In a Configuration Manager 2007 site hierarchy, each site must be able to communicate with its parent site and all of its child sites. Communication between sites is accomplished by using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol (TCP/IP port 445) and is independent of the Configuration Manager 2007 site mode (native mode or mixed mode).
For sites to communicate, they must have a connectivity system (LAN protocols, RAS, or SNA Server) installed and configured according to the connectivity system's product documentation on all site servers in the Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy. Then, for each site in the Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy, you must configure the site-to-site communications by creating and configuring the required addresses and senders.
Configuration Manager 2007 sites communicate using package routing. During package routing, communications are passed up and down a hierarchy from site to site. This means that a site needs addresses only for its parent sites and child sites, but not for other upper-level, lower-level, or sibling sites.
 Note |
|---|
| By default, site-to-site communication is secured by secure key exchange. For greater site-to-site communications security, consider implementing IP security (IPsec) in your environment. For more information, see Implementing IPsec in Configuration Manager 2007. |
Windows Server 2003 and Site Communications across Forest Trusts
Communications across forests work in Configuration Manager 2007 if the following conditions are met:
- You are using the Windows Server 2003
family.
- The forest functional level is set to Windows
Server 2003.
- The forests are configured with a transitive
trust.
 Important |
|---|
| Only the System Health Validator point site system role, site systems configured to support Internet-based client management, and Configuration Manager 2007 primary sites are supported across forest boundaries. It is not supported to configure secondary sites in separate Active Directory forests from their parent primary site server |
In This Section
- Configuration Manager Senders
- Configuration Manager 2007 sites must have one or more senders to communicate.
- Configuration Manager Addresses
- Configuration Manager 2007 addresses are used by senders to find the site servers of destination sites.