14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is making it easier for early adopters to take an early development milestone of the next generation of System Center Configuration Manager out for a spin.
The software giant released System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 in March 2011, and is now serving testers a Virtual Hard Disk image of the Build.
The VHD image packs the pre-configured System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2, which means that early adopters need only to fire up a virtual machine in order to start testing.
According to the Redmond company, the System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 VHD is designed to run inside a Hyper-V virtual machine, so IT pros will need to be running Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.
“System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 helps you empower your employees to use the devices and applications they need to be productive, while maintaining corporate compliance and control,” Microsoft said.
“In today’s workplace, the boundaries between work and life have blurred. People expect consistent access to corporate services from wherever they are, on any device they’re using—including desktops, laptops, smart phones, and slates.”
Of course, testers can always opt to download the actual System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 bits. But in this case, they will also need to deal with the deployment process and set up tasks.
With the VHD, all that early adopter need to do is import the VM into Hyper-V. Another advantage is the fact that the virtual machine allows customers to test not only System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 but also Forefront Endpoint Protection 2012 Beta, which is also included in the VHD.
“By default, this VM comes configured without a virtual NIC assigned. If you do not have a virtual NIC already defined in Hyper-V Manager, you will need to configure one. This is required in order to activate your 180 day trial period. You will have 10 days to activate,” the company added.
The System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 VHD is available for download here.
System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Beta 2 is available for download here.