Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager

Note
This topic appears in the Getting Started with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide and in the Site Administration for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

This topic specifies the requirements to implement and maintain Microsoft System Center System Center 2012 Configuration Manager in your environment.

The following sections list products that are supported with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. No extension of support for these products beyond their current product life-cycles is implied. Products that are beyond their current support life cycle are not supported for use with Configuration Manager. For more information about Microsoft Support Lifecycles, visit the Microsoft Support Lifecycle website at Microsoft Support Lifecycle.

Warning
Microsoft provides support for the current service pack and, in some cases, the immediately previous service pack. For more information about Microsoft support life-cycle policy, go to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Support Policy FAQ website at Microsoft Support Lifecycle Policy FAQ.

Products that are not listed in this document are not supported with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager unless they are announced on the System Center Configuration Manager Team Blog.

Configuration Manager System Requirements
Configurations for the SQL Server Site Database
- SQL Server Requirements
Function-Specific Requirements
Support for Active Directory Domains
Windows Environment
Supported Upgrade Paths for Configuration Manager

Configuration Manager System Requirements

The following sections specify the hardware and software requirements that you must have to implement and maintain Configuration Manager in your environment.

Site and Site System Role Scalability

The following table contains information about the support limits at each site type and by each client-facing site system role. This information is based on the recommended hardware for site systems. For information about the recommended hardware for Configuration Manager sites, see Planning for Hardware Configurations for Configuration Manager. For information about the minimum required hardware to run a Configuration Manager site, see Minimum Hardware Requirements for Site Systems, in this topic.

Site or site system role

More information

Central administration site

A central administration site can support up to 25 child primary sites.
When you use SQL Server Enterprise or Datacenter for the site database at the central administration site, the shared database and hierarchy supports up to 400,000 clients. The maximum number of supported clients per hierarchy depends on the SQL Server edition in the central administration site, and is independent of the SQL Server edition at primary or secondary sites.

Note

Configuration Manager supports up to 400,000 clients per hierarchy when you use the default settings for all Configuration Manager features.
When you use SQL Server Standard for the site database at the central administration site, the shared database and hierarchy supports up to 50,000 clients. This is because of how the database is partitioned. After you install Configuration Manager, if you then upgrade the edition of SQL Server at the central administration site from Standard to Enterprise or Datacenter, the database does not repartition and this limitation remains.

Note
You cannot assign Configuration Manager clients to a central administration site. Support for clients applies to clients that are assigned to child primary sites in the hierarchy.

Primary site

Each primary site can support up to 250 secondary sites.

Note
The number of secondary sites per primary site is based on continuously connected and reliable wide area network (WAN) connections. For locations that have fewer than 500 clients, consider a distribution point instead of a secondary site.

A stand-alone primary site always supports up to 100,000 clients.
A Configuration Manager SP1 primary site supports up to 10,000 Windows Embedded devices that have File-Based Write Filters (FBWF) enabled when they are configured for the exceptions listed in the Deploying the Configuration Manager Client to Windows Embedded Devices section in the Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager topic. Otherwise, all other configurations for write filter-enabled embedded devices limit support to 3,000 embedded devices for a primary site. When write filters are not enabled, the standard number of clients are supported.
A Configuration Manager SP1 primary site supports up to 50,000 Mac computers.

A child primary site that uses SQL Server installed on the same computer as the site server can support up to 50,000 clients. When you use SQL Server that is installed on a computer that is remote from the site server, the child primary site can support up to 100,000 clients.

Note

In a hierarchy with a central administration site that uses a standard edition SQL Server, the total number of clients supported in the hierarchy is limited to 50,000. In this hierarchy, a child primary site that uses a remote installation of SQL Server cannot support more clients than is supported by the hierarchy. The version of SQL Server that is used by a secondary site does not affect the number of clients that the primary site supports.

Unlike a central administration site, the edition of SQL Server you use for the primary site database does not affect the maximum number of clients the primary site supports. This is true for both child primary sites, and stand-alone primary sites.

Secondary site

Each secondary site can support communications from up to 5,000 clients when you use a secondary site server that has the recommended hardware and a fast and reliable network connection to its primary parent site. A secondary site could support communications from additional clients when its hardware configuration exceeds the recommended hardware configuration.

For information about the recommended hardware for Configuration Manager sites, see Planning for Hardware Configurations for Configuration Manager.

Management point

Primary site:

Each primary site management point can support up to 25,000 computer clients. To support 100,000 clients you must have at least four management points. Additional restrictions:
- Mac computer clients: Up to 10,000.
Note

Do not position management points across a slow link from their primary site server or from the site database server.

Each primary site can support up to 10 management points.

Note
When you have more than four management points in a primary site, you do not increase the supported client count of the primary site beyond 100,000. Instead, any additional management points provide redundancy for communications from clients.

Secondary site:

Each secondary site supports a single management point that must be installed on the secondary site server.
The secondary site management point supports communications from the same number of clients as supported by the hardware configuration of the secondary site server.

Distribution point

Individually, each primary site supports up to 250 distribution points and each distribution point can support up to 4,000 clients.
Individually, each secondary site supports up to 250 distribution points and each distribution point can support up to the same number of clients as supported by the hardware configuration of the secondary site server, up to no more than 4,000 clients.
Each primary site supports a combined total of up to 5,000 distribution points. This total includes all the distribution points at the primary site and all distribution points that belong to the primary site’s child secondary sites.
Each distribution point supports a combined total of up to 10,000 packages and applications.

Note
The number of clients that one distribution point can support depends on the speed of the network, the disk performance of the distribution point computer, and the application or package size.

Software update point

For Configuration Manager without service pack, each site supports one active software update point for use on the intranet, and optionally, one software update point for use on the Internet. You can configure each of these software update points as a Network Load Balancing (NLB) cluster. You can have up to four software update points in the NLB cluster.

For Configuration Manager SP1, each site supports multiple software update points for use on the intranet and on the Internet. By default, Configuration Manager SP1 does not support configuring software update points as NLB clusters. However, you can use the Configuration Manager SDK to configure a software update point on a NLB cluster.
A software update point that is installed on the site server can support up to 25,000 clients.
A software update point that is installed on a computer that is remote from the site server can support up to 100,000 clients.

Note
For more information, see Planning for Software Updates in Configuration Manager.

Fallback status point

Each fallback status point can support up to 100,000 clients.

Application Catalog website point

You can install multiple instances of the Application Catalog website point at primary sites.
For improved performance, plan to support up to 50,000 clients per instance.
Each instance of this site system role supports up to 400,000 clients, which provides service for the whole hierarchy.

Tip
As a best practice, install the Application Catalog website point and Application Catalog web service point together on the same site system when they provide service to clients that are on the intranet.

Application Catalog web service point

You can install multiple instances of the Application Catalog web service point at primary sites.
For improved performance, plan to support up to 50,000 clients per instance.
Each instance of this site system role supports up to 400,000 clients, which provides service for the whole hierarchy.

Tip
As a best practice, install the Application Catalog website point and Application Catalog web service point together on the same site system when they provide service to clients that are on the intranet.

System Health Validator point

Each System Health Validator point can support up to 100,000 clients.

Site System Requirements

Each System Center 2012 Configuration Manager site system server must use a 64-bit operating system. The only exception to this is the distribution point site system role which can be installed on limited 32-bit operating system versions.

Limitations for site systems:

Site systems are not supported on Server Core installations for the following operating systems:
- Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2
- Windows Server 2008 Foundation or Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation
- Windows Server 2012
- Windows Server 2012 Foundation
It is not supported to change the domain membership or computer name of a Configuration Manager site system after it is installed.
Site system roles are not supported on an instance of a Windows Server cluster. The only exception to this is the site database server.

The following sections list the hardware requirements and operating system requirements for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager sites, typical site system roles, and function-specific site system roles.

Prerequisites for Site System Roles

The following table identifies prerequisites that are required by Configuration Manager for each site system role on supported operating systems other than Windows Server 2012. For information about prerequisites for site system roles on Windows Server 2012, see Prerequisites for Site System Roles on Windows Server 2012.

Important
Except where specifically noted, prerequisites apply to all versions of System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Some prerequisites, such as SQL Server for the site database server, or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) for the software update point, might require additional prerequisites that are not directly required by the site system role.

For site system roles that require Internet Information Services (IIS), use a version of IIS that the computer supports that runs the site system role. For information, see the following sections, Operating System Requirements for Typical Site System Roles and Operating System Requirements for Function-Specific Site System Roles, in this topic.

Site system role

.NET Framework version¹

Windows Communication Foundation (WCF) activation²

Role services for the web server (IIS) role

Additional prerequisites

Site server

Requires both of the following:

3.5 SP1
4.0

Not applicable

Windows feature:

Remote Differential Compression

By default, a secondary site installs a management point and a distribution point. Therefore secondary sites must meet the prerequisites for these site system roles.

Database server

Not applicable

A version of SQL Server that Configuration Manager supports must be installed on this computer.

During installation of the Configuration Manager site, the remote registry service must be enabled on the computer that hosts the site database.

When you install SQL Server Express as part of a secondary site installation, the secondary site server computer must meet the requirements for SQL Server Express.

SMS Provider Server

Not applicable

Application Catalog web service point

Requires both of the following:

3.5 SP1
4.0

Requires the following options for WCF activation:

HTTP Activation
Non-HTTP Activation

Requires the default IIS configuration with the following additions:

Application Development:
- ASP.NET (and automatically selected options)
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Not applicable

Application Catalog website point

Requires the following:

Not applicable

Requires the default IIS configuration with the following additions:

Common HTTP Features:
- Static Content
- Default Document
Application Development:
- ASP.NET (and automatically selected options)³
Security:
- Windows Authentication
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Not applicable

Asset Intelligence synchronization point

Requires the following:

Not applicable

Distribution point⁴

Not applicable

You can use the default IIS configuration, or a custom configuration.

To use a custom IIS configuration, you must enable the following options for IIS:

Application Development:
- ISAPI Extensions
Security:
- Windows Authentication
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility
- IIS 6 WMI Compatibility

When you use a custom IIS configuration, you can remove options that are not required, such as the following:

Common HTTP Features:
- HTTP Redirection
IIS Management Scripts and Tools

Windows feature:

Remote Differential Compression

To support PXE or multicast, install and configure the following Windows role:

Windows Deployment Services (WDS)

Note
For Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, WDS is installed and configured automatically when you configure a distribution point to support PXE or Multicast. For Windows Server 2003, you must install and configure WDS manually.

For Configuration Manager with no service pack, to support PXE on a distribution point that is on a computer remote from the site server, you should install the following:

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable.

Note
You can run the Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Setup from the Configuration Manager installation at: <ConfigMgrInstallationFolder>\Client\x64\vcredist_x64.exeFor Configuration Manager SP1, vcredist_x64.exe is installed automatically when you configure a distribution point to support PXE.

With Configuration Manager SP1, you can use a cloud service in Windows Azure to host a distribution point. For more information, see the section Planning for Distribution Points for Windows Azure in the Planning for Content Management in Configuration Manager topic.

Endpoint Protection point

Requires the following:

3.5 SP1

Not applicable

Enrollment point

Requires the following:

3.5 SP1 for Configuration Manager with no service pack
4.0 for Configuration Manager with SP1

Requires the following options for WCF activation:

HTTP Activation
Non-HTTP Activation

Requires the default IIS configuration with the following additions:

Application Development:
- ASP.NET (and automatically selected options) ³

Not applicable

Enrollment proxy point

Requires the following:

3.5 SP1 for Configuration Manager with no service pack
4.0 for Configuration Manager with SP1

Requires the following options for WCF activation:

HTTP Activation
Non-HTTP Activation

Requires the default IIS configuration with the following additions:

Application Development:
- ASP.NET (and automatically selected options) ³

Not applicable

Fallback status point

Not applicable

Requires the default IIS configuration with the following additions:

IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Not applicable

Management point

Configuration Manager with no service pack:

Management points that support mobile devices require the .NET Framework 3.5 SP1⁵

Configuration Manager with SP1:

All management points require the .NET Framework 4

Not applicable

You can use the default IIS configuration, or a custom configuration⁵.

To use a custom IIS configuration, you must enable the following options for IIS:

Application Development:
- ISAPI Extensions
Security:
- Windows Authentication
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility
- IIS 6 WMI Compatibility

When you use a custom IIS configuration you can remove options that are not required, such as the following:

Common HTTP Features:
- HTTP Redirection
IIS Management Scripts and Tools

Windows feature:

BITS Server Extensions (and automatically selected options), or Background Intelligent Transfer Services (BITS) (and automatically selected options)

Out of band service point

Requires the following:

Requires the following options for WCF activation:

HTTP Activation
Non-HTTP Activation

Not applicable

Reporting services point

Requires the following:

Not applicable

SQL Server Reporting Services installed and configured to use at least one instance for the reporting services point. The instance you use for SQL Server Reporting Services can be the same instance you use for the site database. Additionally, the instance you use can be shared with other System Center products as long as the other System Center products do not have restrictions for sharing the instance of SQL Server.

Software update point

Requires both of the following:

3.5 SP1
4.0

Not applicable

Requires the default IIS configuration

Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 SP2 must be installed on this computer.

State migration point

Not applicable

Requires the default IIS configuration

Not applicable

System Health Validator point

Not applicable

This site system role is supported only on a NAP health policy server.

Windows Intune connector

Requires the following:

Not applicable

¹ Install the full version of the Microsoft.NET Framework before you install the site system roles. For example, see the Microsoft .NET Framework 4 (Stand-Alone Installer).

Important
The Microsoft .NET Framework 4 Client Profile is insufficient for this requirement.

² You can configure WCF activation as part of the .NET Framework Windows feature on the site system server. For example, on Windows Server 2008 R2, run the Add Features Wizard to install additional features on the server. On the Select Features page, expand NET Framework 3.5.1 Features, then expand WCF Activation, and then select the check box for both HTTP Activation and Non-HTTP Activation to enable these options.

³ In some scenarios, such as when IIS is installed or reconfigured after the .NET Framework version 4.0 is installed, you must explicitly enable ASP.NET version 4.0. For example, on a 64-bit computer that runs the .NET Framework version 4.0.30319, run the following command: %windir%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\aspnet_regiis.exe –i –enable

⁴ You must manually install IIS on computers that run a supported version of Windows Server 2003. Additionally, to install IIS and configure the additional Windows features, the computer might require access to the Windows Server 2003 source media.

⁵ Each management point that you enable to support mobile devices requires the additional IIS configuration for ASP.NET (and its automatically selected options). With this requirement, review note 3 for applicability to your installation.

Prerequisites for Site System Roles on Windows Server 2012

For System Center 2012 SP1 only:

The following table identifies prerequisites that are required by Configuration Manager site system roles you install on Windows Server 2012. For information about prerequisites for site system roles on supported operating systems prior to Windows Server 2012, see Prerequisites for Site System Roles.

Site system role

Windows Server Roles and Features

Additional prerequisites

Site server

Features:

.NET Framework 3.5
.NET Framework 4
Remote Differential Compression

By default, a secondary site installs a management point and a distribution point. Therefore secondary sites must meet the prerequisites for these site system roles.

Database server

Not applicable

A version of SQL Server that Configuration Manager supports must be installed on this computer.

During installation of the Configuration Manager site, the remote registry service must be enabled on the computer that hosts the site database.

When you install SQL Server Express as part of a secondary site installation, the secondary site server computer must meet the requirements for SQL Server Express.

SMS Provider Server

Not applicable

Application Catalog web service point

Features:

.NET Framework 3.5
- HTTP Activation (and automatically selected options)
.NET Framework 4.5
- ASP.NET 4.5

IIS Configuration:

Common HTTP Features:
- Default Document
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility
Application Development:
- ASP.NET 3.5 (and automatically selected options)
- .NET Extensibility 3.5

Not applicable

Application Catalog website point

Features:

.NET Framework 3.5
.NET Framework 4.5
- ASP.NET 4.5

IIS Configuration:

Common HTTP Features:
- Default Document
- Static Content
Application Development:
- ASP.NET 3.5 (and automatically selected options)
- ASP.NET 4.5 (and automatically selected options)
- .NET Extensibility 3.5
- .NET Extensibility 4.5
Security:
- Windows Authentication
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Not applicable

Asset Intelligence synchronization point

Features:

.NET Framework 4

Not applicable

Distribution point

Features:

Remote Differential Compression

IIS Configuration:

Application Development:
- ISAPI Extensions
Security:
- Windows Authentication
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility
- IIS 6 WMI Compatibility

To support PXE or multicast, install and configure the following Windows role:

Windows Deployment Services (WDS)

Note

WDS installs and configures automatically when you configure a distribution point to support PXE or Multicast on Windows Server 2012.

For Configuration Manager with SP1, to support PXE on a distribution point that is on a computer remote from the site server, install the following:

Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable.

Note

For Windows Server 2012, the vcredist_x64.exe is installed automatically when you configure a distribution point to support PXE.
PowerShell 3.0 is required on Windows Server 2012 before you install the distribution point.

Endpoint Protection point

Features:

.NET Framework 3.5 SP1

Not applicable

Enrollment point

Features:

.NET Framework 3.5
- HTTP Activation
.NET Framework 4.5
- ASP.NET 4.5

Common HTTP Features:
- Default Document
Application Development:
- ASP.NET 3.5
- .NET Extensibility 3.5
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Not applicable

Enrollment proxy point

Features:

.NET Framework 3.5
.NET Framework 4.5
- ASP.NET 4.5

IIS Configuration:

Common HTTP Features:
- Default Document
- Static Content
Application Development:
- ASP.NET 3.5 (and automatically selected options)
- ASP.NET 4.5 (and automatically selected options)
- .NET Extensibility 3.5
- .NET Extensibility 4.5
Security:
- Windows Authentication
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Not applicable

Fallback status point

Requires the default IIS configuration with the following additions:

IIS Configuration:

IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility

Not applicable

Management point

Features:

.NET Framework 4
BITS Server Extensions (and automatically selected options), or Background Intelligent Transfer Services (BITS) (and automatically selected options)

IIS Configuration:

Application Development:
- ISAPI Extensions
Security:
- Windows Authentication
IIS 6 Management Compatibility:
- IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility
- IIS 6 WMI Compatibility

Not applicable

Out of band service point

Features:

.NET Framework 4
- HTTP Activation
- Non-HTTP Activation

Not applicable

Reporting services point

Features:

.NET Framework 4

Software update point

Features:

.NET Framework 3.5 SP1
.NET Framework 4

Requires the default IIS configuration

Windows server role:

Windows Server Update Services

State migration point

Requires the default IIS configuration

Not applicable

System Health Validator point

Not applicable

This site system role is supported only on a NAP health policy server.

Windows Intune connector

Features:

.NET Framework 4

Not applicable

Minimum Hardware Requirements for Site Systems

Hardware component	Requirement
Processor	Minimum: AMD Opteron, AMD Athlon 64, Intel Xeon with Intel EM64T support, Intel Pentium IV with EM64T support Minimum: 1.4 GHz
RAM	Minimum: 2 GB
Free disk space	Available: 10 GB Total: 50 GB

Operating System Requirements for Site Servers, Database Servers, and the SMS Provider

The following table specifies the operating systems that can support System Center 2012 Configuration Manager site servers, the database server, and the SMS Provider site system role. The table also specifies the Configuration Manager versions that support each operating system.

Operating system	System architecture	Central administration site	Primary site	Secondary site¹	Site database server^1, 2	SMS Provider
Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Datacenter Edition (SP2)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition with no service pack, or with SP1) Enterprise Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Datacenter Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2012 Standard Datacenter	x64	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1

Operating system

System architecture

Central administration site

Primary site

Secondary site¹

Site database server^1, 2

SMS Provider

Windows Server 2008

Standard Edition (SP2)
Enterprise Edition (SP2)
Datacenter Edition (SP2)

x64

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Windows Server 2008 R2

Standard Edition with no service pack, or with SP1)
Enterprise Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)
Datacenter Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)

x64

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Windows Server 2012

Standard
Datacenter

x64

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

¹ Site database servers are not supported on a read-only domain controller (RODC). For more information, see You may encounter problems when installing SQL Server on a domain controller in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. Additionally, secondary site servers are not supported on any domain controller.
² For more information about the versions of SQL Server that Configuration Manager supports, see Configurations for the SQL Server Site Database in this topic.

Operating System Requirements for Typical Site System Roles

The following table specifies the operating systems that can support multi-function site system roles, and the Configuration Manager versions that support each operating system.

Operating system	System architecture	Distribution point³	Enrollment point and enrollment proxy point	Fallback status point	Management point	Windows Intune connector
Windows Vista Business Edition (SP1) Enterprise Edition (SP1) Ultimate Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack^{1, 2} Configuration Manager with SP1^{1, 2}	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported
Windows 7 Professional (with no service pack, or with SP1) Enterprise Editions (with no service pack, or with SP1) Ultimate Editions (with no service pack, or with SP1)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack^{1, 2} Configuration Manager with SP1^{1, 2}	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported
Windows 8 Pro Enterprise	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with SP1^{1, 2}	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported
Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition Enterprise Edition	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack², ⁴ Configuration Manager with SP1², ⁴	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Datacenter Edition (SP2)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack², ⁴ Configuration Manager with SP1², ⁴	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported
Windows Server 2003 Web Edition (SP2) Storage Server Edition (SP2)	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack², ⁴ Configuration Manager with SP1², ⁴	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported
Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Datacenter Edition (SP2)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack², ⁴ Configuration Manager with SP1², ⁴	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Enterprise Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Datacenter Edition (SP1)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Workgroup Standard Enterprise	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack² Configuration Manager with SP1²	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported	Not supported
Windows Server 2012 Standard Datacenter	x64	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1

¹ Distribution points on this operating system are not supported for PXE.

² Distribution points on this operating system version do not support Multicast.

³ Unlike other site system roles, distribution points are supported on some 32-bit operating systems. Distribution points also support several different configurations that each have different requirements and in some cases support installation not only on servers, but on client operating systems. For more information about the options available for distribution points, see Prerequisites for Content Management in Configuration Manager in the Deploying Software and Operating Systems in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager guide.

⁴ Distribution points on this operating system version are supported for PXE, but they do not support network booting of client computers in EFI mode. Client computers with BIOS or with EFI booting in legacy mode are supported.

Operating System Requirements for Function-Specific Site System Roles

The following table specifies the operating systems that are supported for use with each feature-specific Configuration Manager site system role, and the Configuration Manager versions that support each operating system.

Operating system	System architecture	Application Catalog web service point and Application Catalog website point	Asset Intelligence synchronization point	Endpoint Protection point	Out of band service point	Reporting services point	Software update point	State migration point	System Health Validator point
Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Datacenter Edition (SP2)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Enterprise Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Datacenter Edition (SP1)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2012 Standard Datacenter	x64	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP12	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1	Configuration Manager with SP1

Operating system

System architecture

Application Catalog web service point and Application Catalog website point

Asset Intelligence synchronization point

Endpoint Protection point

Out of band service point

Reporting services point

Software update point

State migration point

System Health Validator point

Windows Server 2008

Standard Edition (SP2)
Enterprise Edition (SP2)
Datacenter Edition (SP2)

x64

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Windows Server 2008 R2

Standard Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)
Enterprise Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)
Datacenter Edition (SP1)

x64

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with no service pack
Configuration Manager with SP1

Windows Server 2012

Standard
Datacenter

x64

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP12

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager with SP1

Computer Client Requirements

The following sections describe the operating systems and hardware supported for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager computer client installation on Windows-based computers. Make sure that you also review Prerequisites for Windows Client Deployment in Configuration Manager for a list of dependencies for the installation of the Configuration Manager client on computers and mobile devices.

Computer Client Hardware Requirements

Function	Minimum hardware requirements
Operating system deployment	384 MB of RAM
Software Center	500 MHz processor
Remote Control	Pentium 4 Hyper-Threaded 3 GHz (single core) or comparable CPU, with at least a 1 GB RAM for optimal experience.
Out of Band Management	Desktop or portable computers must have the Intel vPro Technology or Intel Centrino Pro and a supported version of Intel AMT.

Operating System Requirements for Configuration Manager Client Installation

The following table specifies the operating systems that are supported for Configuration Manager client installation, and the versions of Configuration Manager that support each operating system. For server platforms, client support is independent of any other service that runs on that server unless noted otherwise. For example, the client is supported on domain controllers and servers that run cluster services or terminal services.

Operating system	System architecture	System Center 2012 Configuration Manager version
Windows XP Professional (SP3)	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows XP Professional for 64-bit Systems (SP2)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows XP Tablet PC (SP3)	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Vista Business Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Ultimate Edition (SP2)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows 7 Professional (with no service pack, or with SP1) Enterprise Editions (with no service pack, or with SP1) Ultimate Editions (with no service pack, or with SP1)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows 8 Pro Enterprise	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2003 Web Edition (SP2)	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Datacenter Edition¹ (SP2)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 Standard Edition Enterprise Edition Datacenter Edition¹	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Storage Server 2003 R2 SP2	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Datacenter Edition (SP2) ¹	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
The Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008 (SP2)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Storage Server 2008 R2 Workgroup Standard Enterprise	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Enterprise Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Datacenter Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)¹	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
The Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008 R2 (with no service pack, or with SP1)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2012 Standard Datacenter¹	x64	Configuration Manager with SP1

¹ Datacenter releases are supported but not certified for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. Hotfix support is not offered for issues specific to Windows Server Datacenter Edition.

Embedded Operating System Requirements for Configuration Manager Clients

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager and System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection support clients for integration with Windows Embedded. Support limitations for Windows Embedded:

All client features are supported natively on supported Windows Embedded systems that do not have write filters enabled. Configuration Manager SP1 clients that use Enhanced Write Filters (EWF) RAM or File Based Write Filters (FBWF) are natively supported for all features except power management. For Configuration Manager with no service pack, Windows Embedded systems that have write filters enabled must use task sequences to deploy to embedded devices, and the task sequences must include steps to disable and then restore the write filters.
The Application Catalog is not supported for any Windows Embedded device.
Windows Embedded operating systems based on Windows XP are only supported for Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager SP1.
Before you can monitor detected malware on Windows Embedded devices based on Windows XP, you must install the Microsoft Windows WMI scripting package on the embedded device. Use Windows Embedded Target Designer to install this package. The files WBEMDISP.DLL and WBEMDISP.TLB must exist and be registered in the folder %windir%\System32\WBEM on the embedded device to ensure that detected malware is reported.

Note
In Configuration Manager SP1, new options are added to control the behavior of Windows Embedded write filters when you install the Endpoint Protection client. For more information, see Introduction to Endpoint Protection in Configuration Manager.

The following table specifies the Windows Embedded versions that are supported with Configuration Manager and Endpoint Protection, and the versions of Configuration Manager and Endpoint Protection that support each Windows Embedded version.

Windows Embedded operating system	Base operating system	System architecture	System Center 2012 Configuration Manager version	System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection version
Windows Embedded Standard 2009	Windows XP SP3	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Endpoint Protection with SP1
Windows XP Embedded SP3	Windows XP SP3	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Endpoint Protection with SP1
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs (WinFLP)	Windows XP SP3	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Endpoint Protection with SP1
Windows Embedded POSReady 2009	Windows XP SP3	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Endpoint Protection with SP1
WEPOS 1.1 with SP3	Windows XP SP3	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Endpoint Protection with SP1
Windows Embedded Standard 7 with SP1	Windows 7	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Endpoint Protection with no service pack Endpoint Protection with SP1
Windows Embedded POSReady 7	Windows 7	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Endpoint Protection with no service pack Endpoint Protection with SP1
Windows Thin PC	Windows 7	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Endpoint Protection with no service pack Endpoint Protection with SP1

Client Requirements for Mac Computers

Note
For Configuration Manager SP1 only:

Client Requirements for Linux and UNIX Servers

Note
For Configuration Manager SP1 only:

Operating System	Version
Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL)	Version 4 (x86 and x64) Version 5 (x86 and x64) Version 6 (x86 and x64)
Solaris	Version 9 (SPARC) Version 10 (x86 and SPARC)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES)	Version 9 (x86) Version 10 SP1 (x86 and x64) Version 11 (x86 and x64)

Requirement	Details
Processor and memory	Refer to the processor and RAM requirements for the computer’s operating system.
Disk space	500 MB available disk space, with 5 GB recommended for the Configuration Manager client cache.
Network connectivity	Configuration Manager client computers must have network connectivity to Configuration Manager site systems to enable management.

Mobile Device Requirements

The following sections describe the hardware and operating systems that are supported for managing mobile devices in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Note
The following mobile device clients are not supported in the Configuration Manager hierarchy: Device management clients from System Management Server 2003 and Configuration Manager 2007 Windows CE Platform Builder device management client (any version) System Center Mobile Device Manager VPN connection

Mobile Devices Enrolled by Configuration Manager

Operating system	System Center 2012 Configuration Manager version	Supported languages
Windows Mobile 6.1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) English (US) French (France) German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese (Brazil) Russian Spanish (Spain)
Windows Mobile 6.5	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) English (US) French (France) German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese (Brazil) Russian Spanish (Spain)
Nokia Symbian Belle	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Arabic Basque (Basque) Bulgarian Catalan Chinese (Hong Kong SAR) Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Croatian Czech Danish Dutch English (UK) English (US) Estonian Farsi Finnish French (Canada) French (France) Galician German Greek Hebrew Hungarian Icelandic Indonesian Italian Kazakh Korean Latvian Lithuanian Malay Norwegian Polish Portuguese (Brazil) Portuguese (Portugal) Romanian Russian Serbian (Latin/Cyrillic) Slovak Slovenian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Spain) Swedish Tagalog (Filipino) Thai Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Vietnamese

Mobile Devices Enrolled by Windows Intune

Important
You must have a subscription to Windows Intune to manage the following operating systems.

Operating system	System Center 2012 Configuration Manager version	Company portal supported languages
Windows Phone 8	Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Czech Danish Dutch English (US) Finnish French (France) German Greek Hungarian Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese (Brazil) Romanian Russian Spanish (Spain) Swedish Turkish
Windows RT	Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Czech Danish Dutch English (US) Finnish French (France) German Greek Hungarian Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese (Brazil) Romanian Russian Spanish (Spain) Swedish Turkish
iOS	Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Czech Danish Dutch English (US) Finnish French (France) German Greek Hungarian Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese (Brazil) Romanian Russian Spanish (Spain) Swedish Turkish
Android	Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Czech Danish Dutch English (US) Finnish French (France) German Greek Hungarian Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese (Brazil) Romanian Russian Spanish (Spain) Swedish Turkish

Mobile Device Support by Using the Exchange Server Connector

Mobile Device Legacy Client

The following sections list the hardware and operating systems that are supported for the mobile device legacy client in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Mobile Device Legacy Client Hardware Requirements

The mobile device client requires 0.78 MB of storage space to install. In addition, logging on the mobile device can require up to 256 KB of storage space.

Mobile Device Legacy Client Operating System Requirements

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager supports management for Windows Phone, Windows Mobile, and Windows CE when you install the Configuration Manager mobile device legacy client. Features for these mobile devices vary by platform and client type. For more information about which management functions Configuration Manager supports for the mobile device legacy client, see Determine How to Manage Mobile Devices in Configuration Manager.

The following table lists the mobile device platforms that are supported with the mobile device legacy client for Configuration Manager, and the versions of Configuration Manager that support each platform.

Operating system	System Center 2012 Configuration Manager version	Supported languages
Windows CE 5.0 (Arm and x86 processors)	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) English (US) French (France) German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese (Brazil) Russian Spanish (Spain)
Windows CE 6.0 (Arm and x86 processors)	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) English (US) French (France) German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese (Brazil) Russian Spanish (Spain)
Windows CE 7.0 (Arm and x86 processors)	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) English (US) French (France) German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese (Brazil) Russian Spanish (Spain)
Windows Mobile 6.0	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) English (US) French (France) German Italian Japanese Korean Portuguese (Brazil) Russian Spanish (Spain)

Configuration Manager Console Requirements

The following table lists the operating systems that are supported to run the Configuration Manager console, and the versions of the Configuration Manager console that support each operating system. Each computer that installs the Configuration Manager console requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.

Operating system	System architecture	System Center 2012 Configuration Manager version
Windows XP Professional (SP3)	x86	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Vista Business Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Ultimate Edition (SP2)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows 7 Professional Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Enterprise Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Ultimate Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows 8 Pro Enterprise	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition (SP2) Enterprise Edition (SP2) Datacenter Edition (SP2)	x86, x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Enterprise Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1) Datacenter Edition (with no service pack, or with SP1)	x64	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition Datacenter Edition	x64	Configuration Manager with SP1

Installing both the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager console and the Configuration Manager 2007 console on the same computer is supported. However, both the console and the site it connects to must both run the same version of Configuration Manager. For example, you cannot use the System Center 2012 Configuration Manager console to manage Configuration Manager 2007 sites. Also, you cannot use a console from System Center 2012 Configuration Manager with SP1 to manage a site that runs System Center 2012 Configuration Manager with no service pack, and vice versa. When a hierarchy contains sites that run System Center 2012 Configuration Manager with no service pack and sites that run System Center 2012 Configuration Manager with SP1, some features that are available in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager with SP1 are not available in the console until all sites in the hierarchy upgrade to SP1.

The requirements in the following table apply to each computer that runs Configuration Manager console.

Minimum hardware configuration

Screen resolution

1 x Pentium 4 Hyper-Threaded 3 GHz (Intel Pentium 4 HT 630 or comparable CPU)

2 GB of RAM

2 GB of disk space.

DPI setting	Minimum resolution
96 / 100%	1024x768
120 /125%	1280x960
144 / 150%	1600x1200
196 / 200%	2500x1600

For Configuration Manager SP1 only: With Configuration Manager SP1, the Configuration Manager console supports PowerShell. When you install support for PowerShell on a computer that runs the Configuration Manager console, you can run PowerShell cmdlets on that computer to manage Configuration Manager. You can install a supported version of PowerShell before or after the Configuration Manager console installs. The following table lists the minimum required version of PowerShell for each version of Configuration Manager.

PowerShell version	System architecture	Configuration Manager version
PowerShell 3.0	x86	Configuration Manager SP1

Configurations for the SQL Server Site Database

Each System Center 2012 Configuration Manager site database can be installed on either the default instance or a named instance of a SQL Server installation. The SQL Server instance can be co-located with the site system server, or on a remote computer.

When you use a remote SQL Server, the instance of SQL Server used to host the site database can also be configured as a SQL Server failover cluster in a single instance cluster, or a multiple instance configuration. The site database site system role is the only System Center 2012 Configuration Manager site system role supported on an instance of a Windows Server cluster. If you use a SQL Server cluster for the site database, you must add the computer account of the site server to the Local Administrators group of each Windows Server cluster node computer.

Note
SQL Server database mirroring is not supported for the Configuration Manager site database.

When you install a secondary site, you can use an existing instance of SQL Server or allow Setup to install and use an instance of SQL Server Express. Whichever option that you choose, SQL Server must be located on the secondary site server. The version of SQL Server Express that Setup installs depends on the version of Configuration Manager that you use:

Configuration Manager without a service pack: SQL Server 2008 Express
Configuration Manager with SP1: SQL Server 2012 Express

The following table lists the SQL Server versions that are supported by System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

SQL Server version	SQL Server service pack	SQL Server cumulative update	Configuration Manager version	Configuration Manager site type
SQL Server 2008 Standard¹ Enterprise Datacenter	SP2	Minimum of cumulative update 9	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Central administration site Primary site Secondary site
SQL Server 2008 Standard¹ Enterprise Datacenter	SP3	Minimum of cumulative update 4	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Central administration site Primary site Secondary site
SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard¹ Enterprise Datacenter	SP1	Minimum of cumulative update 6	Configuration Manager with no service pack² Configuration Manager with SP1	Central administration site Primary site Secondary site
SQL Server 2008 R2 Standard¹ Enterprise Datacenter	SP2	No cumulative update	Configuration Manager with no service pack² Configuration Manager with SP1	Central administration site Primary site Secondary site
SQL Server 2012 Standard¹ Enterprise	No service pack	Minimum of cumulative update 2	Configuration Manager with SP1	Central administration site Primary site Secondary site
SQL Server Express 2008 R2	SP1	Minimum of cumulative update 6	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Secondary site
SQL Server Express 2008 R2	SP2	No cumulative update	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1	Secondary site
SQL Server 2012 Express	No service pack	Minimum of cumulative update 2	Configuration Manager with SP1	Secondary site

¹ When you use SQL Server Standard for the database at the central administration site, the hierarchy can only support up to 50,000 clients. For more information, see Site and Site System Role Scalability.

² Configuration Manager with no service pack does not support the site database on any version of a SQL Server 2008 R2 cluster. This includes any service pack version or cumulative update version of SQL Server 2008 R2. With Configuration Manager SP1, the site database is supported on a SQL Server 2008 R2 cluster.

SQL Server Requirements

The following are required configurations for each database server with a full SQL Server installation, and on each SQL Server Express installation that you manually configure for secondary sites. You do not have to configure SQL Server Express for a secondary site if SQL Server Express is installed by Configuration Manager.

Configuration

More information

Database collation

At each site, both the instance of SQL Server that is used for the site database and the site database must use the following collation: SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS.

Note
Configuration Manager supports two exceptions to this collation to meet standards that are defined in GB18030 for use in China. For more information, see Technical Reference for International Support in Configuration Manager.

SQL Server features

Only the Database Engine Services feature is required for each site server.

Note
Configuration Manager database replication does not require the SQL Server replication feature.

Windows Authentication

Configuration Manager requires Windows authentication to validate connections to the database.

SQL Server instance

You must use a dedicated instance of SQL Server for each site.

SQL Server memory

When you use a database server that is co-located with the site server, limit the memory for SQL Server to 50 to 80 percent of the available addressable system memory.

When you use a dedicated SQL Server, limit the memory for SQL Server to 80 to 90 percent of the available addressable system memory.

Configuration Manager requires SQL Server to reserve a minimum of 8 gigabytes (GB) of memory in the buffer pool used by an instance of SQL Server for the central administration site and primary site and a minimum of 4 gigabytes (GB) for the secondary site. This memory is reserved by using the Minimum server memory setting under Server Memory Options and is configured by using SQL Server Management Studio. For more information about how to set a fixed amount of memory, see How to: Set a Fixed Amount of Memory (SQL Server Management Studio).

Optional SQL Server Configurations

The following configurations either support multiple choices or are optional on each database server with a full SQL Server installation.

Configuration

More information

SQL Server service

On each database server, you can configure the SQL Server service to run by using a domain local account or the local system account of the computer that is running SQL Server.

Use a domain user account as a SQL Server best practice. This kind of account can be more secure than the local system account but might require you to manually register the Service Principle Name (SPN) for the account.
Use the local system account of the computer that is running SQL Server to simplify the configuration process. When you use the local system account, Configuration Manager automatically registers the SPN for the SQL Server service. Be aware that using the local system account for the SQL Server service is not a SQL Server best practice.

For information about SQL Server best practices, see the product documentation for the version of Microsoft SQL Server that you are using. For information about SPN configurations for Configuration Manager, see How to Manage the SPN for SQL Server Site Database Servers. For information about how to change the account that is used by the SQL Service, see How to: Change the Service Startup Account for SQL Server (SQL Server Configuration Manager).

SQL Server Reporting Services

Required to install a reporting services point that lets you run reports.

SQL Server ports

For communication to the SQL Server database engine, and for intersite replication, you can use the default SQL Server port configurations or specify custom ports:

Intersite communications use the SQL Server Service Broker, which by default uses port TCP 4022.
Intrasite communication between the SQL Server database engine and various Configuration Manager site system roles by default use port TCP 1433. The following site system roles communicate directly with the SQL Server database:
- Management point
- SMS Provider computer
- Reporting Services point
- Site server

When a SQL Server hosts a database from more than one site, each database must use a separate instance of SQL Server, and each instance must be configured to use a unique set of ports.

Warning
Configuration Manager does not support dynamic ports. Because SQL Server named instances by default use dynamic ports for connections to the database engine, when you use a named instance, you must manually configure the static port that you want to use for intrasite communication.

If you have a firewall enabled on the computer that is running SQL Server, make sure that it is configured to allow the ports that are being used by your deployment and at any locations on the network between computers that communicate with the SQL Server.

For an example of how to configure SQL Server to use a specific port, see How to: Configure a Server to Listen on a Specific TCP Port (SQL Server Configuration Manager) in the SQL Server TechNet library.

Function-Specific Requirements

The following sections identify function-specific requirements for Configuration Manager.

Application Management

Operating System Deployment

Out of Band Management

Remote Control Viewer

Software Center and the Application Catalog

Support for Active Directory Domains

All System Center 2012 Configuration Manager site systems must be members of a Windows Active Directory domain that has a domain functional level of Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Note
If you configure discovery to filter and remove stale computer records, the Active Directory domain functional level must be a minimum of Windows Server 2003.

This requirement includes site systems that support Internet-based client management in a perimeter network (also known as DMZ, demilitarized zone, and screened subnet).

The following are limitations for site systems:

Configuration Manager does not support the change of domain membership, domain name, or computer name of a Configuration Manager site system after the site system is installed.

Configuration Manager client computers can be domain members, or workgroup members.

The following sections contain additional information about domain structures and requirements for Configuration Manager.

Active Directory Schema Extensions

Disjoint Namespaces

Except for out of band management, Configuration Manager supports installing site systems and clients in a domain that has a disjoint namespace.

Note
For more information about namespace limitations for when you manage AMT-based computers out of band, see Prerequisites for Out of Band Management in Configuration Manager.

A disjoint namespace scenario is one in which the primary Domain Name System (DNS) suffix of a computer does not match the Active Directory DNS domain name where that computer resides. The computer that uses the primary DNS suffix that does not match is said to be disjoint. Another disjoint namespace scenario occurs if the NetBIOS domain name of a domain controller does not match the Active Directory DNS domain name.

The following table identifies the supported scenarios for a disjoint namespace.

Scenario

More information

Scenario 1:

The primary DNS suffix of the domain controller differs from the Active Directory DNS domain name. Computers that are members of the domain can be either disjoint or not disjoint.

In this scenario, the primary DNS suffix of the domain controller differs from the Active Directory DNS domain name. The domain controller is disjoint in this scenario. Computers that are members of the domain, such as site servers and computers, can have a primary DNS suffix that either matches the primary DNS suffix of the domain controller or matches the Active Directory DNS domain name.

Scenario 2:

A member computer in an Active Directory domain is disjoint, even though the domain controller is not disjoint.

In this scenario, the primary DNS suffix of a member computer on which a site system is installed differs from the Active Directory DNS domain name, even though the primary DNS suffix of the domain controller is the same as the Active Directory DNS domain name. In this scenario, you have a domain controller that is not disjoint and a member computer that is disjoint. Member computers that are running the Configuration Manager client can have a primary DNS suffix that either matches the primary DNS suffix of the disjoint site system server or matches the Active Directory DNS domain name.

To allow a computer to access domain controllers that are disjoint, you must change the msDS-AllowedDNSSuffixes Active Directory attribute on the domain object container. You must add both of the DNS suffixes to the attribute.

In addition, to make sure that the DNS suffix search list contains all DNS namespaces that are deployed within the organization, you must configure the search list for each computer in the domain that is disjoint. Include in the list of namespaces the primary DNS suffix of the domain controller, the DNS domain name, and any additional namespaces for other servers with which Configuration Manager might interoperate. You can use the Group Policy Management console to configure the Domain Name System (DNS) suffix search list.

Important
When you reference a computer in Configuration Manager, enter the computer by using its Primary DNS suffix. This suffix should match the Fully Qualified Domain Name registered as the dnsHostName attribute in the Active Directory domain and the Service Principal Name associated with the system.

Single Label Domains

Windows Environment

The following sections contain general support configuration information for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Support for Internet Protocol Version 6

Support for Specialized Storage Technology

Support for Computers in Workgroups

Support for Virtualization Environments

Configuration Manager supports client installation and all site server roles in the following virtualization environments:

Virtualization environment	Configuration Manager version
Windows Server 2008	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008 R2	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2008	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Windows Server 2012	Configuration Manager with SP1
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012	Configuration Manager with SP1

Each virtual computer that you use must meet or exceed the same hardware and software configuration that you would use for a physical Configuration Manager computer.

You can validate that your virtualization environment is supported for Configuration Manager by using the Server Virtualization Validation Program and its online Virtualization Program Support Policy Wizard. For more information about the Server Virtualization Validation Program, see Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program.

Note
Configuration Manager does not support Virtual PC or Virtual Server guest operating systems that run on a Mac.

Configuration Manager cannot manage virtual machines unless they are online. An offline virtual machine image cannot be updated nor can inventory be collected by using the Configuration Manager client on the host computer.

No special consideration is given to virtual machines. For example, Configuration Manager might not determine whether an update has to be re-applied to a virtual machine image if the virtual machine is stopped and restarted without saving the state of the virtual machine to which the update was applied.

Support for Network Address Translation

DirectAccess Feature Support

BranchCache Feature Support

Windows BranchCache is integrated in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. You can configure the BranchCache settings on a deployment type for applications, on the deployment for a package, and for task sequences.

When all the requirements for BranchCache are met, this feature enables clients at remote locations to obtain content from local clients that have a current cache of the content. For example, when the first BranchCache-enabled client computer requests content from a distribution point that is configured as a BranchCache server, the client computer downloads and caches the content. This content is then made available for clients on the same subnet that request this same content, and these clients also cache the content. In this manner, successive clients on the same subnet do not have to download content from the distribution point, and the content is distributed across multiple clients for future transfers.

To support BranchCache with Configuration Manager, add the Windows BranchCache feature to the site system server that is configured as a distribution point. System Center 2012 Configuration Manager distribution points on servers configured to support BranchCache require no additional configuration.

Note
With Configuration Manager SP1, cloud-based distribution points support the download of content by clients that are configured for Windows BranchCache.

To use BranchCache, the clients that can support BranchCache must be configured for BranchCache distributed mode, and the operating system setting for BITS client settings must be enabled to support BranchCache.

The following table lists the Configuration Manager client operating systems that are supported with Windows BranchCache and identifies for each operating system if BranchCache distributed mode is supported natively by the operating system, or if the operating system requires the addition of the BITS 4.0 release.

Operating system	Support details
Windows Vista with SP2¹	Requires BITS 4.0
Windows 7 with SP1	Supported by default
Windows 8	Supported by default
Windows Server 2008 with SP2¹	Requires BITS 4.0
Windows Server 2008 R2 with no service pack, with SP1, or with SP2	Supported by default
Windows Server 2012	Supported by default

¹ On this operating system, the BranchCache client functionality is not supported for software distribution that is run from the network or for SMB file transfers. Additionally, this operating system cannot use BranchCache functionality with cloud-based distribution points.

You can install the BITS 4.0 release on Configuration Manager clients by using software updates or software distribution. For more information about the BITS 4.0 release, see Windows Management Framework.

For more information about BranchCache, see BranchCache for Windows in the Windows Server documentation.

Fast User Switching

Dual Boot Computers

Supported Upgrade Paths for Configuration Manager

The following sections identify the upgrade options for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, the operating system version of site servers and clients, and the SQL Server version of database servers.

Upgrade Configuration Manager

The following table lists the versions of System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, and the supported upgrade paths between versions.

Configuration Manager version

Release options

Supported Upgrade Paths

More information

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

An evaluation release that expires 180 days after installation.
A complete release, to perform a new installation.

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager evaluation release

You can install System Center 2012 Configuration Manager as either a full installation, or as a trial installation. If you install Configuration Manager as a trial installation, after 180 days, you can only connect a read-only Configuration Manager console and Configuration Manager functionality is limited. At any time before or after the 180 day period, you have the option to upgrade the trial installation to a full installation.

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager supports migration of your Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure but does not support an in–place upgrade of sites from Configuration Manager 2007.

However, migration supports the upgrade of a Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point, or secondary site that is co-located with a distribution point, to a System Center 2012 Configuration Manager distribution point.

For more information about migration, see Migrating Hierarchies in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1

An evaluation release that expires 180 days after installation.
A complete release, to perform a new installation.
An upgrade from System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 evaluation release
System Center 2012 Configuration Manager with no service pack

You can install System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 as a trial installation, a full install, or as an upgrade to existing infrastructure that runs System Center 2012 Configuration Manager with no service pack. However, an upgrade Configuration Manager 2007 to System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 is not supported.

If you install Configuration Manager as a trial installation, after 180 days you can only connect a read-only Configuration Manager console and Configuration Manager functionality is limited. At any time before or after the 180 day period, you have the option to upgrade the trial installation to a full installation.

System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 supports migration from Configuration Manager 2007 and System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1.

For more information about migration, see Migrating Hierarchies in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

Infrastructure Upgrade for Configuration Manager

In addition to upgrading the version of System Center 2012 Configuration Manager you use for sites, Configuration Manager clients and Configuration Manager consoles, you can upgrade the operating systems that run Configuration Manager site servers, database servers, site system servers, and clients. The information in the following sections can help you upgrade the infrastructure for Configuration Manager.

Upgrade of the Site Server Operating System

Client Operating System Upgrade

SQL Server Upgrade for the Site Database Server

Configuration Manager supports an in-place upgrade of SQL Server from a supported version of SQL on the site database server. The following sections provide information about the different upgrade scenarios supported by Configuration Manager and any requirements for each scenario.

Function	Exception to IPv6 support
Network Discovery	IPv4 is required when you configure a DHCP server to search in Network Discovery.
Out of band management	IPv4 is required to support out of band management.
Windows CE	IPv4 is required to support the Configuration Manager client on Windows CE devices.
Mobile devices that are enrolled by Windows Intune and the Windows Intune connector	IPv4 is required to support mobile devices that are enrolled by Windows Intune and the Windows Intune connector.
Cloud-based distribution points	IPv4 is required to support Windows Azure and cloud-based distribution points.
Wake-up proxy communication	IPv4 is required to support the client wake-up proxy packets.

Version of Exchange Server	System Center 2012 Configuration Manager version
Exchange Server 2010 SP1	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1
Exchange Server 2010 SP2	Configuration Manager with SP1
Exchange Server 2013	Configuration Manager with SP1
Exchange Online (Office 365) ¹	Configuration Manager with no service pack Configuration Manager with SP1

Configuration Manager System Requirements

Site and Site System Role Scalability

Site System Requirements

Prerequisites for Site System Roles

Prerequisites for Site System Roles on Windows Server 2012

Minimum Hardware Requirements for Site Systems

Operating System Requirements for Site Servers, Database Servers, and the SMS Provider

Operating System Requirements for Typical Site System Roles

Operating System Requirements for Function-Specific Site System Roles

Computer Client Requirements

Computer Client Hardware Requirements

Operating System Requirements for Configuration Manager Client Installation

Embedded Operating System Requirements for Configuration Manager Clients

Client Requirements for Mac Computers

Client Requirements for Linux and UNIX Servers

Supported Distributions of Linux and UNIX

Hardware and Disk Space Requirements

Mobile Device Requirements

Mobile Devices Enrolled by Configuration Manager

Enrolled Mobile Device Client Language and Operating System Requirements

Mobile Devices Enrolled by Windows Intune

Mobile Device Support by Using the Exchange Server Connector

Mobile Device Legacy Client

Mobile Device Legacy Client Hardware Requirements

Mobile Device Legacy Client Operating System Requirements

Configuration Manager Console Requirements

Configurations for the SQL Server Site Database

SQL Server Requirements

Function-Specific Requirements

Application Management

Operating System Deployment

Out of Band Management

Remote Control Viewer

Software Center and the Application Catalog

Support for Active Directory Domains

Active Directory Schema Extensions

Disjoint Namespaces

Single Label Domains

Windows Environment

Support for Internet Protocol Version 6

Support for Specialized Storage Technology

Support for Computers in Workgroups

Support for Virtualization Environments

Support for Network Address Translation

DirectAccess Feature Support

BranchCache Feature Support

Fast User Switching

Dual Boot Computers

Supported Upgrade Paths for Configuration Manager

Upgrade Configuration Manager

Infrastructure Upgrade for Configuration Manager

Upgrade of the Site Server Operating System

Client Operating System Upgrade

SQL Server Upgrade for the Site Database Server

Upgrade of the Service Pack Version of SQL Server

SQL Server 2008 to SQL Server 2008 R2

SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server 2008 R2 to SQL Server 2012

To upgrade SQL Server on the site database server

See Also

Concepts