Microsoft sends SMS R2 to beta
InfoWorld | at | by Mike
Microsoft on Tuesday released the first beta of System Management Server R2 and said the software would be generally available in May.
The release comes a few weeks after Microsoft released Service Pack 2 for SMS 2003, which is required to run the new SMS R2 software.
SMS R2 includes two prominent features, a new catalog service that will let users download third-party patches directly into SMS and a new vulnerability-scanning engine to discover misconfigured software.
SMS is one of two cornerstone tools Microsoft is developing under the System Center brand name. The other is Microsoft Operations Manager, which will get an R2 update later this year. Microsoft also plans to flesh out its System Center product family and revamp the System Center roadmap at its annual Management Summit in April.