There are two deployment paths that you can take to deploy Configuration Manager sites: a new installation of Configuration Manager 2007 or an upgrade of an existing SMS 2003 installation. There are two typical upgrade scenarios: an in-place upgrade or a side-by-side upgrade. These deployment paths are designed to be flexible. Except for certain explicit cases, you can apply them to any portion of your Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy in addition to the hierarchy as a whole.

New deployment

This scenario represents a new installation of Configuration Manager 2007 in an organization where no previous SMS deployment exists or where you plan to remove any previous installations of SMS. Use this scenario, if the following conditions apply:

  • You do not have to consider any existing SMS 2003 hierarchy.

  • You can develop and implement a new Configuration Manager 2007 site hierarchy.

It is still important to evaluate the existing environment properly and design the Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy appropriately.

In-place upgrade of SMS 2003

This scenario represents an upgrade of an existing SMS 2003 hierarchy. Use this scenario, if you plan to do the following:

  • Maintain the structure of the existing SMS hierarchy.

  • Maintain the existing distribution point roles and SMS site boundaries.

  • Have Configuration Manager 2007 clients remain assigned to their current sites.

In this scenario, you must consider whether a new Configuration Manager 2007 site can manage your current SMS client computers. It might be that Configuration Manager 2007 cannot support some of your existing client computers. In this case, you might choose to indefinitely maintain an SMS 2003 site—called a holding site—to support those clients. Consequently, you must also be aware of any interoperability issues between the SMS 2003 site and the Configuration Manager 2007 site that can affect your Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy.

Side-by-side upgrade of SMS 2003

This scenario represents an implementation of a new Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy that you plan to migrate existing SMS clients to. You can choose to implement a side-by-side upgrade to do the following:

  • Use new or updated server hardware.

  • Reflect changes that have been made in your organizational structure.

  • Compartmentalize the usage of different Configuration Manager 2007 features (for example, managing mobile clients in a Configuration Manager 2007 site separate from that which is managing desktop clients).

  • Reduce the overall number of sites in your hierarchy.

  • Maintain a functioning SMS site and managed clients while rolling out a new Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure.

See Also