to maintenance tasks – Site server maintenance tasks can now be viewed and edited from their own tab on the details view of a site server.
Configuration Manager update database upgrade monitoring – When applying a Configuration Manager update, you can now see the state of the Upgrade ConfigMgr database task in the installation status window.
Redesigned notification logic for newly available software – The New Software is Available notification will only show once for a user for a given application and revision. The user will no longer see the notification each time they logon.
RBAC on Folders – Based on your UserVoice feedback you can now set security scopes on folders.
Azure Active Directory user group discovery – You can now discover user groups and members of those groups from Azure Active directory (Azure AD).
Remote control anywhere using cloud management gateway – An admin or helpdesk operator connect to a client via remote control over the Internet via cloud management gateway.
Improvements to Community Hub – Aside from the existing support for scripts and reports, the Community Hub now supports the following objects: PowerShell Scripts, Reports, Task sequences, Applications and Configuration items. There is now the ability to consume updated hub items.
Add joins, additional operators, and aggregators in CMPivot – Based on your UserVoice feedback for CMPivot, you now have additional arithmetic operators, aggregators, and the ability to add query joins such as using Registry and File together.
CMPivot standalone improvements – To enable more people, such as security admins, to use CMPivot, we’ve expanded the ability for CMPivot to be run outside the console. We’ve also expanded the Security Admin role’s default permissions. These changes give you the benefits of real-time queries across the organization.
- CMPivot standalone improvements – You can now connect to CMPivot Standalone without using the command line.
- Added CMPivot permissions to the Security Administrator role – The following permissions have been added to Configuration Manager’s built-in Security Administrator role: Read on SMS Script; Run CMPivot on Collection; and Read on Inventory Report.
Improvements to Configuration Manager console – You can now enable some nodes of the Configuration Manager console to use the administration service. This change allows the console to communicate with the SMS Provider over HTTPS instead of via WMI.
Support for Windows Virtual Desktop – Windows Virtual Desktop is a preview feature of Microsoft Azure and Microsoft 365. You can now use Configuration Manager technical preview to manage these virtual devices running Windows in Azure.
More frequent countdown notifications for restarts – You now specify snooze duration and increase the restart interval.
Co-management auto-enrollment using device token – A new co-managed device now automatically enrolls to the Microsoft Intune service based on its Azure Active Directory (Azure AD) device token.
Multiple pilot groups for co-management workloads – You can now configure different pilot collections for each of the co-management workloads. Being able to use different pilot collections allows you to take a more granular approach when shifting workloads.
Additional options for third-party update catalogs - You now have additional configuration options for how third-party update catalogs are synchronized into Configuration Manager.
Clear app content from client cache during task sequence – In the Install Application task sequence step, you can now delete the app content from the client cache after the step runs. This behavior is beneficial on devices with small hard drives or when installing lots of large apps in succession.
Management insight rule for NTLM fallback – Management insights includes a new rule that detects if you enabled the less secure NTLM authentication fallback method for the site: NTLM fallback is enabled.
Improvements to OS deployment including
- Based on your UserVoice feedback, it’s now easier to edit variables when you run a task sequence.
- Based on your UserVoice feedback, the task sequence sets a new read-only variable _SMSTSLastContentDownloadLocation.
- This release further iterates on the improvement to the Disable BitLocker step from technical preview version 1905. It resolves the known issue with the client-side functionality, and adds a new variable, OSDBitLockerRebootCountOverride.
Update 1906 for Technical Preview Branch is available in the Configuration Manager Technical Preview console. For new installations please use the 1902.2 baseline version of Configuration Manager Technical Preview Branch available on TechNet Evaluation Center.
