Use client push installation to install the Configuration Manager 2012 client software on computers that have been discovered by Configuration Manager. You can configure client push installation for a site, and client installation will automatically run on the computers that are discovered within the site's configured boundaries. Or, you can initiate a client push installation by running the Client Push Installation Wizard for a specific collection or resource within a collection .

You can also use the Client Push Installation Wizard to install the Configuration Manager 2012 client to the results obtained from running a query. For installation to succeed in this scenario, one of the items returned by the selected query must be the attribute ResourceID from the attribute class System Resource. For more information about queries, see Queries in Configuration Manager 2012.

Note
You can use the wizard to install clients even if the site is not configured for client push.

Important
For client push to succeed, ensure that all the prerequisites are in place. These are listed in the section “Installation Method Dependencies” in Prerequisites for Client Deployment in Configuration Manager 2012.

If the site server cannot contact the client computer or start the setup process, it automatically repeats the installation attempt every hour for up to 7 days until it succeeds.

To help track the client installation process, install a fallback status point site system before you install the clients. When a fallback status point is installed, it is automatically assigned to clients when they are installed by using the client push installation method. View the client deployment and assignment reports to track client installation progress. Additionally, the client log files provide more detailed information for troubleshooting and do not require the installation of a fallback status point. For example, CCM.log records any problems that the site server has connecting to the computer and CCMSetup.log records the installation process.

To Configure the Site to Automatically Use Client Push for Discovered Computers

To Use the Client Push Installation Wizard

Software update-based client installation publishes the Configuration Manager 2012 client to a software update point, as an additional software update. This method of client installation can be used to install the Configuration Manager 2012 client on computers that do not already have the client installed, or to upgrade existing Configuration Manager 2012 clients.

If a computer is an existing Configuration Manager 2012 client, the Configuration Manager client policy provides the client with the software update point server name and port from which to obtain software updates.

Important
To use software update-based installation, you must use the same WSUS server for both client installation and software updates. This server must be the active software update point in a primary site. For more information, see Configuring Software Updates in Configuration Manager 2012.

If a computer does not have the Configuration Manager 2012 client installed, you must configure and assign an Active Directory Group Policy object to specify the software update point server name from which the computer will obtain software updates.

It is not possible to add command line properties to a software update-based client installation. If you have extended the Active Directory schema for Configuration Manager 2012, client computers will automatically query Active Directory Domain Services for installation properties when they install.

If you have not extended the Active Directory schema, you can use Windows Group Policy to provision client installation settings to computers in your site. These settings will automatically be applied to any software update-based client installations. For more information, see How to Provision Client Installation Properties using Group Policy and How to Assign Clients to a Site in Configuration Manager 2012.

Use the following procedures to configure computers without a Configuration Manager 2012 client to use the software update point for client installation and software updates, and to publish the Configuration Manager 2012 client software to the software update point.

To Configure an Active Directory Group Policy Object to Specify the Software Update Point for Client Installation and Software Updates

To Publish the Configuration Manager Client to the Software Update Point

You can use Active Directory Group Policy to publish or assign the Configuration Manager 2012 client to computers in your enterprise. When you assign the Configuration Manager 2012 client to computers using Group Policy, it will be installed when the computer first starts. When you publish the Configuration Manager 2012 client to computers using Group Policy, it will be displayed in the control panel Add or Remove Programs dialog box of the computer, from where it can be installed.

The Windows Installer executable Ccmsetup.msi is used for Group Policy based installations. This file can be found in the folder <ConfigMgr installation directory>\bin\i386 on the Configuration Manager 2012 site server. It is not possible to add properties to this file to modify installation behavior.

If the Active Directory Schema is extended for Configuration Manager 2012 and Publish this site in Active Directory Domain Services is selected in the Advanced tab of the Site Properties dialog box then client computers will automatically search Active Directory for installation properties.

If the Active Directory schema has not been extended, then you can use the procedure, How to Provision Client Installation Properties using Group Policy to store installation properties in the registry of computers which will be used when the Configuration Manager 2012 client is installed.

For information about using Active Directory Group Policy to install software, refer to your Microsoft Windows server documentation.

You can manually install the Configuration Manager 2012 client software on computers in your enterprise by using the CCMSetup.exe executable. This executable and its supporting files can be found in the Client folder of the Configuration Manager 2012 installation folder on the site server and on management points in your site. This folder is shared to the network as <Site Server Name>\SMS_<Site Code>\Client.

CCMSetup.exe copies all necessary installation prerequisites to the client computer and calls client.msi to perform the client installation.

Note
In Configuration Manager 2012, you cannot run client.msi directly.

Important
If you are installing the client to Workgroup computers you should publish the management point information in Domain Name System (DNS) to support clients in an IPv6 environment.

You can specify command line properties for both CCMSetup.exe and client.msi to modify the behavior of the client installation. For example, if you specify the command line CCMSetup.exe /mp:SMSMP01 /logon SMSSITECODE=AUTO FSP=SMSFP01, then the client installation would use the following properties:

Configuration Manager 2012 supports the use of logon scripts to install the Configuration Manager 2012 client software. You can use the file CCMSetup.exe in a logon script to trigger the client installation.

Logon script installation uses the same methods as manual client installation. You can specify the /logon installation property for ccmsetup.exe which prevents the client from installing if any version of the client already exists on the machine. This prevents reinstallation of the client from taking place each time the logon script runs.

If no installation source is specified using the /Source switch and no management point from which to obtain installation is specified using the /MP switch, CCMSetup.exe can locate the management point by searching Active Directory if the schema has been extended for Configuration Manager 2012. If the schema has not been extended then CCMSetup will search WINS for a server locator point to query for a management point from which to install the client.

You cannot upgrade Configuration Manager 2007 clients to Configuration Manager 2012. Instead, uninstall the Configuration Manager 2007 client and install the Configuration Manager 2012 client by using one of the other client deployment methods. For more information about migrating from Configuration Manager 2007 to Configuration Manager 2012, see Planning for Client Migration to Configuration Manager 2012.

You can pre-install the Configuration Manager 2012 client software on a master image computer that will be used to build computers in your enterprise. To install the client on a master computer, you must not specify a site code to assign the client to. When computers are imaged from this master image, they will contain the Configuration Manager 2012 client, but this will not be assigned to any site code.

Important
The imaged computers will not be functional Configuration Manager 2012 clients until the Configuration Manager 2012 clients are assigned to a Configuration Manager 2012 site.

You must remove any computer-specific certificates that are installed on the master image computer. For example, if you use PKI certificates, you must remove the certificates in the Computer and UserPersonal store before you image the computer.

If clients cannot query Active Directory Domain Services to locate a management point, they use the trusted root key to determine trusted management points. If all imaged clients will be deployed in the same hierarchy as the master computer, leave the trusted root key in place. If the clients will be deployed in different hierarchies, you should remove the trusted root key; however, you should consider a process to pre-provision the newly imaged computers with the trusted root key for their site hierarchies.

To Prepare the Client Computer for Imaging

Configuration Manager 2012 supports client installation for computers in workgroups. You can install workgroup computers using the method specified in How to Install Clients Manually.

The following prerequisites must be met in order to install the Configuration Manager 2012 client on workgroup computers:

• The client must be installed manually on each workgroup computer. During installation, the logged-on user must possess local administrator rights on the workgroup computer.
  
  
• The workgroup computer must be able to locate a server locator point to complete site assignment because they cannot query Active Directory Domain Services. The server locator point can be manually published in WINS, or it can be specified in the CCMSetup.exe command line properties.
  
  
• In order to access resources in the Configuration Manager 2012 site server domain, the Network Access account must be configured for the site. For more information, see How to Configure the Network Access Account.
  
  

There are a number of limitations to supporting workgroup computers in WINS:

• Workgroup clients cannot locate management points from Active Directory Domain Services, and instead must use DNS, WINS, or a server locator point.
  
  

Important
Workgroup clients cannot locate management points in WINS that are configured for HTTPS client connections. The preferred alternative method for workgroup clients to find their management points is to use DNS publishing. For more information, see Determine If You Need to Publish to DNS.

• Global roaming is not supported, because clients cannot query Active Directory Domain Services for site information.
  
  
• Site information related to PKI certificates (such as clients must use a PKI certificate) cannot be automatically configured and must be specified by using CCMSetup.exe command line properties.
  
  
• Active Directory discovery methods will not discover computers in workgroups.
  
  
• Deployments that are targeted to users are not possible.
  
  
• The client push installation method cannot be used to install the client on workgroup computers.
  
  
• A workgroup client cannot be configured as a distribution point. Configuration Manager 2012 requires that distribution point computers be members of a domain.
  
  

To Install the Client on Workgroup Computers

When the Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012 site supports Internet-based client management for clients that are sometimes on the intranet, and sometimes on the Internet, you can install the clients on the intranet with any of the available client installation methods and include the configuration for Internet-based client management.

However, you might need to install clients that are on the Internet (either because they are Internet-only clients or because you need to install them before they come back into the intranet). In this scenario, you must decide how to install these clients.

Note
Configuration Manager does not support installing a client directly from the Internet-based management point or from the Internet-based software update point.

To install clients that are on the Internet, choose one of the following supported methods:

• Provide a mechanism for these clients to temporarily connect to the intranet using a virtual private network (VPN), and then install them using any appropriate client installation method.
  
  
• Use an installation method that is independent from Configuration Manager, such as packaging the client installation source files onto removable media that you can send to users to install with instructions. The client installation source files are located in the <InstallationPath>\Client folder on the Configuration Manager 2012 site server and management points. Include on the media a script to manually install the client by using CCMSetup.exe and all the appropriate CCMSetup command-line properties.
  
  

Because clients that are managed over the Internet must communicate with Internet-based site systems, ensure that these clients also have public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates installed. For more information about the certificate requirements, see PKI Certificate Requirements for Configuration Manager 2012. You must install these certificates independently from Configuration Manager 2012.

To Install Clients on the Internet by Specifying CCMSetup Command-Line Properties

You can use Windows Group Policy to provision computers in your enterprise with Configuration Manager 2012 client installation properties. These properties are stored in the registry of the computer and read when the client software is installed. This procedure would not normally be required for Configuration Manager 2012. However, this might be required for some client installation scenarios, such as the following:

• You are using the Group Policy or software update-based client installation methods and you have not extended the Active Directory schema for Configuration Manager 2012.
  
  
• You want to override client installation properties on specific computers.
  
  

Note
If any installation properties are supplied on the CCMSetup.exe command line, then installation properties provisioned on computers will not be used.

A Group Policy administrative template named ConfigMgrInstallation.adm is supplied on the Configuration Manager 2012 installation media which can be used to provision client computers with installation properties. Use the following procedure to configure and assign this template to computers in your organization.

To Configure and Assign Client Installation Properties by Using Group Policy

For information about Windows Group Policy, refer to your Windows Server documentation.

Concepts