Configuring SMS Site Systems

Configuring SMS Sites Systems

A SMS site system is a Windows server that carries out one of multiple SMS roles for the SMS site. When installing SMS, the default configuration is that all SMS roles are installed on an SMS site server.

After SMS is installed, you can assign these site system roles to computers:

The requirements for installing the different site system roles and a few recommendations are summarized here:

There are a few SMS components that are known to place a load on a CAP:

To improve performance, you should have at least two CAPS within a site.

To improve distribution point performance and availability:

If online mode is being used, consider the following additional factors:

You use the SMS Administrator console to create SMS site systems and to change previously configured site system roles.

To create a new site system,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Select the Site Systems node in the console tree.
  3. Click the Action menu.
  4. Select New.
  5. The different site systems types which you can create are:
    • Windows NT Server
    • Windows NT Share
    • NetWare Bindery Volume
    • NetWare NDS Volume

There are a number of user accounts which the SMS site server utilizes to access systems management data. The SMS Server Network Connection Account is used by the site server to connect to the site systems, by default. Another account which the site server can use to access a site system is the SMS Service account. However, because of the nature of the SMS Service account, it is recommended that you do not utilize this account for site system access.

There are a number of other accounts which SMS can utilize. These accounts are created automatically as determined by your site configuration, or you can manually create the accounts:

How to set the account which the SMS site uses to access site systems

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Move to the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  4. Expand the Connection Accounts folder.
  5. Right-click the Site System folder, select New, and then select the appropriate account type from the shortcut menu.
  6. If you have selected the Windows NT account type, enter the account name and password in the Connection Account Properties dialog box.
  7. If you have selected the NetWare NDS account type, enter the account name, tree reference and password information in the Connection Account Properties dialog box.
  8. If you have selected the NetWare Bindery account type, enter the account name and password in the Connection Account Properties dialog box.
  9. Click OK.

How to assign client access points (CAPs)

A SMS site server automatically becomes a client access point (CAP) when you install the site server. It is though recommended that you remove the CAP role from the primary site server and then assign it to other site systems. This strategy results in preservation of the resources of the site server, as well as enhancement of its performance.

To configure client access points,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Move to the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  4. Right-click the site system which you want to configure as a client access point and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  5. The Site System Properties dialog box opens.
  6. Click the Client Access Point tab.
  7. Select the Use This System As A Client Access Point checkbox.
  8. Click OK.

How to remove the CAP role from a site server

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  3. Right-click the site system which you want to remove the client access point role from and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  4. When the Site System Properties dialog opens, click the Client Access Point tab.
  5. Clear the Use This System As A Client Access Point checkbox.
  6. Click OK.

How to assign the distribution point role

A SMS site server automatically becomes a distribution point when you install the site server. It is though recommended that you remove the distribution point role from the site server and then assign it to other site systems. This strategy results in preservation of the resources of the site server, as well as enhancement of its performance.

To configure distribution points,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Move to the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  4. Right-click the site system which you want to configure as a distribution point and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  5. The Site System Properties dialog box opens.
  6. Click the Distribution Point tab.
  7. Select the Use This System As A Distribution Point checkbox.
  8. Click OK.

How to create a distribution point group

Distribution point groups is a SMS feature that enables you to group a set of distribution points; so that packages are sent to the distribution point group rather than to specific distribution points.

To configure a distribution point group,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Move to the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  4. Right-click a site system that is configured as a distribution point, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  5. The Site System Properties dialog box opens.
  6. Click the Distribution Point tab.
  7. In the Group Membership area of the Distribution Point tab, click New.
  8. The Distribution Point Group Properties dialog box opens.
  9. Provide a name for new distribution point group.
  10. Enable the Include This Site System In This Distribution Point Group checkbox to include this site system in the distribution point group.
  11. Click OK
  12. Click OK in the Site System Properties dialog box.

To administer the new distribution point group, access the Site System Properties dialog box, click the Distribution Point tab, and perform either of the following actions:

How to remove the distribution point role from a site server

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  3. Right-click the site system which you want to remove the distribution point role from and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  4. When the Site System Properties dialog opens, click the Distribution Point tab.
  5. Clear the Use This System As A Distribution Point checkbox.
  6. Click OK.

How to assign the software metering role

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Move to the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  4. Right-click the site system which you want to configure as a software metering server and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  5. The Site System Properties dialog box opens
  6. Click the Software Metering Server tab.
  7. Select the Use This Site System As A Software Metering Server checkbox.
  8. Specify the database location for storage of the software metering data.
  9. Ensure that the correct time zone setting is set.
  10. Provide the service account details.
  11. Specify the connection settings
  12. Click OK.

How to configure logon points

A logon point is installed when the following components are enabled:

When you install a logon point, the SMSLOGON directory is created to contain the files listed below:

How to enable Windows Networking Logon Discovery

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Move to the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  4. Expand the Discovery Methods folder.
  5. Right-click Windows Networking Logon Discovery and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  6. The Windows Networking Logon Discovery Properties dialog box opens.
  7. Click the Enable Windows Networking Logon Discovery checkbox.
  8. Leave the Keep Logon Point Lists For Discovery And Installation Synchronized checkbox enabled. The checkbox is selected by default.
  9. In the Logon Points area of the Windows Networking Logon Discovery Properties dialog box, click the New button.
  10. The New Windows Networking Logon Point dialog box opens.
  11. Enter the domain name in the Domain Name text box, and click OK.
  12. Click OK in the Windows Networking Logon Discovery Properties dialog box.

How to enable NetWare Bindery Logon Discovery

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Discovery Methods folder.
  4. Right-click NetWare Bindery Logon Discovery and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  5. The NetWare Bindery Logon Discovery Properties dialog box opens.
  6. Click the Enable NetWare Bindery Logon Discovery checkbox.
  7. Leave the Keep Logon Point Lists For Discovery And Installation Synchronized checkbox enabled. The checkbox is selected by default.
  8. In the Logon Points area of the NetWare Bindery Logon Discovery Properties dialog box, click the New button.
  9. The New NetWare Bindery Logon Point dialog box opens.
  10. Enter the server name in the Server Name text box, and click OK.
  11. Click OK in the NetWare Bindery Logon Discovery Properties dialog box.

How to enable NetWare NDS Logon Discovery

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Discovery Methods folder.
  4. Right-click NetWare NDS Logon Discovery and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  5. The NetWare NDS Logon Discovery Properties dialog box opens.
  6. Click the Enable NetWare NDS Logon Discovery checkbox.
  7. Leave the Keep Logon Point Lists For Discovery And Installation Synchronized checkbox enabled. The checkbox is selected by default.
  8. In the Logon Points area of the NetWare NDS Logon Discovery Properties dialog box, click the New button.
  9. The New NetWare NDS Logon Point dialog box opens.
  10. Enter the tree information in the Tree textbox.
  11. Enter the container in the Container textbox.
  12. Specify the appropriate volume settings in the Volume textbox.
  13. Click OK.
  14. Click OK in the NetWare NDS Logon Discovery Properties dialog box.

How to configure client installation methods

To configure the Windows Networking Logon Client Installation method,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Client Installation Methods folder
  4. Right-click Windows Networking Logon Client Installation and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  5. The Windows Networking Logon Client Installation Properties dialog box opens.
  6. Click the Enable Windows Networking Logon Client Installation checkbox.
  7. Leave the Keep Logon Point Lists For Discovery And Installation Synchronized checkbox enabled. The checkbox is selected by default.
  8. In the Logon Points area of the Windows Networking Logon Client Installation Properties dialog box, click the New button.
  9. The New Windows Networking Logon Point dialog box opens.
  10. Enter the domain name in the Domain Name text box, and click OK.
  11. Click OK in the Windows Networking Logon Client Installation Properties dialog box.

To configure the NetWare Bindery Logon Client Installation method,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Client Installation Methods folder
  4. Right-click NetWare Bindery Logon Client Installation and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  5. The NetWare Bindery Logon Client Installation Properties dialog box opens.
  6. Click the Enable NetWare Bindery Logon Client Installation checkbox.
  7. Leave the Keep Logon Point Lists For Discovery And Installation Synchronized checkbox enabled. The checkbox is selected by default.
  8. In the Logon Points area of the NetWare Bindery Logon Client Installation Properties dialog box, click the New button.
  9. The New Server dialog box opens.
  10. Enter the server name in the Server Name text box, and click OK.
  11. Click OK in the NetWare Bindery Logon Client Installation Properties dialog box.

To configure the NetWare NDS Logon Client Installation method,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Expand the Site Settings folder.
  3. Expand the Client Installation Methods folder.
  4. Right-click NetWare NDS Logon Client Installation and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
  5. The NetWare NDS Logon Client Installation Properties dialog box opens.
  6. Click the Enable NetWare NDS Logon Client Installation checkbox.
  7. Leave the Keep Logon Point Lists For Discovery And Installation Synchronized checkbox enabled. The checkbox is selected by default.
  8. In the Logon Points area of the NetWare NDS Logon Discovery Properties dialog box, click the New button.
  9. The New NetWare NDS Logon Point dialog box opens.
  10. Enter the tree information in the Tree textbox.
  11. Enter the container in the Container textbox.
  12. Specify the appropriate volume settings in the Volume textbox.
  13. Click OK.
  14. Click OK in the NetWare NDS Logon Client Installation Properties dialog box.

Monitoring SMS site systems

You can use the Network Trace utility to monitor your SMS site systems. Network Trace provides the following information with regard to the status of each site system within the SMS site:

The Network Trace utility provides the following two views:

To start a network trace,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Select a site system.
  3. Click the Action menu.
  4. Select the Start Network Trace command.

Once the Network Trace utility is initiated, you can verify physical connectivity by:

  1. Click the Tools menu.
  2. Select one of the following options:
    • Ping All Servers and Routers
    • Ping Selected Server(s) and Router(s)

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) echo requests are sent to verify physical connectivity, and then displays connection status information as follows:

To check the process and thread status of the SMS components on the site system, first initiate the Network Trace utility and then perform the following:

  1. Select the specific site system from the Network Trace window.
  2. Click the Tools menu.
  3. Select the Poll Components of Selected Servers command.
  4. The Component Poller dialog box opens.
  5. Each SMS component on the site system is displayed.
  6. To check the status of all SMS components select the Poll All button.
  7. To check the status of a specific SMS component, select the SMS component and then select the Poll Selected button.

You can also enable and configure SMS components to create log files. Log files are typically used for troubleshooting purposes. Before enabling the SMS components to create log files, you should bear in mind that logging needs additional resources on the site server.

To enable SMS log files,

  1. Open the SMS Administrator console.
  2. Expand the Tools folder.
  3. Right-click SMS Service Manager and select All Tasks and then Start SMS Service Manager from the shortcut menu.
  4. The SMS Service Manager tool opens.
  5. Expand the site server folder.
  6. Select the Components folder.
  7. Select the component that you want to enable logging for by right-clicking the specific component and then selecting Logging from the shortcut menu.
  8. The SMS Component Logging Control dialog box opens.
  9. Click the Logging Enabled checkbox.
  10. Specify the appropriate log size. The default log size is 1 MB.
  11. Click OK.


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