How to Install Secondary Sites in System Center Configuration Manager 2012 Posted on June 2, 2011 by rbalsley In prior versions of ConfigMgr, you had the ability to install a secondary site in multiple ways.
Deploying the Secondary Sites Configuration Manager 2012 secondary sites are deployed through the console, via a push from a Primary Site Server. All the prerequisites, such as SQL Server 2008 and.NET Framework 4.0, are pushed out with the role remotely.
However, this requires two features to be installed to work correctly. Those features are as follows:. Remote Differential Compression.NET Framework 3.5 To install these prerequisites using the command line, run PowerShell as an administrator and enter the following commands: Import-Module ServerManager Add-WindowsFeature Net-Framework,RDC In addition, the Primary Site Server Active Directory account (for example, CM3$) is the account performing the remote installation, so it must have local administrator rights to the target secondary site server. If the Windows Firewall is in use, open ports 1433 and 4022 for SQL Server access.
NOTE The Configuration Manager console can be launched from the Central Administration Site Server or the Primary Site Server. Even if the installation is initiated with the Configuration Manager console on the Central Administration Site, the actual installation is performed from the Primary Site Server. This is a great example of the improved centralized administration capabilities of Configuration Manager 2012. Choose the Administration space, expand Site Configuration, and select Sites.
Select the primary site from which to deploy the secondary site, in this example the PAR site. Right-click on the Primary Site Server (the CM3 server in this example) and select Create Secondary Site. At the Before You Begin screen, click Next. In the Site and Installation Settings, enter a site code, Site Server, and site name. In this example, the site code is LON, the server is, and the site name is Company XYZ London Site. NOTE The case of the server name is critical, as the install will fail if the name in the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) does not match the NetBIOS name exactly. If this happens, simply right-click on the failed installation and select Retry Secondary Site and change the case of the server name.
Leave the default installation folder and click Next. Leave the default to copy the installation source files from the parent Site Server (in this case ) and click Next. Leave the default to install SQL Server Express on the secondary site server and click Next.
Make sure to check the Install and Configure IIS option, as shown in, and click Next. NOTE Later in the chapter, when configuring Internet-based client management (IBCM), the protocol setting will be changed from HTTP to HTTPS. Leave the default drive settings and click Next. Leave the default Content Validation settings and click Next. Leave the Boundary Groups settings empty and click Next. These will be configured later. Review the summary and click Next.
Click Close to exit the wizard. The setup begins from the Primary Site Server. A new Site Server appears in the list of sites with a status of Pending. To see the summary status, right-click on the secondary server and select Show Install Status. This shows the summary status message for the secondary site server install.
![Sccm Sccm](/uploads/1/2/5/4/125408285/462658958.jpg)
Because installation is being done remotely, it can be difficult to ascertain what could’ve gone wrong with the installation. However, the Show Install Status messages are very informative and specific. They show the prerequisite checks being done, the download progress, and the installation progress step-by-step.
In the event of a failure of the secondary site installation, these messages can be reviewed for the specific reason for the failure. Once remediated, the secondary site server installation can be retried simply by right-clicking the failed secondary site server and selecting Retry Secondary Site. TIP The status of the secondary site server install can also be monitored in detail from the source Primary Site Server and the target secondary site server.
In the root of the system drive of the Primary Site Server doing the push installation, the log file ConfigMgrSetup.log will show the status of the install in detail. Once the installation commences, there will be a corresponding ConfigMgrSetup.log in the root of the system drive of the secondary site server, which shows where the installation picks up locally. Review the log on the source Primary Site Server to troubleshoot remote access and file transfer issues. Review the log on the target secondary site server to troubleshoot issues with the installation of prerequisites and the secondary site role.
Validating the Installation of the Secondary Site To validate the installation, check the contents of the System Management container in Active Directory. The System Management container can be seen with the Advanced view of Active Directory Users and Computers, or with ADSI Edit. The Site Server object should exist in this container for the Secondary Sites.
In this example, the LON secondary site should create an object in the System Management container named SMS-Site-LON of type mSSMSSite. There should also be an object for the Management Point, named SMS-MP-LON-CM4.COMPANYXYZ.COM of type mSSMSManagementPoint. Similarly, the TOK secondary site should create an object in the System Management container named SMS-Site-TOK of type mSSMSSite. There should also be an object for the Management Point, named SMS-MP-TOK-CM5.COMPANYXYZ.COM of type mSSMSManagementPoint. Shows the Active Directory objects for the sites created. The Active Directory SCCM records for Secondary Sites.
To view the component status for the secondary site servers in the Configuration Manager console, do the following:. Launch the Configuration Manager console. Choose the Monitoring space. Expand the System Status node. Select the Site Status node and confirm that all statuses show as OK with green icons. Select Component Status and confirm that all statuses show as OK with green icons. If a component is marked with a red error or a yellow warning icon, the component has received status messages indicating a problem with the component.
Right-click the component, select Show Messages - All from the menu and select a viewing period for the messages.
In System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, you can no longer deploy a secondary site server using Setup (wizard or scripted). Instead, you must use the Configuration Manager console to create a new secondary site. This is less than ideal if you want to deploy several secondary sites or want to automate the process for any other reason. This project provides a script that will allow you to install a new System Center 2012 Configuration Manager secondary site server without using the Configuration Manager console. The script essentially performs the same actions as the Configuration Manager console, writing changes to the site control information through WMI.
The initial script is provided in VBScript, but I know one of our Configuration Manager MVP's has been working on a Power Shell version that I hope we'll be able to get added in the near future. The initial script is very basic, but should provide enough information to get you started and start some ideas flowing. I've already listed several To Do's in the header of the script, but if you have other ideas, please let me know through the discussion. Thanks to Jim Dempsey for developing this script! Disclaimer: Everything provided as part of this project is provided for informational purposes only. Microsoft and the project's contributor(s) make no warranties, express or implied. Download the script based tool Via How to use the script,please refer Filed in:, Tags:,.