You may have some systems which you specifically want to exclude from installing the ConfigMgr client. There are a variety of automated methods in which a system may get the ConfigMgr client installed, desired or not. These methods could include:
- Client push installation
- Active Directory startup script
- Centrally executed management / health check script
Recently, on the MyITforum ConfigMgr mailing list, someone posed the question of how to exclude a workstation from installing the ConfigMgr client. The reason for this was that the workstation in question was running some Cisco software, which would break if Microsoft patches were installed on it. A response to this post suggested the following method:
32-bit Platform
Create two blank files named ccm and ccmsetup under %WINDIR%System32
64-bit Platform
Create two blank files named ccm and ccmsetup under %WINDIR%SysWow64
Note: Credit goes to Max Campbell at Lancaster General Health for the solution.