Configure sites and hierarchies for Configuration Manager

Applies to: Configuration Manager (current branch)

After you install your first Configuration Manager site or add additional sites to your hierarchy, use this checklist to ensure that you consider the most common configurations that affect both sites and hierarchies.

The following configuration notes apply to most deployments:

• Some options build upon each other, such as Active Directory Forest Discovery, boundaries, and boundary groups.

• Several configurations have default values to use without configuration changes, at least to start.

• Other configurations, like boundary groups and distribution point groups, require you to configure them before using.

Action	Details
Configure role-based administration	Segregate administrative assignments to control which administrative users can view and manage different objects and data in your Configuration Manager environment. Configurations for role-based administration are shared with all sites in a hierarchy. For more information, see Configure role-based administration.
Publish site data to Active Directory Domain Services	Make it easy for clients to find services and efficiently use site resources. First extend the Active Directory schema. Then individually configure each site to publish site data
Configure a service connection point	Plan to install and configure the service connection point at the top-level site of your hierarchy. For more information, see About the service connection point.
Add site system roles	Install one or more additional site system roles for individual sites. For more information, see Add site system roles.
Configure site boundaries and boundary groups	Specify boundaries that define network locations on your intranet that can contain devices that you want to manage. Then configure boundary groups so that clients at those network locations can find Configuration Manager resources. For more information, see Define site boundaries and boundary groups.
Configure distribution point groups	Configure logical groups of distribution points to make managing deployments easier. For more information, see Manage distribution point groups.
Run discovery	Run discovery to find resources on your network, including network infrastructure, devices, and users. For more information, see Run discovery.
Add redundancy and capacity for administrators	Install additional SMS Providers and Configuration Manager consoles to expand capacity for administrators to manage your infrastructure: Install additional SMS providers to provide redundancy for console and API connections to the site. For more information, see Manage the SMS Provider. Install additional Configuration Manager consoles to provide access to additional administrative users. For more information, see Install Configuration Manager consoles.
Configure site components	Configure site components at each site to modify the behavior of site system roles and site status reporting. For more information, see Site components.
Create custom collections	Using information that the site discovers about devices and users, create custom collections of objects to simplify future management tasks. For more information, see How to create collections.
Configure settings to manage high-risk deployments	Configure settings at a site to warn administrators when they create a high-risk deployment. For more information, see Settings to manage high-risk deployments.
Configure database replicas for management points	Configure a database replica to reduce the processor load that's placed on the site database server by management points as they service requests from clients. For more information, see Database replicas for management points.
Configure a SQL Server Always On availability group	Configure availability groups as high-availability and disaster-recovery solutions for hosting the site database at primary sites and the central administration site. For more information, see Prepare to use a SQL Server Always On availability group with Configuration Manager.
Modify replication between sites	See Data transfers between sites to learn about the following subjects: Configure file-based replication between secondary sites Configure database replication links Configure distributed views
Configure site servers in passive mode	Starting in version 1806, configure a site server in passive mode for each primary site and the central administration site. This feature provides a highly available site server. For more information, see Site server high availability.