How SCCM Client Select Management Point

How Clients Find Their Site's Default Management Point

Clients locate their default management point using the following mechanisms in the order specified:

• Active Directory Domain Services
• DNS
• Server locator point
• WINS

 Active Directory Domain Services

When the Active Directory schema has been extended for Configuration Manager 2007 and all sites in the Configuration Manager hierarchy are configured to publish to Active Directory Domain Services, the default management point for each site is published to Active Directory.

In this scenario, Configuration Manager clients that belong to the same Active Directory forest as the site systems will automatically find their default management point through Active Directory publishing using an LDAP query to a global catalog server, and they will not use the other mechanisms to find their default management point. However, if this service location fails (for example, because of unreliable network connectivity), clients will automatically try the next service location method.

If the Active Directory schema has not been extended for Configuration Manager 2007, management points cannot be published to Active Directory Domain Services and clients must have an alternative mechanism to locate their default management point.

Additionally, if you have clients that are not in the same Active Directory forest as the site servers (such as workgroup clients or clients from untrusted domains), these clients will not be able to locate the published management points and must use one of the following alternative mechanisms to locate their default management points.

DNS Publishing

Clients can find their default management point in DNS if the following two conditions are met:

The DNS zone that contains the management point entry (SRV record) must contain a host record for the computer assigned with the management point role. This record can be entered manually, or automatically if the site is configured to automatically publish the default management point in DNS.
     
Clients must be configured with a DNS suffix for site assignment.

DNS is the preferred method by which clients locate their default management point if they cannot locate it using Active Directory, and so is suitable for the following clients:

• Workgroup clients and clients from another forest
• All clients if the Active Directory schema is not extended for Configuration Manager 2007 and the site is not publishing to Active Directory Domain Services.

Using DNS publishing for service location of the default management point is more reliable and scalable than using the next service location methods of WINS or a server locator point. However, if the three conditions for DNS publishing cannot be met, you can use WINS as the mechanism by which clients locate their default management points if the Configuration Manager site is operating in mixed mode.

Server Locator Point

If clients cannot locate management points through Active Directory Domain Services or DNS, they next attempt to locate their default management point with a server locator point.

If you have assigned a server locator point role to a site system in the Configuration Manager hierarchy, management points are automatically published to this server locator point when they are in the same site as the server locator point, or lower in the same branch of the hierarchy. Clients in these sites can use the server locator point to find their default management point.

Server locator points can be assigned to clients by short name or IP address using CCMSetup installation properties. If a server locator point is not directly assigned to clients, clients can locate it, using WINS if the client has not been installed with the SMSDIRECTORYLOOKUP installation property.

WINS

When a site system computer assigned the management point role is configured to use WINS through its TCP/IP configuration, it will automatically publish the management point to WINS, which clients can then use if all other mechanisms to locate their site's default management point has failed.

However, if the site is operating in native mode, clients cannot use WINS to locate management points.