Microsoft recommends that you install a Configuration Manager 2007 site only in a well-connected network. Usually well-connected networks correspond to geographic locations. Assume you will have one site per well-connected network for planning purposes. However, be prepared to modify this number as you collect more information about your organization.

Identify the number and location of well-connected networks you have in your network.

Remote subnets may be too small to support their own Configuration Manager 2007 site. It is recommended that these subnets be included in the boundaries of a nearby well-connected network.

If you have any remote subnets that are too small to be Configuration Manager 2007 sites, list those IP subnets and the closest well-connected network to each.

Client agent configuration settings are site specific and apply to all Configuration Manager clients in the site. If you will have groups of clients within a proposed site or well-connected network that require different client agent settings, you will require a separate site for each set of different client agent settings.

Identify the clients whose agent settings vary, and the IP subnets that those clients are on, and plan additional Configuration Manager 2007 sites for each unique group of client agent settings.

It is recommended that the central site in your Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy not have any clients assigned to it.

Provide the name and site code of the central site if it will not have clients assigned to it.

It is recommended that you consider a separate Configuration Manager 2007 site for each language version you need to support.

If you need to accommodate different client or server language versions, indicate the number of sites affected, and the language versions, and provide names and site codes for each Configuration Manager 2007 site.

When you upgrade from SMS 2003 and have existing SMS clients that you need to migrate to Configuration Manager 2007, you might need to implement a holding site which will remain running SMS 2003 until all clients can be upgraded to Configuration Manager 2007 clients.

Identify the names and site codes of any holding sites you have implemented.

A Configuration Manager 2007 site can manage up to 25,000 clients when using a single management point, and up to 100,000 clients when using multiple management points configured through Network Load Balancing (NLB). However, the true number of clients that a Configuration Manager 2007 site can manage depends also on the hardware configuration and performance constraints of the Configuration Manager 2007 site server.

Do you need to configure additional sites to accommodate the number of clients you need to manage? If so, identify the number of sites you require, a logical method of grouping the clients (by IP subnet or Active Directory site, perhaps), and provide a name and site code for each site.

As a best practice for security, it is recommended that you have as few sites as possible.

Review the data collected in this worksheet and determine whether you can consolidate sites without unduly compromising features, network performance, and server performance. Indicate the final working number of sites in the last cell of this worksheet row.

Do you have the resources to install a supported version of Microsoft SQL Server at this site?

Note
For a list of supported SQL Server versions, see Configuration Manager Supported Configurations.

If yes, you can make this site a primary site. If no, the site must be a secondary site.

Do you need to be able to change the parent site of this site without reinstalling the site?

A child site that is a secondary site must be uninstalled from its parent site and then reinstalled to the new parent site. If you need to be able to change the parent site of this site without reinstalling the site, then this site must be a primary site.

Do you have a dedicated Configuration Manager 2007 administrator at this site?

While it is not required that you have a Configuration Manager 2007 administrator for every primary site, you might consider making this a secondary site if you will not have a dedicated administrator.

Do you have a supporting public key infrastructure (PKI) that can deploy and manage the certificates required for native mode?

If yes, document how the certificates will be configured, deployed, and managed for site systems that require them, client computers, and client mobile devices.

For more information about the certificate requirements for native mode, see Certificate Requirements for Native Mode.

If the site has a parent site, is the parent site in native mode?

If no, will the parent site be migrated to native mode so that this child site can then be configured for native mode?

Can clients locate a management point in Active Directory Domain Services, or DNS, or a server locator point?

What is the method used by clients to locate a management point other than WINS, since this method is not supported in native mode?

Will all client computers in this site be running Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 or above?

If no, identify any computers running Windows 2000 Professional or Windows 2000 Server and determine if they can be upgraded or reassigned to a mixed mode site.

Will all clients in this site be Configuration Manager clients?

If your site contains clients running SMS 2003, can you upgrade these or assign them to a mixed mode site?