What's New in the Configuration Manager 2007 SDK

Article
05/03/2011

Applies To: System Center Configuration Manager 2007, System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2, System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3, System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1, System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP2

The significant changes in the System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Software Development Kit (SDK) since SMS 2003 SDK 3.1 are describe in this section.

Configuration Manager Console Extension

The SMS 2003 IMMF interfaces and Registry mechanism for plugging in extensions have been deprecated and no longer work in Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007.

Microsoft Management Console SDK-based extensions are no longer supported in Configuration Manager 2007.

There is an all new XML-driven Configuration Manager console library. For more information, see Configuration Manager Console Extension.

The new Configuration Manager console is written in managed code, and third party extensions must also be written by using managed code.

SMS 2003 SDK 3.1 Managed Automation Libraries (Managed Site Server Interfaces) Deprecated

The Managed Site Server interfaces that were introduced as part of the SMS 2003 SDK 3.1 are deprecated and are no longer supported. These interfaces are replaced with a newer managed SMS Provider library that is used by the Configuration Manager console to query and configure Configuration Manager features. These interfaces are part of the Configuration Manager product itself, are easier to maintain, are robust (because even the Configuration Manager console uses it), offer better performance and are more secure than the previous Managed Site Server interfaces. For more information, see Managed SMS Provider Fundamentals in Configuration Manager.

Applications that are written by using the managed site server interfaces must be converted to either use the newer, managed SMS Provider library or directly use the WMI SMS Provider classes. In managed code, you can use the System.Management namespace to do this.

New Managed SMS Provider Library

As previously mentioned, a new managed SMS Provider library layer is being introduced between the Configuration Manager console and the SMS Provider.

Warning

Any extensions that are written for the Configuration Manager console must use the managed SMS Provider library.

The managed SMS Provider library can also be leveraged by other custom applications that need access to the SMS Provider.

Management Point Interface Undergoing Significant Changes

Configuration Manager supports two secure modes of operation: Native and Mixed Mode. These both require mutual authentication between the client and the management point. In Configuration Manager, clients talking directly to the management point will always be required to have a certificate (self-signed in the case of mixed-mode security or issued certificates validated by a certification authority in native mode security).

As a result, the management point interface library that was released as part of the SMS 2003 SDK has undergone significant changes to accommodate these new security related features. For more information, see Configuration Manager Management Point Interface Messages.

Warning

If you are taking advantage of the management point interface in your applications, they will no longer work when you upgrade to Configuration Manager 2007. You must change your applications to use the newer management point APIs that are released with the Configuration Manager SDK.

Support for Configuration Manager Features

The Configuration Manager SDK contains documentation and code samples to support core Configuration Manager features such as:

Software updates management
Operating system deployment
Desired configuration management
Software distribution
Maintenance Windows Support

The rest of the SMS 2003 SDK components should continue to work and will be supported when you upgrade to Configuration Manager.

What's in the Configuration Manager 2007 SDK

The following features are covered by this release: