Windows 2003 Server and SCOM (R2): What hotfixes do I apply?

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

I see this question popping up many times so I have decided to write a blog posting about it.

Question is, whether there are some hotfixes needed/advised when SCOM (R2) is going to monitor a server which is Windows Server 2003 based.

And the answer is YES. These hotfixes are not SCOM based but are targeted at some Windows Server OS components, like WMI and Windows Scripting Host (WSH). These are components the SCOM (R2) Agent uses a lot. So it is better to have these components at a good level.

1. WMI Hotfix
   Solves (among other things): Many WMI errors reported in the SCOM Console.
   Related KB Article: KB933061
   
   
2. WSH version 5.7
   Solves (among other things): High CPU usage.
   Related KB Article: KB955360
   
   
3. SP1 voor MSXML6.0
   Solves (among other things): High CPU usage.
   Related KB Article: KB968967
   Additional Info: This KB can be applied to W2K08 servers as well.

It goes without saying, like applying any other hotfix, to test it first in a test environment. Until now I haven’t seen any negative side effects of these hotfixes BUT it is better to be SAFE then SORRY.