Using Systems Management Server in a Split-Domain Model

Last reviewed: April 22, 1997
Article ID: Q121386

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Systems Management Server versions 1.0 and 1.1

SUMMARY

The use of Systems Management Server in certain domain structures can sometimes lead to confusion about the capabilities and limitations of Systems Management Server version 1.0; specifically, when Systems Management Server is used in a wide area network (WAN) consisting of a single domain separated by routers. In this situation, special consideration must be given to site type and placement and logon script configuration, as well as package distribution technique.

MORE INFORMATION

Example

Consider a common retail company utilizing a primary domain controller (PDC) at the corporate office, and a backup domain controller (BDC) at each outlet (to perform logon validation locally) linked to each other by 19.2- kilobyte (K) routed links.

In this situation, Systems Management Server should be implemented as

follows:

   a. Install a central Systems Management Server site at the corporate
      office.

   b. If the remote offices have a large number of clients, install a
      primary site there; if not, a secondary site should be installed.

   c. Establish the needed parent-child assignments and addresses.

   d. If logon scripts are to be used, ensure replication is set up at the
      PDC and all BDCs.

   e. Ensure that NONE of the Systems Management Server sites in the domain
      selected Automatically Detecting Logon Servers, and that NONE of the
      sites in the domain are using the Automatically Configure Logon
      Script options.

Now, each client at outlet xyz will have a site-domain assignment such as "xyz:corpdom" for example, and clients at the corporate office will have an assignment such as "abc:corpdom" (these assignments will be used again later). Systems Management Server makes the "ownership" distinction based on the combination of the 3-letter site code combined with the domain name.

If logon scripts are going to be used, manually assign a script to each user account (through multi-select in User Manager) and ensure the needed script files are copied into the REPL$\SCRIPTS directory on the export server (usually the PDC). Here is a list of the files needed in REPL$\SCRIPTS directory or wherever you run your logon scripts from:

      CHOICE.COM     : When a slow network connection is detected, choice
                       prompts the user.
      CLRLEVEL.COM   : Needed to reset the DOS errorlevel flags.
      DOSVER.COM     : Temporary only to detect Windows 95 clients.
      NETSPEED.COM   : Used to detect if a slow network link is being used
                       for the logon.
      NETSPEED.DAT   : Companion to NETSPEED.COM.
      SETLS16.EXE    : Finds logon servers and manages client mapping and
                       connections (MS-DOS clients).
      SETLS32A.EXE   : Windows NT Alpha clients.
      SETLS32I.EXE   : Windows NT Intel clients.
      SETLS32M.EXE   : Windows NT MIPS clients.
      SETLSOS2.EXE   : OS/2 clients.
      SMSLS.BAT      : Main SMS script file for Windows NT and MS-DOS.
      SMSLS.CMD      : For OS/2 clients.
      SMSLS.INI      : Mapping file for resource domains (optional).

If a BDC goes down, a client logon request will most likely be serviced by the PDC and the logon script will execute through the 19.2K link. The SMSLS script will detect that this client belongs to site xyz and that the current site is abc. When these site codes differ, the script will gracefully exit two times and on the third time, the client will be MOVED to the abc site. This is not a desirable situation, so it is recommended that you increase the following registry item to a higher number depending on the link speed and BDC availability:

      HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\
           SMS\Components\SMS_Maintenance_Manager

      REG_DWORD: Inventory False Logon Limit (default=3)

      WARNING: Using the Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious,
         system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows NT
         to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems
         resulting from the use of the Registry Editor can be solved. Use
         this tool at your own risk.

The other area to discuss is that when sending packages from the central site to the child sites, each child site must be separately targeted (a different job for each destination site). This is needed so that the client station's PGC and PCM will not see another site's distribution servers in the list of servers hosting the package (this list is generated at job activation time).

Additional query words: sms prodsms
Keywords : kbnetwork ntconfig ntdomain nthowto smsinv smspcm smspgc
Version : 1.0 1.1
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: April 22, 1997
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