How to configure boundary groups for Configuration Manager

Article
10/04/2022

Applies to: Configuration Manager (current branch)

This article includes procedures on how to view and configure boundary groups. Before you begin, make sure you understand boundary group concepts. For more information, see Boundary groups.

Show boundary groups for devices

To help you better identify and troubleshoot device behaviors with boundary groups, you can view the boundary groups for specific devices. In the Devices node or when you show the members of a Device Collection, add the Boundary Group(s) column to the list view.

If a device is in more than one boundary group, the value is a comma-separated list of boundary group names.
The data updates when the client makes a location request to the site, or at most every 24 hours.
If a client is roaming and not a member of a boundary group, the value is blank.

Note

This information is site data and only available on primary sites. You won't see a value for this column when you connect the Configuration Manager to a central administration site (CAS). For more information, see Types of data.

Create a boundary group

In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Administration workspace, expand Hierarchy Configuration, and select the Boundary Groups node.
On the Home tab, in the Create group, select Create Boundary Group.
In the Create Boundary Group dialog box, on the General tab, specify a Name for this boundary group. Optionally include a Description.
Select OK to save the new boundary group, or continue to the next section to configure the boundary group.

Configure a boundary group

In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Administration workspace, expand Hierarchy Configuration, and select the Boundary Groups node.
Select the boundary group you want to modify, and select Properties in the ribbon. This action opens the boundary group Properties window.

Configure the following settings:

Add or remove boundaries
Configure site assignment and select site system servers
Configure fallback behavior
Configure boundary group options

Add or remove boundaries

In the boundary group Properties window, use the General tab to modify the boundaries that are members of this boundary group:

To add boundaries, select Add. In the Add Boundaries window, select the check box for one or more boundaries, and select OK.
To remove boundaries, select the boundary in the list, and select Remove.

Configure site assignment and select site system servers

To modify the site assignment and associated site system server configuration, switch to the References tab in the boundary group Properties window.

To enable this boundary group for use by clients for site assignment, select Use this boundary group for site assignment. Then select a site from the Assigned site dropdown list. For more information, see Site assignment.
To associate available site system servers with this boundary group, select Add. The Add Site Systems window only lists servers that have supported site system roles. Select the check box for one or more servers, and select OK. It adds them as associated site system servers for this boundary group.

Note

You can select any combination of available site systems from any site in the hierarchy. Selected site systems are listed on the Site Systems tab in the properties of each boundary that's a member of this boundary group.
To remove a server from this boundary group, select the server and then select Remove.

Note

To stop use of this boundary group for associating site systems, remove all servers listed as associated site system servers.

Configure fallback behavior

To configure fallback behavior, switch to the Relationships tab in the boundary group Properties window.

To create a relationship with another boundary group:
- Select Add. In the Fallback Boundary Groups window, select the boundary group to configure.
- Set a fallback time for the following site system roles:
  - Distribution point
  - Software update point
  - Management point
    
    Note
    
    For example, you open the Properties window for the Branch Office boundary group. In the Fallback Boundary Groups window, you select the Main Office boundary group. You set the distribution point fallback time to 20. When you save this configuration, clients in the Branch Office boundary group will start searching for content from the distribution points in the Main Office boundary group after 20 minutes.
- To prevent fallback to a specific boundary group, select the boundary group, and then select Never fallback for the type of site system role. This action can include the default site boundary group.
To modify the configuration of an existing relationship, select the boundary group in the list, and select Change. This action opens the Fallback Boundary Groups window for just this boundary group.
To remove a relationship, select the boundary group in the list, and select Remove.

For more information, see Fallback.

Configure boundary group options

To configure options for clients in this boundary group, switch to the Options tab. For more information, see Boundary group options.

Allow peer downloads in this boundary group: This option is enabled by default. The management point provides clients a list of content locations that includes peer sources.
- During peer downloads, only use peers within the same subnet: This setting is dependent upon the one above. If you enable this option, the management point only includes in the content location list peer sources that are in the same subnet as the client.
- Prefer distribution points over peers within the same subnet: By default, the management point prioritizes peer cache sources at the top of the list of content locations. This setting reverses that priority for clients in the same subnet as a peer cache source.
Prefer cloud based sources over on-premises sources: A common scenario is if you have a branch office with a faster internet link, you can prioritize cloud content and policy. This behavior includes cloud management gateways (CMG) or Microsoft Update.

Note

Starting in version 2203, this setting also applies for software update scanning. To reduce the performance impact of this change, existing clients don't automatically switch to a cloud-based software update point. For more information, see Boundary groups and software update points.

Configure a fallback site for automatic site assignment

If clients aren't in a boundary group with an assigned site, assign them to this site when they're installed.

In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Administration workspace, expand Site Configuration, and select the Sites node.
On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Sites group, select Hierarchy Settings.
On the General tab, select the checkbox to Use a fallback site. Then select a site from the Fallback site drop-down list.
Select OK to save the configuration.

For more information, see Site assignment.

Enable use of preferred management points

For more information, see Preferred management points.

In the Configuration Manager console, go to the Administration workspace, expand Site Configuration, and select the Sites node.
On the Home tab of the ribbon, in the Sites group, select Hierarchy Settings.
On the General tab, select Clients prefer to use management points specified in boundary groups.
Select OK to save the configuration.