Error 21201 SMBIOS GUID after installing SCVMM 2016 Update Release 6

 

I recently updated my SCVMM server to Update Release 6.  However once updated, I was getting error 21201  “Another machine with the same SMBIOS GUID is found. Recommended Action An SMBIOS GUID should uniquely identify the machine. Provide the correct value or contact the machine manufacturer to help update the hardware with correct information” as pictured below: In my case, I think this was because I had removed a host from the cluster and then re-added it.   The fix was as follows:   Go to SQL Server Management Studio and connect to the VirtualManagerDB.  Then run the following query: SELECT * FROM [VirtualManagerDB].[dbo].[tbl_ADHC_Host]   This should return a number of rows equal to the number of hosts in your environment.  Mine returned the following:   Next execute the query:   SELECT * FROM [VirtualManagerDB].[dbo].[tbl_PMM_PhysicalMachine]   In my case, this returned one more row than the number of hosts I had in the environment.   I exported this information to Excel (right click the grid and Save as) and matched them up getting the following: You can see that the green and black rows match on SmBiosGuid.  By looking at the PhysicalMachineId I could see which was the redundant record (black).  Therefore I deleted this row from the PMM_PhysicalMachine table.  I did this by going to the table and choosing to edit top 200 rows (as pictured):   Then (once I had a full DB backup) I just right clicked the row I wanted to delete and deleted it.  This fixed the issue and SCVMM can now refresh the host successfully.

 

Microsoft's Windows 10 update options explained

Microsoft's naming changes for Windows 10 updates can be a little confusing.  Here's a little guide to describe the latest terminology and a mapping between the old and new terms.

As you will likely already know, Microsoft ha shifted from a new release of Windows every few years to a ‘windows as a service’ model.  Whereas previously Microsoft would release a technical preview of v.Next just before it shipped, now this is done through the Windows Insider Program.

Microsoft have now changed the terminology in order that the products line up across Windows 10 and Office 365 ProPlus.  The table below explains the changes:

Name	Previously known as…	Ideal for…	Description
Windows Insider		Techie’s business PC	Contains preproduction code with visibility of upcoming features
Semi-Annual Channel (Targeted)	Current Branch (CB)	Pilot deployments	Contains the features that will be present in the next release.  It’s sensible to test these on pilot PCs in order to decide if they will be suitable for the business.
Semi-Annual Channel	Current Branch for Business (CBB)	Business systems	Twice yearly feature updates in March and September which can be deferred.
Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC)	Long-Term Servicing Branch (LTSB)	Wherever stability is paramount such as ATMs or medical equipment	Only in the Windows 10 Enterprise LTSB edition. Doesn’t receive feature updates.  These will be made available as in-place upgrades every 2-3 years. To move to the semi-annual channel requires and in place upgrade to Windows 10 Enterprise.

 

Additionally the options for updates are reflected below:

Servicing tool	Can updates be deferred?	Ability to approve updates	Peer-to-peer option	Additional features
Windows Update	Yes (manual)	No	Delivery Optimization	None
Windows Update for Business	Yes	No	Delivery Optimization	Other Group Policy objects
WSUS	Yes	Yes	BranchCache or Delivery Optimization	Upstream/downstream server scalability
Configuration Manager	Yes	Yes	BranchCache, Client Peer Cache	Distribution points, multiple deployment options

 

More detailed information can be found here.