Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines

 Jul 11, 2014

System Center 2012 R2 provides administrators with the option to manage Linux machines, just like managing Windows Operating Systems. It’s simple to do, and I’ll show you how in today’s blog post. The most common Linux machines that are supported in System Center include:
  • RHEL Version 6, 5, 4
  • SLES Version 11, 10, 9
  • CentOS Version 6, 5
  • Debian Version 6, 5
  • Ubuntu Version 12.4 LTS, 10.4 LTS
  • Oracle Linux 6, 5
  • Solaris Version 11, 10, 9
  • HP-UX Version 11iv2 , 11iv3
First of all, you’ll need to install the SCCM 2012 R2 agent for Linux, which will allow you to manage the Linux OS via SCCM. You can download the agents through the installation media as per the below screenshot.

Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines

Once you’ve downloaded the agents, you’ll need to run the ConfigMgr Clients for Linux.exe to extract the files and then copy the files to the Linux machines.

Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines

Now it’s time to install the SCCM Linux client on the Linux machine in just 2 simple steps.
  1. Open a terminal window and login as a “super user.”Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines
  2. Install the client with the command – “chmod +x install.” Once successfully completed, you will see the below output.

Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines

Logging into the Linux base clients is very straight forward, however all these logs are written to a file known as “SCXCM.log,” which sits in the “/var/opt/microsoft” directory. You have to change the file to look like below by using a visual editor.

Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines

Once you’ve made these changes, restart the SCCM client on the Linux machine. Now that you’ve completed the installation, the next step is to approve the machine.

Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines

From there, the Linux machine will have to request the machine policy from the server with the below command. After this, you’ll now be able to manage your Linux machines via SCCM successfully.
“/opt/microsoft/configmgr/bin/ccmexec -rs policy”

Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines

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About the Author:

Praween Pathinayaka  

With over 10 years of in-class training and IT industry experience, Praween is one of New Horizons’ senior IT Infrastructure & networking instructor. His vast experience is backed by an Honours in Computing and Information Systems. With his extensive skills-set he brings a thorough mentoring capability to the classroom where he can advise on technical issues and challenges often beyond the scope of the course curriculum. Praween is a highly experienced and very approachable training professional with the ability to establish credibility fast with students at all levels. As a trainer at New Horizons, Praween is able to pursue his two main passions in life; technology and helping others to expand their knowledge and skill sets.

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