Use this worksheet to help you identify what site systems you need to enable for each site, and the associated planning considerations for each site system.
Depending on the hardware configuration of your proposed site systems, as well as the security requirements for your organization, one server may perform one or more site system roles. The questions presented here are meant to be used as a guide. Not all questions or considerations will apply to all organizations. You may have additional planning considerations other than those suggested here.
Use the following guidelines to assist in planning tasks, and repeat this worksheet for each site.
Management Point Planning
The management point is the primary point of contact between Configuration Manager clients and the site server. A Configuration Manager 2007 site can have only one default management point that intranet-based clients will use to communicate with the site server. When clients are managed on the Internet, they do not locate a default management point but connect directly to a specified management point that is configured to accept connections over the Internet.
| Planning question | Example data needed, where applicable, and by location | Collected data |
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What is the maximum number of clients you need to manage at this site, including clients roaming in? |
If more than 25,000, depending on your server hardware, you may need to configure Windows Network Load Balancing to support more than one management point in your site. |
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How often will the clients assigned to this site retrieve new policy information? |
Client policy polling interval that clients will use when requesting policy from their assigned management point. |
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Will you be collecting hardware inventory from clients at this site? |
If you will be collecting hardware inventory from clients at this site, what will your hardware inventory frequency be? |
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Will you be collecting software inventory from clients at this site? |
If you will be collecting software inventory from clients at this site, what will your software inventory frequency be? |
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Will you be using the heartbeat discovery method at this site? |
If you will be using heartbeat discovery at this site, what will the discovery frequency be? |
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Will you be using software distribution at this site? |
How many advertisements will you send per week to clients at this site? |
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Will you be using software metering at this site? |
If you will implement software metering at this site, how many software metering rules will you implement and how often will you collect software metering data? |
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Do you require fault tolerance for your management point at this site? |
You may need to configure Windows Network Load Balancing to support more than one management point in your site using a replicated site database. |
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Management point for a secondary site |
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How fast is the connection between this site and its parent primary site? |
Is this site connected to its parent site over a WAN? |
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Do you require fault tolerance for your management point at this site? |
You may need to configure Windows Network Load Balancing to support more than one management point in your site using a replicated site database. |
Site Database Server Planning
| Planning question | Example data needed, where applicable, and by location | Collected data | ||
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Is this a primary site? |
Primary sites must have access to a SQL Server to host the site database. |
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Which version of Microsoft SQL Server do you have (including all relevant service packs)? |
Ensure that the version of SQL Server is supported for hosting the Configuration Manager site database. |
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Do you need to obtain or upgrade an installation of Microsoft SQL Server (including all relevant service packs)? |
Verify that you have the necessary SQL Server version to host the Configuration Manager site database. |
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Are you planning to maintain the Configuration Manager 2007 site database on the primary site server? |
You can install the site database on a local instance of a supported version of Microsoft SQL Server located on the primary site server. If you install the site database using a SQL Server instance on another server, or move it to another SQL Server instance after site installation, it is supported to move the site database back to the site server at a later time.
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If you are planning to maintain the site database on a server other than the primary site server, decide where you will install the SMS Provider. |
The SMS Provider cannot be located on the remote SQL Server if more than a single SMS site database is shared on the remote SQL Server, or if the site database is hosted on a virtual SQL Server cluster instance. |
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Do you need to replicate the site database for a proxy management point? |
Ensure that you plan how to implement SQL replication for the site database. |
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NoteServer Locator Point Planning
Server locator points are required to verify proper site assignment and also locate management points for Configuration Manager clients. You must install one server locator point at the central site. No other server locator points are required
| Planning question | Example data needed, where applicable, and by location | Collected data |
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Will this site support clients in work groups? |
Clients in work groups cannot access Active Directory to locate published management point information. |
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Will this site use a management point configured to use the Windows Network Load Balancing (NLB) service? |
Management points configured with the NLB service must be registered in WINS. |
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Has the Active Directory schema been extended for Configuration Manager? |
Client site assignment will not work without using a server locator point if the Active Directory schema has not been extended for Configuration Manager 2007 (and the sites are publishing site information to Active Directory Domain Services). |
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Software Update Point Planning
A software update point is a site server that is installed on a site system that has Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) 3.0 installed on it. Before compliance assessment data is retrieved and before software updates can be deployed to Configuration Manager client computers, an active software update point must be enabled on a site system. You must also determine if a second active software update point should be enabled that handles only communications from Internet-based client computers.
| Planning question | Example data needed, where applicable, and by location | Collected data | ||
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What is the maximum number of clients you need to manage at this site, including clients roaming in? |
If there are more client computers assigned to the site, you will need to consider creating an Network Load Balancing cluster for a group of WSUS servers and then choose to use the NLB cluster as the active software update point on the site. WSUS 3.0 supports up to 25,000 client computers. |
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Is WSUS 3.0 installed on an existing site system? What is the computer name of the site system? |
WSUS 3.0 must be installed on the site system computer prior to adding the software update point site role to the site system.
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Does this site run in native mode? If so, should Internet-based client computers access the active software update point or does an active Internet-based software update point need to be enabled? What is the computer name for the site system? |
The active software update point can handle communications from both Intranet and Internet-based client computers or the active software update point can be configured to handle only Intranet-based client communication and an active Internet-based software update point can be added as a site system role to handle only Internet-based client communications. |
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Reporting Point Planning
A reporting point is a site server that hosts a site's reporting Web site. A reporting point obtains report information from only its Configuration Manager 2007 site database server. Before you can begin using reports in Configuration Manager, you must enable one or more of your site systems as a reporting point.
| Planning question | Example data needed, where applicable, and by location | Collected data |
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What site information do you want to report on? |
Will there be enough clients at this site, or will there be any site-specific data that must be reported that the site's parent site would not be the appropriate place to report it? |
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Will this site require a reporting point? |
You may need only one reporting point in a Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy. For example, the central site may be the only site you choose to install a reporting point. Add additional reporting points lower in the hierarchy to report on subsets of data or to delegate reporting of specific site information. |
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Distribution Point Planning
| Planning question | Example data needed, where applicable, and by location | Collected data |
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Will you be using software distribution at this site? |
Estimate the number and size of packages you will store on the distribution points. |
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How many clients will access the distribution points at this site? |
Plan for enough distribution points to service the number of clients requesting package content at the site. |
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Will you need to group your distribution points? |
If so, identify how you plan to group them. |
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Will you use BITS-enabled distribution points? |
If so, you must also enable IIS and WebDAV on the distribution point systems. |
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Do you have distribution points in sites that are accessed across slow WAN links? |
If so, configure those distribution points as protected distribution points and indicate the subnets that should access the distribution point. |
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