The SMS 2003 Setup program makes several
modifications to your server upon completion. Unlike SMS 2.0, the SMS
client software isn’t automatically installed on the SMS site server.
However, you can choose to install the client software later.
Additional modifications are made in the following areas:
Program group
Services
Directory
Shared folders
Windows Registry
In this section we’ll look at each of these areas of modification in detail.
Program Group
After
the primary site server installation is complete, the Setup Wizard adds
the Systems Management Server program group to the Start menu. Table 1 describes the program group shortcuts that are created during installation.
Table 1. Systems Management Server program group shortcuts
| Shortcut | Description |
|---|
| SMS Administrator Console | Launches the SMS Administrator Console, which is used to access and administer the SMS database and its site components. |
| SMS Courier Sender | Launches
the SMS Courier Sender Manager, which creates and receives parcels from
packages using the Courier Sender. The Courier Sender can be used to
send packages between sites that have slow or unreliable network links,
although it isn’t meant to be used exclusively in place of other network
connections. |
| SMS Setup | Launches
the SMS 2003 Setup Wizard, through which you can modify and reset site
settings, such as the service account name and password, and remove SMS. |
| SMS Online Library | Launches
the new SMS Online Library utility, from which you can view and read
the Release Notes; the Concepts, Planning, and Installation Guide; the
Operations Guide; the Troubleshooting Guide; and the Administrator Help. |
| SMS Site Repair Wizard | Starts
the new Site Repair Wizard, which helps you recover settings and data
that might have been lost since the last site backup. |
Tip
After
you install your SMS 2003 primary site server, be sure to scan and
possibly print out the Installation and Operation Release Notes. Not
only is it a terrific cure for insomnia, but it’s also an invaluable
source of additional information about, and corrections to, the existing
documentation.
|
Services
During the SMS
installation, SMS services, or processes, are installed and enabled. By
default, the SMS Setup program will load and start three services on a
primary site server—SMS Executive, SMS Site Component Manager, and SMS
SQL Monitor—and load, but not start, SMS Site Backup. If you’re running
SMS in advanced security mode and enable the management point, reporting
point, and server locator point roles, these two additional services
will be loaded and started: SMS Management Point and SMS Reporting
Point.
The
SMS Executive is the primary SMS service—sort of like the CIO for the
SMS site. It accesses and updates the database, and it manages up to 43
different process threads depending on the components installed. These
process threads are listed here:
Client Configuration Manager
Client Install Data Manager
Collection Evaluator
Courier Sender Confirmation
Despooler
Discovery Agents
Active Directory System Discovery
Active Directory System Group Discovery
Active Directory User Discovery
Network Discovery
Windows Server Discovery
Windows User Discovery
Windows User Group Discovery
Discovery Data Manager
Distribution Manager
Hierarchy Manager
Inbox Manager
Inbox Manager Assistant
Inventory Data Loader
Inventory Processor
Installation Managers
Management Point Control Manager
Management Point File Dispatch Manager
Offer Manager
Policy Provider
Replication Manager
Scheduler
Senders
Asynchronous RAS Sender
Courier Sender
ISDN RAS Sender
SNA RAS Sender
LAN Sender
X25 RAS Sender
Site Control Manager
Status Summarizers
Software Inventory Processor
Software Metering Processor
Status Manager
|
The Site
Component Manager carries out most site configuration requests posted in
the database and written to the site’s Site Control file. These
requests would include adding a site server address, enabling a client
agent, or adding a site system.
The SMS SQL Monitor acts
as a wake-up service for the SMS Executive and its process threads.
Based on SQL event triggers and stored procedures, the SMS SQL Monitor
writes a wake-up file to the inbox of the SMS process that needs to
carry out a specific task. As a result, you should think of SMS 2003 as
being event-driven rather than cycle-driven. Think of each of the SMS
components and services involved in carrying out a task on the site
server as a domino. As each domino falls, it hits another domino,
causing it to fall and hit another, and so on until all dominos have
fallen. Similarly, as each component executes, it will write a wake-up
file to an inbox or otherwise trigger the next component to execute
until the task has been completed.
So
when you click OK in a properties dialog box, although the change you
“requested” isn’t immediate, in most cases you won’t be waiting around
for hours for the task to be completed.
|
SMS Directory Structure and Shares
When you run the SMS
Setup program, it creates the registry, shares, and services needed to
make configuration changes. Among the items created are two SMS
directories: \SMS and \CAP_sitecode.
The \SMS directory is the main SMS installation directory. It is
created on the NTFS drive with the most free disk space and contains all
the site component files, inboxes, system files, data files, and so
forth needed to maintain and service the SMS site. It’s shared as SMS_sitecode, where sitecode represents the three-character site code you assigned to the site.
Note
You
can prevent SMS from installing files on a specific drive by creating
an empty file called No_SMS_on_drive.sms, and placing this file in the
root folder of any drive that you want to prevent SMS from installing
files on. SMS does not install files in a drive that contains a file of
this name. |
The \CAP_sitecode
directory is created on every site system configured as a CAP. The site
server becomes a CAP by default. This directory contains all the client
component configuration files, advertisements, site assignment lists,
component inboxes for client data, and any other instruction files the
Standard Client might require. It’s shared as CAP_sitecode.
The \SMS_CCM directory is
created on every site system configured as a management point. Like the
CAP, this directory contains all the client component configuration
files, advertisements, site assignment lists, component inboxes for
client data, and any other instruction files the Advanced Client might
require.
The Inetpub\wwwroot\SMSComponent and Inetpub\wwwroot\SMSReporting_sitecode
folders are created on every site system configured as a reporting
point. Reporting points are used to provide access to SMS web reports.
The Setup program
also shares the \SMS\Inboxes\Despoolr.box\Receive directory as SMS_SITE.
SMS site servers use this share to connect to another site and copy
package information and other data to that site. Suffice it to say that
the setup program creates no superfluous directories. Every SMS
component and thread has its directory or directories, and every
directory has its component or thread.
Windows Registry
The
setup program creates and configures four main areas of the Windows
server registry—specifically in the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hive. Setup adds
the Network Access Layer (NAL) and SMS keys to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
Software\Microsoft in the registry. The NAL key contains information
relating to logical disk and network providers used by SMS, connection
account information, and CAP lists. The SMS key contains all the site
configuration and control information, including components installed,
site parameters, SQL information, and so on. Setup will also add the
appropriate service-related keys to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services. In addition, a
number of Windows Management providers are installed and the WBEM
registry key is updated appropriately.
As always, it’s possible,
and sometimes necessary, for you, the SMS administrator, to modify SMS
site and component settings through the Windows Registry Editor. As
always, please use due caution when making changes. Before browsing the
registry to look up current settings or to determine whether a change
should or could be made, it would be wise to set the Registry Editor to
readonly mode. This precaution will prevent you from accidentally
modifying an existing entry, adding an incorrect entry, or deleting a
significant entry from the registry—the results of which could range
from minor annoyance to critical disaster. This is not a lesson you want
to learn the hard way.
