May 5, 2008
MCP Magazine News
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Greg's Weekly quickTIP: An Alternative to WSUS Reporting
Capabilities
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THIS ISSUE SPONSORED BY:
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IN THIS ISSUE:
- Greg's Weekly quickTIP: An Alternative to WSUS Reporting
Capabilities
- Redmond Radio: Microsoft, Yahoo Scrap Merger Plans; XP SP3
Glitch; More
- Special Offers: Disaster Recovery; Surviving Spam
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GREG'S WEEKLY QUICKTIP: Reports Aplenty
By Greg Shields
WSUS is an excellent tool for approving and deploying
patches to
clients throughout your network, but sometimes I find its
reports
lacking the information I need. WSUS' native reports can
show me
information about computers, updates and groups -- but what
if I
want combinations of data or specific filters that aren't
available
natively in the interface?
In those cases, the only way is to generate my own reports
directly
through WSUS' SQL database itself. For its database, WSUS
3.0 can
use either SQL or, in smaller environments, it can link to a
local
copy of the Windows Internal Database. If you're using SQL
as your
database, you've probably also installed SQL Management
Studio for
generating queries. But if you're using the no-cost Windows
Internal
Database, those tools don't come natively.
One graphical tool that can help is the SQL Server 2005
Management
Studio Express Edition
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/express/bb410792.aspx
, a free
download from Microsoft's Web site. Install this tool
locally to
your WSUS server and you can generate SQL queries through
its interface.
One problem with WSUS' database, however, is that it is not
natively
configured for use by external tools like SQL Server
Management
Studio. There are two ways you can eliminate or get around
this
restriction. The hard way is to install the full version of
SQL
Server Express 2005 and run both the Surface Area
Configuration
Utility and the SQL Server Configuration Utility to enable
the
TCP/IP protocol and remote access on the database. But that
involves
an added installation, and also removes a layer of security
built
into the database. It is possible to work around this
limitation
using the SQL Server Management Studio alone if you connect
to the
database using Windows Authentication and the following
connection
string:
\.pipeMSSQL$MICROSOFT##SSEEsqlquery
If anything, give it a try just to see how much and what
kinds of
data your WSUS server is storing about the clients on your
network.
You'll be impressed with the sheer quantity of data that
WSUS keeps
to itself.
Comment: http://mcpmag.com/columns/article.aspx?editorialsid
=2613#post
AND NOW, FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT: Greg Wants your
Very
Best SMS/SCCM Queries
Query creation in SMS & SCCM is an art, and building the
very best
queries for collections and reports is key to doing SMS
& SCCM well.
Contributing Editor Greg Shields wants to showcase your very
best
queries for an upcoming Redmond column. Help out a fellow
administrator and get a free Redmond T-shirt to boot!
Greg Shields, MCSE: Security, CCEA, is an independent
author,
instructor, and consultant based in Denver, Colo. A
contributing
editor to Redmond magazine, MCPmag.com and a popular speaker
at
TechMentor events, Greg?s recent book Windows Server 2008:
What's
New/What's Changed, is now available at www.sapienpress.com.
gshields redmondmag.com
Check out MCPmag.com's column archive for more savvy tips
and tricks
from Jeff, Greg Shields, Chris Wolf and other frequent
contributors.
http://mcpmag.com/columns/
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REDMOND RADIO for Week of May 5
Hosted by Michael Domingo
Take a quick listen to what made news last week in the world
of
Redmond and IT:
* Microsoft and Yahoo scrap acquisition plans
* Windows XP SP3 suffers glitch with Dynamics Retail
* Web attacks on the rise
* IT budgets contract in 2008
Plus, listen to find out how to enter the weekly Redmond
T-Shirt Giveaway:
http://mcpmag.com/webcasts/mcpradio/radio.asp?id=290
iTunes/iPodder listeners: Download the show automatically by
pointing
your applet at http://mcpmag.com/rs
s/podcasts/.
Problems listening to the podcast? Write to mdomingo1105media.com
and describe the problem to get help. We want you to listen
if you
want to hear it!
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** Discounts on Windows 2008/Books at Amazon.com
Now that Windows Server 2008 is available, there are gobs of
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EVENT CALENDAR
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TechMentor Conference | May 12 - May 16, 2008| Orlando, FL
Network Training for Windows Professionals
http://TechMentor
Events.com/Orlando
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