How to Configure Clients to Find a Management Point by using DNS Publishing in Configuration Manager 2012

Updated: March 15, 2011

Applies To: System Center Configuration Manager 2012

Clients in Configuration Manager 2012 must locate a management point during site assignment, and as an on-going process to remain managed. There are various ways that clients on the intranet can find a management point in Configuration Manager 2012, and the most secure method is by using Active Directory Domain Services. However, if this is not possible (for example, you have not extended the Active Directory schema or clients are from a different forest or a workgroup), then the preferred alternative is to use DNS publishing.

noteNote
If you are using Internet-based client management, clients cannot find Internet-based management points from Active Directory Domain Services or by using DNS publishing. Instead, clients must be assigned to an Internet-based management point by specifying the site system Internet FQDN. You can do this by specifying the CCMSetup client.msi property CCMHOSTNAME or by configuring the option Internet-based management point (FQDN) on the Network tab of Configuration Manager Properties in the Control Panel.

Before you configure clients to find a management point by using DNS publishing, make sure that DNS servers on the intranet have service location resource records (SRV RR) and corresponding host (A or AAA) resource records for the site's management points. The service location resource records are created either automatically with a configuration in Configuration Manager or manually, by the DNS administrator manually adding the record to DNS. To configure automatic publishing to DNS, select Publish management points in DNS on the Advanced tab of the site properties.

You can configure clients to find a management point by using DNS publishing either during client installation, or after installation:

  • To configure clients to find a management point by using DNS publishing during client installation, use CCMSetup client.msi properties.

  • To configure clients to find their default management point by using DNS publishing after client installation, configure the Configuration ManagerProperties in the Control Panel.

To configure clients to find a management point by using DNS publishing during client installation

  • Install the client with the following CCMSetup client.msi properties:

    • DNSSUFFIX=<domain of the management point>

    • SMSSITECODE=<site code of client's assigned site>

    noteNote
    You cannot use automatic site assignment when you configure clients to find a management point in DNS, but must directly assign them to a site. For more information about the CCMSetup command line properties, see About Client Installation Properties in Configuration Manager 2012.

To configure clients to find a management point by using DNS publishing after client installation

  1. Navigate to Configuration Manager in the Control Panel of the client computer, and then double-click to open its properties.

  2. On the Site tab, specify the DNS suffix of the client's management point, and then click OK.

See Also