1. Configuration Manager Site Server High Availability
D.C. Tardy
Senior Program Manager
Microsoft Corporation
Kerim Hanif
Senior Program Manager
Microsoft Corporation

2. D.C. Tardy Kerim Hanif @dctardy @kerimhanif 4 kids, 3 adopted
Surviving 2 kids 
30 years industry, MS
20 years industry, 14 years MS
Enjoy travel, skiing, playing cello
Love cooking, travelling, scuba

3. agenda Scenarios Pre Requisites Roadmap Architecture
Demo / Screenshots
Availability to test in SCCM 1705 / 1706 Technical Preview

4. Scenarios
Configuration Manager is a mission critical service and requiring fault tolerance
Microsoft is encouraging customers to have leaner infrastructure with standalone primary sites to simplify their administration and reduce their TCO and failure points
Configuration Manager began with support for SQL Always On in SCCM 1702
SCENARIO: Admin wants to replace aging hardware by creating new site server high availability server on the new hardware and manually failing over to the new server and replacing original server hardware
SCENARIO: Admin wants to ensure hierarchy is always running by creating a geo-redundant high availability server in a remote datacenter

5. Pre-requisites
Initial support only for Standalone Primary site hierarchy
Support for Active-Passive Site Server configuration
Only one Primary Site Server in Passive mode can be added
Limited co-location support for the first release
Recommendation is to have the server in passive mode to only have site server role installed
Highly recommend SQL Server Always On Availability Groups
Manual failover of primary site server
CAS and Secondary sites not be supported

6. Roadmap 18 - Hierarchy support
30 - Co-location of roles supported (e.g., MP / DP)
45 - Automatic failover
50 - Active-Active support
Potential for expanding site server capacity for example:
Active Site Server - inbox processing
Active Site Server – content library processing
??? Pre-staging content library on new HA site server
??? Pre-staging installation CD on new HA site server
No plans to support Secondary Site HA
15 – Scenario to migrate hierarchy into Azure
Considerations:
5 - Throttling support (between active to passive server)
0 - Allowing multiple site server addition – single active and multiple passive
23 - Allowing multiple site server addition – Multiple active and multiple passive
ADR for site servers? – when this ADR rule fires, bring up a new site server in Azure

7. architecture Site code does not change in failover
Provider is on both the active and passive site servers
Content library replication uses the existing content distribution mechanism
Failover only affects the site server role
Caveats in initial Tech Preview
SQL
AOAG
SQL
AOAG
Primary1
Primary2
Passive mode
Site Server
Site Server
Active mode
SQL
AOAG
Passive mode
Site Server
SCP MP
SMP
Content Library
Content Library
Distmgr

8. install passive site server

9. Inbox Processing Remote Roles create temporary backup copies
Inbox file processing state in site DB
Unprocessed files sent to promoted active Site Server after failover

10. Site Server High Availability Demo

11. Ui mockups

12. Experience: ui Before Adding a Site Server in Passive Mode

13. Nodes Tab
Site Active
Promote to active
SCCMDFPSS.Redmond.corp.microso..
SCCMDFPSS.Redmond.corp.microsoft.com
Site Server
Before installation this view will be just like today with addition of the tabs at the bottom of the details pane.

14. Nodes Tab If Nodes tab is clicked on, there will be only one server
Site Active
Promote to active
SCCMDFPSS.Redmond.corp.microsoft.c
SCCMDFPSS.Redmond.corp.microsoft.com
Site Server
Mode
Active OK
If Nodes tab is clicked on, there will be only one server
Promote to active
SCCMDFPSS.Redmond.corp.microso..
Site Active

15. Experience: Adding a Primary Site Server in Passive Mode

17. A primary site server in passive mode adds fault tolerance to your site by creating a copy of your primary site server and keeping it in sync. You can manually promote the primary site server in passive mode to active mode.
Primary site server in passive mode

18. Specify the location of the Configuration Manager installation source files and directory to use
Specify the installation folder on the primary site server in passive mode:
C:\Program Files\Configuration Manager
OPTION 2

19. Installation Monitoring Action
Site Active
Promote to active
SCCMDFPSS.Redmond.corp.microsoft.c
SCCMDFPSS.Redmond.corp.microsoft.com
Site Server
The passive site server’s state will change to “Installing”
Admins can see the status by selecting “Show Status”
Note that the “Promote to active” icon is grayed out here

20. Monitoring
Content Library
Passive
Site Server
Active
SCCM OP Primary Site Code DFD
Clicking “Show Status” will take admins to the Monitoring work space.
In summary they can take a quick glance at the status
Or clicking on Show Status will show detailed status

21. Detailed Monitoring (Future)
Site Server Installation Status
Detailed status of adding a primary site server in passive mode to your site DFD - SCCM OP

22. Nodes Tab OK
Primary site server
SCCMDFPSS.Redmond.corp.microso..
Make active
Site Server
Site Active
Mode
Passive
Active
Promote to active
Once completed, Nodes tab will show the servers that are running this site

23. Promotion

24. Promotion
The passive site server can be promoted to active by selecting “Promote to active” from the ribbon (or right click action)

25. Promotion
Admin needs to confirm this the intend

26. Promotion
Status will change to “Promoting”

27. monitoring
Admins can see the status by selecting “Show Status”

28. monitoring
Clicking on Show Status will show detailed status

29. Detailed monitoring (future)

30. monitoring
Once done the status will change to ‘OK’

31. Site server name changes
Once promoted the old server’s name will change to the new server in this view

32. Day-to-day Monitoring

33. Day to Day Monitoring
Day to day admin can come to this UI and see the status.
If there is a sync issue it can be clearly seen here
Clicking “Show Status” will take them to the “Content Library” tab

34. Day to Day Monitoring
Admins can select the items failed, and try to sync them again
Will have an option to sync all option too

35. Day to Day Monitoring
Admins can check the progress in this view

36. Day to Day Monitoring
Once complete the sync chart reflects the new state

37. What we learned Scenarios Pre Requisites Roadmap Architecture
Demo / Screenshots
Availability to test in SCCM 1705 / 1706 Technical Preview