How does Client Online status in ConfigMgr 1602 work

Hey guys, you all excited to get your hands dirty with COnfigMgr 1602 ? Well, I was able to get the upgrade package by running the powershell script(EnableupdateRing Powershell Script) available here

Right after running the powershell script I launched Configuration Manager Service Manager and restarted SMS_DMP_Downloader under components. Then the upgrade package was available under Administration\Overview\Cloud Services\Updates and Servicing . Right clicked on it to run the pre-requisite check and started upgrade through right click menu. I am not going to talk about the upgrade process in detail, since there are many article explaining that in detail.

One cool feature that I noticed is, we could see if a computer is online or offline in console. There is this green check mark on the device icon if the client is online. The Icon for offline computers remains the same.

I was really surprised to see this change for real and It also made me to think that if the client are going to send it status to MP frequently and ConfigMgr is to process all these request and store is in DB, It would actually increase the load on both the network and site server / systems. So I decided to check if there are places where this communication activity is recorded. I found quite interesting stuff there..

Quoted from Microsoft post

A new status for clients is available for monitoring if a computer is online or not. A computer is considered online if it is connected to it's assigned management point. To indicate that the computer is online, the client sends ping-like messages to the management point. If the management point doesn't receive a message after 5 minutes, the client is considered offline.

 It looks like the client's BGB agent's keep alive messages are used in order to define if a client is online or not.

The keep alive messages are then processed by BGB server to create a Delta report on the client Online status to be processed further.

The Delta file is processed and Online status of each client is stored in table BGB_ResStatus . If you want to see that yourself, try this query in your SQL management studio

SELECT TOP 1000 [ResourceID]
      ,[OnlineStatus]
      ,[ServerID]
      ,[LastOnlineTime]
      ,[ChannelType]
      ,[LastOfflineTime]
  FROM [CM_<SiteCode>].[dbo].[BGB_ResStatus]

 The above query gave me the following result. The column Online status defines whether a computer is online or not.

I investigated everything I wanted to know about the new client online status feature and the only thing I want to investigate now is, What if I want to disable this and reduce the load on the Network as well as site servers/ systems ?

I still dont have answer for that question and I will try to find that out soon. So, If you are planning to move to ConfigMgr 1602, knowing how this works comes in handy at times.

Hope this helps

S A Delphin

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You cant get away! | Win7, 8.1 to go extinct | New processors will only work with Win10 - Microsoft

Yes, It is true. In 18 months Windows 10 will replace all of his sisters. Microsoft anounced that only Windows 10 will support the next generation procesors. Next generation processors, including Intel's "Kaby Lake", Qualcomm's 8996 (branded as Snapdragon 820), and AMD's "Bristol Ridge" APUs (which will use the company's Excavator architecture, not its brand new Zen arch) will only be supported on Windows 10.

Also, Organization that runs Windows 7 / 8.1 on Intel 6th generation Core processor (SkyLake) are given time until17 July 2017 to upgrade to Windows 10. After July 2017, the most critical Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 security updates will be addressed for these configurations, and will be released if the update does not risk the reliability or compatibility of the Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 platform on other devices.

Read more here
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/skylake-support

 If your organization runs win 7 or 8.1 on Skylake processors, you only have time until July 2017. You sure wanna book mark the above link to frequently check the Skylake systems supported on Win 7 / 8.1, as this page will be frequently upgraded as and when hardware vendors releases new model.

 MIcrosoft is trying to justify this move by providing certain data points and they have re-defined their support policy. Below is a snippet from Microsof's blog post

We are particularly excited about the work we’ve done with Intel on their new 6^th generation Intel Core processors (code named “Skylake”). Compared to Windows 7 PC’s, Skylake when combined with Windows 10, enables up to 30x better graphics and 3x the battery life – with the unmatched security of Credential Guard utilizing silicon supported virtualization. We and our partners are continuing to invest, innovate, and update to drive continued performance improvements across Windows 10 and Skylake devices.
 
With Windows 7 now in extended support, we are focused on our commitment to deliver security, reliability, and compatibility to our installed base on their current systems. Redesigning Windows 7 subsystems to embrace new generations of silicon would introduce churn into the Windows 7 code base, and would break this commitment.

Going forward, as new silicon generations are introduced, they will require the latest Windows platform at that time for support. This enables us to focus on deep integration between Windows and the silicon, while maintaining maximum reliability and compatibility with previous generations of platform and silicon. For example, Windows 10 will be the only supported Windows platform on Intel’s upcoming “Kaby Lake” silicon, Qualcomm’s upcoming “8996” silicon, and AMD’s upcoming “Bristol Ridge” silicon.

Read the entire post here
https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2016/01/15/windows-10-embracing-silicon-innovation/

All that being said, It's time for you to take this up with your organization and start planning the migration of Windows 10.


The redefined policy makes Microsoft's hardware partners happy since they no longer have to develop as many costly software updates for past versions of Windows. It also helps Microsoft push migrating to Windows 10. Microsoft already anounced that WIndows 10 is their final version of Windows. it's now a service, not a product, and this change better reflects that. There's only one current version of Windows, and while Microsoft will fulfill its legacy hardware obligations, it won't be expending resources to help users steer clear of its latest and greatest.

S A Delphin

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