The mission of this book is to help the average SMS administrator with being able to manage the ever-increasing demands for operation excellence at the desktop and server level by leveraging the highly extensive nature of the SMS product. The approach for this title is simple - each feature or task will be broken down into a separate chapter and within each chapter an outline for what is to be accomplished. These items will be covered with 'task or functionality required', tools/scripts needed to accomplish the task and the results. There will be a common environment presented through the entire text allow the user to familiarize himself more quickly as he advances through the chapters. Some of the topics covered are: Standardizing and Replicating Site Settings Harware/software inventory Software metering Reporting Software updates Troubleshooting