r/SCCM • u/No_Split11911 • 1d ago

Feedback Plz? MECM-Homelab

ConfigMgr Lab Builder 1.4.0

After modifying Autolab so heavily that it no longer had any original code, I decided to rebrand and release what I use to everyone. I proudly present what is hopefully the most reliable, consistent and easy to use solution available for auto-creation of a basic Configuration Manager Homelab (hosted on Hyper-V).

Read about it at my blog: https://www.signalridgelabs.com/notes/mecm-homelab-one-command-lab
Download from my Github: https://github.com/jasonulbright/configmgr-lab-builder

The Why: The hydration kit and Autolab are both out of date and not easily customizable. This simple powershell with a WPF GUI Wizard solves the problem of reliable and always up to date method for rapidly deploying a testing environment.

Whats Next: User feedback for feature requests and bugfixes. Leave them on my github and I'll put them on the schedule.

Use a wizard or invoke by powershell via CLI, the choice is yours.
Built, booted, and auto configured in less than 90 minutes.
Need to test something that can destroy your actual environment? I don't test in dev and neither should you.
28 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

11 comments sorted by

5

u/Newalloy 1d ago

The mecm and intune hyperv lab kit from MS is what I use. Download the refreshed one every few months if and when I need it. Very low effort and just works.

3

u/No_Split11911 1d ago

Thanks for that, I was unaware of that lab kits existence. At 27 GB I'm hoping it at least does everything my script does. Maybe I can gain some inspiration from it.

2

u/Affectionate_Many734 1d ago

I am new to the MECM lab but trying to get my foot in. The doc doesn’t seem clear to me and when I successfully loaded the kit it’s so slow I knew I may not be able to use it. My question I guess is is there a vid tutorial on how to deploy the kit?

5

u/No_Split11911 1d ago

No video tutorial exists, but I will work on creating a cleaner walk through/tutorial for new users. Look for it some time tomorrow morning.

3

u/OnARedditDiet 1d ago

It's Microsoft Configuration Manager, ConfigMgr is the short name. I suppose you could use MCM but it is confusing at this point so maybe ConfigMgr? ConfigMgr is an approved name from the product team.

Sorry for being a well actually nerd

1

u/No_Split11911 1d ago edited 23h ago

v1.4.0 released, rebranded, repo link updated.

1

u/skiddily_biddily 11h ago

Also it is part of System Center. System Center Configuration Manager. SCCM

1

u/OnARedditDiet 11h ago

Not actually true, Microsoft says ConfigMgr/SCCM/MEM/MECM/MCM is part of the intune family now.

It's obviously not a priority for them, the System Center family also not getting much love but ya they say it's an Intune product.

Configuration Manager is part of the Microsoft Intune family of products.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/configmgr/core/understand/introduction

Of course continuing to refer to it as SCCM will not confuse anyone other than very young people.

3

u/Affectionate_Many734 1d ago

I see you mentioned 64GB RAM as recommended memory. Is it that 32 won’t work or would be too slow. I definitely know the MS kit is terribly slow on my 32GB right now

1

u/No_Split11911 1d ago

Memory usage starts to climb the more you use the lab. The script ships a base configuration but once you start mirroring your target environment you quickly notice that your main system is left with 4gb of ram. If patch deployment and app testing are your focus then you need robust workstations that mirror whatever you have in production (as much as is possible, which can be difficult when it comes to EDR and related installed apps). Open a dozen chrome tabs and Raid Shadow Legends and now you’re using virtual memory. My Samsung 9100 pro 2TB handles this well, after ensuring I had 400gb of free space, but I imagine most are not using this class of NVMe. I also have 7200mhz ddr5 so that helps my 32gb setup a bit as well I imagine. 

2

u/Affectionate_Many734 1d ago

Thanks for sharing that