The first release candidate of System Center Essentials 2007, along with beta two of System Center Configuration Manager 2007, are both immediately available for download.

Aimed at midsized businesses with between 50 and 500 computers, System Center Essentials 2007 is new software that provides IT administrators a single console for managing servers, clients, hardware, software and IT services. Enhancements since the second beta include better network monitoring of SNMP-enabled network devices, 64-bit and Vista support, remote control of managed client and server PCs and integration with SQL Server.

System Center Configuration Manager 2007, the next version of the product formerly known as System Management Server, or SMS, helps Windows-centric businesses automate the setup of new software and the application of updates and patches. This version will offer policy-based software update management built on top of Windows Server Update Services; improvements to its operating system deployment features, including support for Vista; integration with the Windows Application Compatibility tool kit to aid in hardware assessment and ease Vista migration and planning; and increased software and hardware asset management.

Configuration Manager 2007 is expected to be released this summer. The beta is available now.

SMS, along with Microsoft Operations Manager, or MOM, are longtime Microsoft management tools that the company said at its Management Summit last year would be renamed and made the flagship products of the new System Center family of management tools.