What’s New in ConfigMgr 1608 Technical Preview

ConfigMgr 1608 Technical Preview

We’ll go over the brand-new features added to ConfigMgr 1608 technical preview in this post. I will also cover the steps to install SCCM Technical Preview 1608.

Microsoft has released the technical preview version 1608, adding several new features and improvements over the previous version 1607. One such new feature that deserves praise is the “New Software” indicators in the Software Center. In addition, there have been a number of improvements, which we’ll examine in the section after this.

Technical Preview releases let you try out new Configuration Manager features in a test setting before they are made available to everyone. Check out all the build numbers and release history of Technical Preview versions.

Install and Update Third Party Applications with Patch My PC
Install and Update Third Party Applications with Patch My PC

To get the additional features for your Configuration Manager technical preview site, install the SCCM 1608 technical preview. The technical preview versions must never be installed in a SCCM production environment. That’s because technical preview versions are meant only for test environments or lab setups. Furthermore, each technical preview version is only active for 90 days before expiring.

The SCCM 1608 technical preview update should be available in SCCM console for installation. A baseline media includes all the setup files required to install SCCM or Configuration Manager. If you want to install Configuration Manager from scratch, then 1608 Tech Preview baseline install media is what you need. You can download it from the Microsoft Evaluation Center.

Install ConfigMgr 1608 Technical Preview Update

You can install technical preview update for ConfigMgr version 1608 using the following steps.

  • Launch the Configuration Manager console.
  • Go to Administration\Overview\Updates and Servicing node.
  • Right-click Configuration Manager Technical Preview 1608 and select Install Update Pack.

Follow the update installation wizard and complete the installation of technical preview 1608. You don’t have to restart the server after installing the update. Ensure the client agents are upgraded to the latest version after the TP 1608 update is installed.

SCCM Technical Preview 1608 New Features

The Technical Preview for Configuration Manager 1608 includes the following new features.

  1. Software Center Improvements: There have been some great improvements added in ConfigMgr 1608 technical preview for Software Center. When an user requests for an application, the application request history can be now seen in Application Details view in Software Center. The Software Center Applications, Updates, and Operating Systems tabs now show what software was recently added. Numbers in the navigation pane show how many new pieces of software are in each tab.
  2. Asset Intelligence Improvements: In SCCM technical preview 1608, you can find a new field added to the properties for inventoried software. This lets you set a parent and child relationship with other software. You can now view the parent of any software and also hide all child software. Once you define a parent to child relationships, you can filter your view to only show software that is a parent or that has no defined relationship.
  3. Remote Control Keyboard Translation Issues Fixed: When an admin takes a remote control of user’s computer, there would be problem if the keyboard configurations were different at each end. This issue has been resolved now. Whatever key the viewer types in, the same key arrives at sharer end.
  4. Keyboard Translation for Remote Control: By default in a remote control session, characters typed on the viewer’s keyboard are sent to the controlled device instead of the keys whether or not their keyboard layouts match. This behavior may be turned off in the Remote Control viewer Action menu.
  5. Improvements in Prepare ConfigMgr Client for Capture task sequence step: Starting with SCCM technical preview 1608, the Prepare ConfigMgr Client step will now completely remove the Configuration Manager client, instead of only removing key information. When the task sequence deploys the captured operating system image, it will install a new Configuration Manager client each time.
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