Example Roaming Scenarios for Configuration Manager: Simple

The scenarios in this topic will help you understand how roaming works in Configuration Manager 2007 using some basic scenarios that use the same fictitious company multi-site deployment of Configuration Manager.

Before reading these scenarios, see About Client Roaming in Configuration Manager.

The scenarios in this topic focus on which management points clients communicate with when they roam to another site in the Configuration Manager hierarchy, and whether they can download content for advertisements and software updates from that site:

• Roaming From the Client's Assigned Primary Site Down the Hierarchy to Another Primary Site

• Roaming From the Client's Assigned Primary Site Across the Hierarchy to Another Primary Site

• Roaming From the Client's Assigned Primary Site Down the Hierarchy to a Secondary Site that Belongs to Another Primary Site

• Roaming From the Client's Assigned Site's Secondary Site Down the Hierarchy to Another Secondary Site that Doesn't Belong to the Client's Assigned Site

• Roaming From the Client's Assigned Site's Secondary Site Up the Hierarchy to Another Secondary Site that Doesn't Belong to the Client's Assigned Site

These scenarios do not include a client moving from its assigned site to one of its assigned site's secondary sites, or between secondary sites that belong to its assigned site. These scenarios are covered in Example Assignment Scenarios for Configuration Manager: Secondary Sites.

To help explain the basic roaming concepts, all scenarios that follow assume that advertisements and software update deployments allow installation over slow or unreliable boundaries, all boundaries within the sites are configured as fast boundaries, there are no protected distribution points, and that the content required by clients always exists in their assigned site. The more complex roaming scenarios that factor in these variables are covered in Example Roaming Scenarios for Configuration Manager: Complex.

Each roaming scenario is explained in terms of whether clients have global roaming capability, or only regional roaming capability:

• Global roaming capability refers to the ability of clients to access site information from Active Directory Domain Services. This requires that the Active Directory schema is extended for Configuration Manager 2007, that all sites are publishing to Active Directory Domain Services, and the client belongs to the same forest. For more information, see How to Extend the Active Directory Schema for Configuration Manager.

• Regional roaming capability refers to the roaming behavior of clients when global roaming is not possible because the Active Directory schema has not been extended for Configuration Manager 2007, or it has been extended but not all sites are publishing to Active Directory Domain Services, or the client doesn't belong to the same forest (for example, is a workgroup client).

Configuration Manager Site Terminology

The scenarios use a combination of primary and secondary sites, and parent and child sites. Use the following table as a quick definition reference of these terms, and for more information, see Understanding Configuration Manager Sites.

Site Terminology	Description
Primary Site	A primary site stores Configuration Manager 2007 data for itself and all the sites beneath it in the Configuration Manager 2007 site database. Primary sites have an administrative tool called the Configuration Manager 2007 console that enables the Configuration Manager 2007 administrator to directly manage the site.
Secondary Site	A secondary site has no Configuration Manager 2007 site database, but is attached to and reports to a primary site. The secondary site forwards the information it gathers from Configuration Manager 2007 clients, such as computer inventory data and Configuration Manager 2007 system status information, to its parent site.
Parent Site	A parent site is a primary site that has one or more sites attached below it in the hierarchy. Only a primary site can have child sites.
Child Site	A child site is a site that is attached to a site above it in the hierarchy, and reports to is its parent site. A child site is either a primary site or a secondary site.
Central Site	A central site has no parent site and typically aggregates information from its child and grandchild sites to provide centralized management and reporting.

Hierarchy Used in All Roaming Scenario Examples

The hierarchy has three tiers of primary sites:

• At the top of the hierarchy is the central site, a primary site in Toronto named TOR.

• At the second level of primary sites, there are three primary child sites in Houston, London, and Shanghai, named HOU, LON, and SHA respectively.

  • The Houston child primary site has two secondary sites in Seattle and Boston: SEA, BOS.

  • The LON child primary site has one secondary site in Manchester: MAN.

  • The SHA child primary site has no secondary sites.

• At the third level of primary sites, there are two primary grandchild sites in Sydney and Helsinki, named SYD and HEL respectively.

  • The SYN grandchild primary site has two secondary sites in Melbourne and Brisbane: MEL, BRI.

  • The HEL grandchild primary site has no secondary sites.

This hierarchy is shown in the following illustration.

Roaming From the Client's Assigned Primary Site Down the Hierarchy to Another Primary Site

A user whose laptop is assigned to the Houston site, visits Sydney. The laptop is connected to the network and gets an IP address that falls within one of the boundaries configured for the child site, SYD.

This scenario is depicted in the following illustration.

Global Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in Sydney, the Configuration Manager client compares its current IP address, IP subnet, and Active Directory site with the list of boundaries defined for each site in Active Directory Domain Services. It finds a match for the Sydney site (SYD) and then looks for the default management point in the Sydney site. This then becomes the client's resident management point while roaming and it contacts it only when it needs content, never to download policy or send inventory information and status messages. It continues to communicate with its own default management point in Houston (HOU) for these operations.

The resident management point in Sydney returns to the roaming client a list of distribution points in the Sydney site (SYD).

If the content doesn't exist in the Sydney site, the client falls back to asking its default management point in Houston for distribution points so that it can download source packages from its assigned site in Houston (HOU).

Regional Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in Sydney, the Configuration Manager client contacts its default management point in Houston (HOU) and asks it for distribution points that are closest to its current IP address (and Active Directory site if it has one) and that host the content it needs.

The default management point in Houston provides the client with a list of distribution points in Sydney (SYD) if the content is hosted there. If the content is not hosted in Sydney, the default management point provides the client with a list of distribution points from the Houston site (HOU).

Roaming Behavior Summary

The following table summarizes the client behavior in this scenario.

Roaming Capability	Communication with Management Points	Download Content Locally
Global Roaming	Default Management Point: HOU site Resident Management Point: SYD site	Yes
Regional Roaming	Default Management Point: HOU site	Yes

Similar Roaming Behavior

The same behavior would be seen in the following roaming scenarios:

• From Toronto (TOR) to Houston (HOU)

• From Toronto (TOR) to Sydney (SYD)

• From Toronto (TOR) to Shanghai (SHA)

• From London (LON) to Helsinki (HEL)

Roaming From the Client's Assigned Primary Site Across the Hierarchy to Another Primary Site

A user whose laptop is assigned to the Houston site, visits London. The laptop is connected to the network and gets an IP address that falls within one of the boundaries configured for the London primary site, LON.

This scenario is depicted in the following illustration.

Global Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in London, the Configuration Manager client compares its current IP address, IP subnet, and Active Directory site with the list of boundaries defined for each site in Active Directory Domain Services. It finds a match for the London site (LON) and then looks for the default management point in the London site. This then becomes the client's resident management point while roaming and it contacts it only when it needs content, never to download policy or send inventory information and status messages. It continues to communicate with its own default management point in Houston (HOU) for these operations.

The resident management point in London returns to the roaming client a list of distribution points in the London site (LON).

If the content doesn't exist in the London site, the client falls back to asking its default management point in Houston for distribution points so that it can download source packages from its assigned site in Houston (HOU).

Regional Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in London, the Configuration Manager client contacts its default management point in Houston (HOU) and asks it for distribution points that are closest to its current IP address (and Active Directory site if it has one) and that host the content it needs.

The default management point in Houston has no knowledge of the distribution points in London, so downloading content locally is not possible. Instead, the client's default management point provides the client with a list of distribution points from the Houston site (HOU).

Roaming Behavior Summary

The following table summarizes the client behavior in this scenario.

Roaming Capability	Communication with Management Points	Download Content Locally
Global Roaming	Default Management Point: HOU site Resident Management Point: LON site	Yes
Regional Roaming	Default Management Point: HOU site	No

Similar Roaming Behavior

The same behavior would be seen in the following roaming scenarios:

• From London (LON) to Shanghai (SHA)

• From London (LON) to Houston (HOU)

• From Houston (HOU) to Shanghai (SHA)

• From Shanghai (SHA) to London (LON)

• From Shanghai (SHA) to Houston (HOU)

• From Sydney (SYD) to Helsinki (HEL)

• From Helsinki (HEL) to Sydney (SYD)

Roaming From the Client's Assigned Primary Site Down the Hierarchy to a Secondary Site that Belongs to Another Primary Site

A user whose laptop is assigned to the Houston site, visits Melbourne. The laptop is connected to the network and gets an IP address that falls within one of the boundaries configured for the secondary site MEL that belongs to the grandchild site in Sydney (SYD).

This scenario is depicted in the following illustration.

Global Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in Melbourne, the Configuration Manager client compares its current IP address, IP subnet, and Active Directory site with the list of boundaries defined for each site in Active Directory Domain Services. It finds a match for the Melbourne site (MEL), and discovers the proxy management point in Melbourne. This then becomes the client's resident management point while roaming and it contacts it only when it needs content, never to download policy or send inventory information and status messages. It continues to communicate with its own default management point in Houston (HOU) for these operations.

The proxy management point in Melbourne returns to the roaming client a list of distribution points in the Melbourne site (MEL).

If the content doesn't exist in the Melbourne site, the client falls back to asking its default management point in Houston (HOU) for distribution points so that it can download source packages from its assigned site in Houston (HOU).

Regional Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in Melbourne, the Configuration Manager client contacts its default management point in Houston (HOU) and asks it for distribution points that are closest to its current IP address (and Active Directory site if it has one) and that host the content it needs.

The default management point in Houston provides the client with a list of distribution points in Melbourne (MEL) if the content is hosted there. If the content is not hosted in Melbourne, the default management point provides the client with a list of distribution points from the Houston site (HOU).

Roaming Behavior Summary

The following table summarizes the client behavior in this scenario.

Roaming Capability	Communication with Management Points	Download Content Locally
Global Roaming	Default Management Point: HOU site Resident Management Point: MEL site	Yes
Regional Roaming	Default Management Point: HOU site	Yes

Similar Roaming Behavior

The same behavior would be seen in the following roaming scenarios:

• From Houston (HOU) to Brisbane (BRI)

Roaming From the Client's Assigned Site's Secondary Site Down the Hierarchy to Another Secondary Site that Doesn't Belong to the Client's Assigned Site

A user whose laptop is assigned to the Houston site (HOU), but whose IP address falls within the boundaries of the secondary site in Boston (BOS), visits Melbourne. The laptop is connected to the network and gets an IP address that falls within one of the boundaries configured for the secondary site MEL that belongs to the grandchild site in Sydney (SYD).

This scenario is depicted in the following illustration.

Global Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in Melbourne, the Configuration Manager client compares its current IP address, IP subnet, and Active Directory site with the list of boundaries defined for each site in Active Directory Domain Services. It finds a match for the Melbourne site (MEL), and discovers the proxy management point in this site. This then becomes the client's resident management point while roaming and it contacts it only when it needs content, never to download policy or send inventory information and status messages. It continues to communicate with its own default management point in Houston (HOU) for these operations, and no longer communicates with the proxy management point in Boston (BOS).

The resident management point in Melbourne returns to the roaming client a list of distribution points in the Melbourne site (MEL).

If the content doesn't exist in the Melbourne site, the client falls back to asking its default management point in Houston (HOU) for distribution points so that it can download source packages from its assigned site in Houston (HOU).

Regional Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in Melbourne, the Configuration Manager client contacts its default management point in Houston (HOU), and no longer communicates with the proxy management point in Boston (BOS). It asks its default management point for distribution points that are closest to its current IP address (and Active Directory site if it has one) and that host the content it needs.

The default management point in Houston (HOU) provides the client with a list of distribution points in Melbourne (MEL) if the content is hosted there. If the content is not hosted in Melbourne, the default management point provides the client with a list of distribution points from the Houston site (HOU).

Roaming Behavior Summary

The following table summarizes the client behavior in this scenario.

Roaming Capability	Communication with Management Points	Download Content Locally
Global Roaming	Default Management Point: HOU site Resident Management Point: MEL site	Yes
Regional Roaming	Default Management Point: HOU site	Yes

Similar Roaming Behavior

The same behavior would be seen in the following roaming scenarios:

• From Boston (BOS) to Brisbane (BRI)

• From Seattle (SEA) to Melbourne (MEL)

• From Seattle (SEA) to Brisbane (BRI)

Roaming From the Client's Assigned Site's Secondary Site Up the Hierarchy to Another Secondary Site that Doesn't Belong to the Client's Assigned Site

A user whose laptop is assigned to the Sydney site (SYD), but whose IP address falls within the boundaries of the secondary site in Brisbane (BRIS), visits Seattle. The laptop is connected to the network and gets an IP address that falls within one of the boundaries configured for the secondary site in Seattle (SEA) that belongs to the primary site in Houston (HOU).

This scenario is depicted in the following illustration.

Global Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in Seattle, the Configuration Manager client compares its current IP address, IP subnet, and Active Directory site with the list of boundaries defined for each site in Active Directory Domain Services. It finds a match for the Seattle site (SEA), and discovers the proxy management point in the Seattle site (SEA). This then becomes the client's resident management point while roaming and it contacts it only when it needs content, never to download policy or send inventory information and status messages. It continues to communicate with its own default management point in Sydney (SYD) for these operations, and no longer communicates with the proxy management point in Brisbane (BRI).

The resident management point in Seattle (SEA) returns to the roaming client a list of distribution points in the Seattle site (SEA).

If the content doesn't exist in the Seattle site, the client falls back to asking its default management point in Sydney (SYD) for distribution points so that it can download source packages from its assigned site in Sydney (SYD).

Regional Roaming Capability

When the laptop connects to the network in Seattle, the Configuration Manager client contacts its default management point in Sydney (SYD), and no longer communicates with the proxy management point in Brisbane. It asks its default management point for distribution points that are closest to its current IP address (and Active Directory site if it has one) and that host the content it needs.

The default management point in Sydney (SYD) has no knowledge of the distribution points in Seattle (SEA), so downloading content locally is not possible. Instead, the client's default management point provides the client with a list of distribution points from the Sydney site (SYD).

Roaming Behavior Summary

The following table summarizes the client behavior in this scenario.

Roaming Capability	Communication with Management Points	Download Content Locally
Global Roaming	Default Management Point: SYD site Resident Management Point: SEA site	Yes
Regional Roaming	Default Management Point: SYD site	No

Similar Roaming Behavior

The same behavior would be seen in the following roaming scenarios:

• From Brisbane (BRI) to Boston (BOS)

• From Melbourne (MEL) to Seattle (SEA)

• From Melbourne (MEL) to Boston (BOS)

• From Melbourne (MEL) to Manchester (MAN)

See Also

Concepts

About Client Roaming in Configuration Manager
Configuration Manager and Service Location (Site Information and Management Points)
Example Assignment Scenarios for Configuration Manager: Primary Sites
Example Assignment Scenarios for Configuration Manager: Secondary Sites

Other Resources

Technical Reference for Configuration Manager Client Deployment