SCCM Server Roles

[MYK-IT]

Spent two weeks digging through SCCM logs on my new install of 1702 trying to work out why I couldn't install in-console updates. I could see they were downloading, but there was no option to actually right-click and Install--it only ever offered me Show Status.

 

I've gone through over 50 different Google searches for various combinations of lines from the error logs. Lots of different phrasings for the problem I was seeing. There are 77 logs for the SCCM server, and I have looked at so many of them, and the SQL logs too, and understood almost none of them because it's six years since I last installed a ConfigMgr server.

 

Monday morning I decided I must have gone wrong somewhere in my install, and wiped the VM and started again from scratch. Reinstall Server 2016, update, reinstall SQL 2016, install SCCM1702 again, go into Updates and Servicing Status aaaand... it was still only letting me Show Status.

 

Crying and wailing and gnashing of teeth ensued. There will be no easy way out. There will only be digging through logs. More Google searches. More random TechNet posts. Here's a different guide on installation, what does it say. Go to Administration > Updates and Servicing Status, that's where I'm lookinWAIT WHAT

 

Administration > Servicing Status?

 

Not Monitoring?

 

*clicks*

*looks*

*realises there are two Updates and Servicing Status sections and no-one has thought to mention this in anything*

*realises the right click options to install are there*

*realises they were probably there all along and two weeks has been wasted*

*cries*

 

@sonofsanta SCCM is still on my (long) to-do list. I'm just interested how you've set up your configuration?

As I am lead to believe that it is quite intensive / time consuming to set up initially. (although going by your post, it was done in (less) than a day?). But once done, there are many benefits of using it.

 

Have you gone down the multi-server route? (I assume necessary if intending on using additional System Centre servers e.g. SCOM, Orchestra, etc. - Already use SCVMM & DPM) or all on one server?

 

For example, I've found this step-by-step guide (https://www.windows-noob.com/forums/...with-sql-2016/)

 

Thanks,

[Norphy]

Setting up all of the System Center components on one server is a bad idea. They're all very resource intensive.However, putting all of Configuration Manger onto one server is doable but it's sensible to spread roles such as the distribution points across multiple servers, especially when you're rebuilding machines. It all really depends on the size of your environment.

[MYK-IT]

Setting up all of the System Center components on one server is a bad idea. They're all very resource intensive.However, putting all of Configuration Manger onto one server is doable but it's sensible to spread roles such as the distribution points across multiple servers, especially when you're rebuilding machines. It all really depends on the size of your environment.

 

Thanks @Norphy,

 

To be honest, I probably worded my question slightly incorrectly (so apologies).

 

Of course, I wouldn't ever imagine attempting to put all of the System Centre offerings (VMM, DPM, SCCM, SCOM etc) all on one server. I just meant in relation to Configuration Manager? For example, SQL and SCCM on same server?

 

I currently have a MDT/WDS server but looking ahead towards Windows 10 deployment (combined with full System Centre suite entitlement through MS OVS-ES licensing) I'm thinking moving over to SCCM would be the logical step (as our MDT/WDS Server would have to be upgraded anyway to support Windows 10 etc.).

 

Thanks,

[Norphy]

Thanks @Norphy,To be honest, I probably worded my question slightly incorrectly (so apologies).Of course, I wouldn't ever imagine attempting to put all of the System Centre offerings (VMM, DPM, SCCM, SCOM etc) all on one server. I just meant in relation to Configuration Manager? For example, SQL and SCCM on same server?I currently have a MDT/WDS server but looking ahead towards Windows 10 deployment (combined with full System Centre suite entitlement through MS OVS-ES licensing) I'm thinking moving over to SCCM would be the logical step (as our MDT/WDS Server would have to be upgraded anyway to support Windows 10 etc.).Thanks,

 

I'm going to risk the wrath of the mods and reply to this again but please split this off into its own topic if you see fit, possibly called something along the lines of "SCCM Server Roles" or similar.

 

Putting all of the system roles for Configuration Manager onto one server is a 100% supported solution. You can do that if you want to. However, whether that's a good way of doing things depends on a lot of variables, such as:

 

The size of the site or sites that you're managing

The roles that you're using inside Configuration Manager

The amount of software that you're going to deploy and more besides.

 

I have my SCCM site spread across several different VMs. They are as follows:

 

Management Point and SQL

Distribution Point 1

Distribution Point 2

Software Update Point/WSUS

Software Library

 

The DPs are where SCCM pushes out software, updates and operating systems from. IMO, it's sensible to move those away from the SQL/Management point systems as they can come under very heavy load, especially when a large update run or an OS build is being pushed out. I have two for the sake of redundancy and load balancing. I've also found that hosting the software update point on a separate server is a good idea as WSUS can be a CPU hog which kills the performance of the other site systems if its hosted on the same servers as them. The software library is just a server with a share, I put it on a separate one for neatness.

 

I usually put the smaller roles such as the reporting services point, the endpoint protection point and the fallback service point onto the same server as the management point.

 

/edit, uh, why did this remove my line breaks?

Edited March 28, 2018 by Norphy

[elsiegee40]

 

Moved into own thread. Let me know if I missed anything

[itwasntme]

The size of the site or sites that you're managing

The roles that you're using inside Configuration Manager

The amount of software that you're going to deploy and more besides.

 

Absolutely agree. Have built a few SCCM environments including one for a trust that spanned a dozen or so schools, since left that trust and have an sccm environment entirely just for our ~1200 user school. In the larger trust-wide scenario I went with a single primary server/management point (incl SQL) in one school and a DP in each school. The single school environment in my case is a single VM with OSD, EP, software deployment and some reporting. This has been entirely fine for us, with all software coming from sccm, everyone on win10/office 2016 but everyones requirements vary. So far I've not seen justification for building SCOM/Orch or VMM/DPM here (vmware/veeam house).

[sonofsanta]

Sorry, @MYK-IT, missed the notification as I wasn't much about EG at the time!

 

SCCM is as big and complicated as you need it to be, I find. The Windows-Noob guides are great, I followed them last time with SCCM2012 and I followed them for the install this time (they provide scripts now, which make it much easier; just a few variables to change). I've only ever run everything SCCM on one server, because that's sufficient for ~550 PCs on a single site to be honest. The VM is a bit of a beast, relatively speaking, and you need to chuck lots of RAM at it (I use 4-cores/16GB, and should probably give it more), but it keeps the set up and architecture simpler. As ever, my personal motto remains Keep It Simple, Stupid

 

We also only use it for updates, AV and app deployment--we have a FOG server for imaging already, so I've never dug into that side of things. If you wanted to get into OSD it might need more.

[Blue_Cookeh]

Setting up all of the System Center components on one server is a bad idea. They're all very resource intensive.However, putting all of Configuration Manger onto one server is doable but it's sensible to spread roles such as the distribution points across multiple servers, especially when you're rebuilding machines. It all really depends on the size of your environment.

 

Disagree - Microsoft says a single site server can serve up to something like 10,000 clients - yes you may want to put in multiple DPs but I can't imagine a single school site needing them unless they have satellite sites on the other end of a "slow" WAN connection.

 

We run all our SCCM and MBAM roles off a single virtual server with 4 cores and 12GB RAM assigned and have done for 5 years now.

 

Saying this - we're slowly ramping down our SCCM stuff so that it only does application and OS deployment - we're moving compliance, AV updates etc into Modern Management with Microsoft InTune.

Edited July 17, 2018 by Blue_Cookeh