Helpful SQL Server Maintenance Script

So I noticed over the past month that System Center Configuration Manager is running a bit sluggish which immediately indicates to me that it’s time for some maintenance! (sigh)

For those who manage programs such as SCCM and SCOM which require modern versions of SQL Server, this custom script created by Ola Hallengrens is a must have!  Also, be sure to check his site periodically as he does a great job of updating this script along with others on a regular basis.  Paired with additional recommendations from Steve Thompson designed for these specific programs, I am pleased with its effectiveness in cleaning up these SQL databases.

 

System Center 2019 Coming Soon!

I was catching up on some tech reading over the weekend and came across multiple articles stating that Microsoft’s latest System Center Suite will be released later this month and is fully compatible with Windows Server 2019 products.

A key takeaway from the article I read on RedmondMag.com about this topic is that Microsoft has decided to shift back to a more LTSC-like (long term servicing channel) model.  This decision stemmed from the fact that customers actually preferred receiving less feature updates but is supported for a longer period of time instead of the opposite.  The only notable exception to this is Configuration Manager which will continue to stay on the current SAC (semi-annual channel) model.

As someone who uses Configuration Manager and Operations Manager on a daily basis, I believe Microsoft made the right call on this.  I personally welcome the new features introduced with Configuration Manager on a regular basis whereas with Operations Manager, as long as its properly managing our 80+ servers I’m a happy camper!

 

SCOM Version 1807 Upgrade

Being that it is a short week and almost all staff is gone for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I’m afforded a small window of time which will allow for me to upgrade to the latest version of SCOM.  At the start of the process, I immediately noted that it is not as simple as extracting the ISO and running setup.exe…instead it is a series of KBs that need to be installed in a certain order as stated by Microsoft.  See the link below for further details…

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/system-center/scom/upgrade-1801-to-1807?view=sc-om-1807

After following all of the instructions, the install is now complete!