using System Center 2012 Configuration Manager - Part 1. Installation - CAS

[hypercube33]

The memory requirements seem to help it in performance. SCCM collects quite a bit of data and is being very well utilized by the system. We have about 250~ clients and we are considering using more to boost speed.

[3RICK]

Hi Anyweb!, Is there any High Availability Setup for SCCM 2012? Thanks in advance.

[anyweb]

yes, that is covered on Technet in this section:-

 

Planning for High Availability with Configuration Manager

 

and I quote from some of the info there..

 

 

Configuration Manager does not provide a real-time service and you must expect it to operate with some data latency. Therefore, it is unusual for most scenarios that involve a temporary interruption of service to become a critical problem. When you have configured your sites and hierarchies with high availability in mind, downtime can be minimized, autonomy of operations maintained, and a high level of service provided.

 

For example, Configuration Manager clients typically operate autonomously by using known schedules and configurations for operations, and schedules to submit data to the site for processing. When clients cannot contact the site, they cache data to be submitted until they can contact the site. Additionally, clients that cannot contact the site continue to operate by using the last known schedules and cached information, such as a previously downloaded application that they must run or install, until they can contact the site and receive new policies. The site monitors its site systems and clients for periodic status updates, and can generate alerts when these fail to register. Built-in reports provide insight to ongoing operations as well as historical operations and trends. Finally, Configuration Manager supports state-based messages that provide near real-time information for ongoing operations.

 

Use the information in the following sections to help you understand the options to deploy Configuration Manager in a highly available configuration.

• High Availability for Configuration Manager Clients
  
• High Availability for Configuration Manager Sites
  
  • Details for Sites and Site System Roles that are Highly Available
    
  • Details for Sites and Site System Roles that are not Highly Available
    

 

 

Details for Sites and Site System Roles that are Highly Available

 

The following table provides information about features available at sites, and the site system roles that are part of a high availability configuration.

Feature More information

Redundancy for important site system roles

You can install multiple instances of the following site system roles to provide important services to clients:

• Management point
   
   
  
• Distribution point
   
   
  
• State migration point
   
   
  
• System Health Validator point
   
   
  
• Application Catalog web service point
   
   
  
• Application Catalog website point
  

You can install multiple instance of the following site system role to provide redundancy for reporting on sites and clients:

• Reporting services point
  

You can install the following site system role on a Windows Network Load Balancing (NLB) cluster to provide failover support:

• Software update point
  

Built-in site backup

 

Configuration Manager includes a built-in backup task to help you back up your site and critical information on a regular schedule. Additionally, the Configuration Manager Setup wizard supports site restoration actions to help you restore a site to operations.

 

Publishing to Active Directory Domain Services and DNS

 

You can configure each site to publish data about site system servers and services to Active Directory Domain Services and to DNS. This enables clients to identify the most accessible server on the network, and to identify when new site system servers that can provide important services, such as management points, are available.

 

SMS Providers and Configuration Manager consoles

 

Configuration Manager supports installing multiple SMS Providers, each on a separate computer, to ensure multiple access points for Configuration Manager consoles. This ensures that if one SMS Provider computer is offline, you maintain the ability to view and reconfigure Configuration Manager sites and clients.

 

When a Configuration Manager console connects to a site, it connects to an instance of the SMS Provider at that site. The instance of the SMS Provider is selected nondeterministically. If the selected SMS Provider is not available, you have the following options:

• Reconnect the console to the site. Each new connection request is nondeterministically assigned an instance of the SMS Provider and it is possible that the new connection will be assigned an available instance.
   
  
• Connect the console to a different Configuration Manager site and manage the configuration from that connection. This introduces a slight delay of configuration changes of no more than a few minutes. After the SMS Provider for the site is on-line, you can reconnect your Configuration Manager console directly to the site that you want to manage.
  

You can install the Configuration Manager console on multiple computers for use by administrative users. Each SMS Provider supports connections from multiple Configuration Manager consoles.

 

Management point

 

Install multiple management points at each primary site, and enable the sites to publish site data to your Active Directory infrastructure, and to DNS.

 

Multiple management points help to load-balance the use of any single management point by multiple clients. In addition, you can install one or more database replicas for management points to decrease the CPU-intensive operations of the management point, and to increase the availability of this critical site system role.

You can install only one management point in a secondary site, which must be located on the secondary site server. If this management point is unavailable, clients can fall back to using a management point in their assigned site.

 

Note

Mobile devices that are enrolled by Configuration Manager can connect to only one management point in a primary site. The management point is assigned by Configuration Manager to the mobile device during enrollment and then does not change. When you install multiple management points and enable more than one for mobile devices, the management point that is assigned to a mobile device client is non-deterministic. If the management point that a mobile device client uses becomes unavailable, you must resolve the problem with this management point or wipe the mobile device and re-enroll the mobile device so that it can assign to an operational management point that is enabled for mobile devices.

 

Distribution point

 

Install multiple distribution points, and deploy content to multiple distribution points. You can configure overlapping boundary groups for content location to ensure that clients on each subnet can access a deployment from two or more distribution points. Finally, consider configuring one or more distribution points as fallback locations for content.

For more information about fallback locations for content, see the Planning for Preferred Distribution Points and Fallback section in the Planning for Content Management in Configuration Manager topic.

 

Application Catalog web service point and Application Catalog website point

 

You can install multiple instances of each site system role, and for best performance, deploy one of each on the same site system computer.

 

Each Application Catalog site system role provides the same information as other instances of that site system role regardless of the location of this site server role in the hierarchy. Therefore, when a client makes a request for the Application Catalog and you have configured the Default Application Catalog website point device client setting for Automatically detect, the client can be directed to an available instance, with preference given to local Application Catalog site system servers, based on the current network location of the client.

 

For more information about this client setting and how automatic detection works, see the Computer Agent client setting section in the About Client Settings in Configuration Manager topic.

 

[Acid_Stop]

Hi Anyweb!

 

Great guides and awesome that you include screenshots. Is there any reason why you install programs to the D drive vs C? Is this a best practice?

[anyweb]

best practise would entail separating the different programs (OS, Configuration Manager, SQL Server 2008) to different physical disks and to use RAID 10, for example OS on C:\, Configmgr on D:\ SQL on E:\ and so on.. but as this is only a lab i've just installed Configuration Manager and SQL Server 2008 R2 on D:\.

 

The reason you'd keep them on different physical discs is all about IOPS (input output per second). If you want more info on that see here and refer to the advice from Technet here, from which I've pasted some info below..

 

Configuration Manager Site Systems

 

This section identifies recommended hardware configurations for Configuration Manager site systems. In general, the key factors that limit performance of the overall system include the following, in order:

1. Disk I/O performance
    
    
   
2. Available memory
    
    
   
3. CPU
   

For best performance, use RAID 10 configurations for all data drives and 1Gbps Ethernet network connectivity between site system servers, including the database server.

[3RICK]

Hi Anywebs, looking to this scenario, I have Head office(2500 Workstations), Site A(3000 Workstation) and Site B(1800 Workstaion). what will you recommend for SCCM2012 deployment?. Thanks once again.

[anyweb]

what do you mean? are you asking for design ideas ? if so please raise a separate post, this is about installing the CAS.

[3RICK]

Thanks anywebs.

[hmh_it]

Hello, great guide..

 

Just wondering is it recommended in a production environment to install SQL Server on the same server as SCCM 2012? Or should the SQL installation be on one server and sccm on another?

[Acid_Stop]

best practise would entail separating the different programs (OS, Configuration Manager, SQL Server 2008) to different physical disks and to use RAID 10, for example OS on C:\, Configmgr on D:\ SQL on E:\ and so on.. but as this is only a lab i've just installed Configuration Manager and SQL Server 2008 R2 on D:\.

 

The reason you'd keep them on different physical discs is all about IOPS (input output per second). If you want more info on that see here and refer to the advice from Technet here, from which I've pasted some info below..

 

 

I installed SQL Server 2008 R2 on D via the command you listed but the executables are still installing on C drive. There are SQL folders on the D drive though. Is this expected?