Farhan Ali

Systems-Focused IT Support Specialist

4 minute read

SCCM (now rebranded as Microsoft Endpoint Configuration Manager - MECM) will still be called SCCM throughout this documentation because… come on Microsoft.

This project walks through the infrastructure setup and installation phase, configured as close to an enterprise build as possible while still scaled down for a lab environment.

I have divided the project into four major steps:

  1. Set Up Active Directory Infrastructure (FA-DC01)
  2. Build SQL + Site Server for SCCM (FA-SCCM)
  3. Prepare FA-SCCM for SCCM Installation
  4. Install System Center Configuration Manager

Post-configuration tasks (boundaries, discovery methods, clients etc.) are documented separately: Access Here

Infrastructure Components:

Virtual Component Description IP Address
Address Space Address space used in this lab 172.16.171.0/24
FA-DC01 Domain Controller 172.16.171.5
FA-SCCM SCCM Site Server + SQL Server 172.16.171.10

Download Resources:

Name Download Link
Windows Server 2022 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-2022
SQL Server 2022 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-sql-server-2022
SQL Reporting Services 2022 https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=104502
SQL Server Management Studio https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/ssms/install/install
Windows ADK and WinPE Add-on https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install
Configuration Manager 2403 (current branch) https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-microsoft-endpoint-configuration-manager

All software listed above is compatible with Configuration Manager version 2403 (verified).


1. Set Up Active Directory Infrastructure (FA-DC01)

Created a virtual machine, installed Windows Server 2022, added the AD DS role, and promoted the server to a domain controller.

Configuration Values:

  • Server Name: FA-DC01
  • Static IP: 172.16.171.5
  • Hostname: FA-DC01
  • Domain Name: farhan-lab.local
  • FQDN: fa-dc01.farhan-lab.local

DNS Configuration

Added Domain Name Services (DNS) role on the server and verified functionality.

  • nslookup farhan-lab.local

  • nslookup FA-DC01.farhan-lab.local

  • nslookup 172.16.171.5

  • Created reverse lookup zone (172.16.171.x)

OU Structure
Created an OU structure suited for my lab. This is optional, but I prefer creating a dedicated root OU so GPO scope is clean.

Service Accounts
Created service accounts to be used by SCCM and permissions for service accounts are tailored for their specific function following the least access model.

Service Account Purpose
SCCM_Admin Used to install SCCM and perform admin-level configuration
SCCM_SQLService Runs SQL services
SCCM_NetworkAccess Used for client communication / network access (not relevant for this project)
SCCM_ClientPush Used for pushing SCCM client agents (not relevant for this project)

System Management Container

  • Created System Management container in ADSIEdit

  • Delegated Full Control to FA-SCCM$ (this step comes after configuring FA-SCCM server)


2. Build SQL + Site Server for SCCM (FA-SCCM)

I am using one server for both SQL and SCCM (collocated). This is fine for labs and small organizations but not recommended for large enterprises due to higher I/O requirements which may limit the high availability options.

Installed Windows Server 2022 on a new virtual machine and joined it to the domain.

Configuration Values:

  • Static IP: 172.16.171.10
  • Preferred DNS Server: 172.16.171.5 (FA-DC01)
  • Hostname: FA-SCCM
  • Join domain: farhan-lab.local

Storage Preparation for SCCM

Disk allocation is critical for SCCM performance. Microsoft recommends dedicated RAID volumes for database files.

I created separate virtual disks for (scaled down the disk space for my lab environment):

Virtual Hard Drive Disk Space Usage
SCCM_INSTALL 50GB Configuration Manager application and log files
SCCM_SQL_MDF 20GB Site database data file (.mdf)
SCCM_SQL_LDF 15GB Site database log file (.ldf)
SQL_TempDB 15GB Temp database files (.mdf and .ldf)
SQL_WSUS_Database (optional) 10GB WSUS database files
SCCM_Application_Sources (optional) 10GB Application source files for software deployments
SCCM_ContentLibrary (optional) 10GB All content files for software deployments

Created a file named no_sms_on_drive.sms and placed it in every drive except SCCM_ContentLibrary to prevent the content library from being installed on any other drive.

Install SQL Server on FA-SCCM

  • Install SQL Server 2022

  • Enable Database Engine Services

  • Verify collation is set to: SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS

  • Configure SQL services to run as SCCM_SQLService (service account)

  • Add SCCM_Admin (service account) as SQL sysadmin

  • Change tempDB location → SQL_TempDB

    • Increase tempDB autogrowth to 256MB (optional: so the file growth is not as often)

Configure Firewall Rules for SQL Server

Allow inbound domain traffic for ports: 1433 and 4022

Additional Software and Updates

  • Install latest SQL Server 2022 Cumulative Update

  • Install SQL Reporting Services 2022

  • Install SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)

SQL Memory Configuration

  • Set SQL Min Memory: 80% of RAM


3. Prepare FA-SCCM for SCCM Installation

Install Windows Roles and Features

Install BITS, RDC, IIS, and other pre-requisites using PowerShell command:

Install-WindowsFeatureWeb-Static-Content,Web-Default-Doc,Web-Dir-Browsing,Web-Http-Errors,Web-Http-Redirect,Web-Net-Ext,Web-ISAPI-Ext,Web-Http-Logging,Web-Log-Libraries,Web-Request-Monitor,Web-Http-Tracing,Web-Windows-Auth,Web-Filtering,Web-Stat-Compression,Web-Mgmt-Tools,Web-Mgmt-Compat,Web-Metabase,Web-WMI,BITS,RDC

WSUS Installation for Software Update Point (SUP) Configuration

  • Add WSUS role

  • Select SQL Connectivity instead of WID

  • WSUS content path → SCCM_ContentLibrary drive

  • Set DB server → FA-SCCM.farhan-lab.local

  • Launch WSUS Post-Install Tasks

Within SQL Server Management Studio:

  • Increase WsusPool Queue Length to 2000

  • Increase Private Memory Limit ×4

Move WSUS Database to Dedicated Disk

  • Stop WSUS service (IIS Manager + Services.msc)

Within SQL Server Management Studio:

  • Copy existing SUSDB.mdf & SUSDB_log.ldf path

  • Detach DB

  • Move SUSDB.mdf & SUSDB_log.ldf files from original location to SQL_WSUS_Database drive

  • Re-attach DB

  • Start WSUS services again (IIS Manager + Services.msc)

ADK + WinPE

  • Install Windows ADK:

    • Deployment Tools

    • USMT

  • Install Windows PE add-on

  • Install Windows ADK latest cumulative update

Extend AD Schema for SCCM

  • Extract Configuration Manager setup files

  • Run extadsch.exe from SMSSETUP\BIN\X64

  • Verify success via:

  • C:\ExtADSch.log


4. Install System Center Configuration Manager

SCCM Installation

Ran Splash.hta, installed a Primary Site.

Configuration Values

  • Site Code: FAL

  • Site Name: Farhan Ali Lab Primary Site

  • Install Path: SCCM_INSTALL drive

  • SQL Server: FA-SCCM.farhan-lab.local

  • Database: SCCM_FAL

  • Change SQL datafile path → SCCM_SQL_MDF drive

  • Change SQL log path → SCCM_SQL_LDF drive

Site System Roles

  • Install:

    • Management Point (MP)

    • Distribution Point (DP)

Post-Install

  • Verify installation completed successfully

  • Set CMTrace.exe as default log viewer and copy it from source file to a different location so CM updates don’t interfere with its functionality.

Helpful logs (Microsoft Configuration Manager\Logs):

  • sitecomp.log (site creation progress)

  • CMUpdate.log

  • hman.log


Related Microsoft Documentation

  1. Site and site system prerequisites for System Center Configuration Manager: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/configmgr/core/plan-design/configs/site-and-site-system-prerequisites
  2. Supported SQL Server versions for System Center Configuration Manager: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/configmgr/core/plan-design/configs/support-for-sql-server-versions
  3. Recommended hardware for System Center Configuration Manager: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/configmgr/core/plan-design/configs/recommended-hardware
  4. Supported Active Directory domains for System Center Configuration Manager: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/configmgr/core/plan-design/configs/support-for-active-directory-domains
  5. Prepare Active Directory for site publishing: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/configmgr/core/plan-design/network/extend-the-active-directory-schema
  6. The content library in System Center Configuration Manager (no_sms_on_drive.sms file): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/intune/configmgr/core/plan-design/hierarchy/the-content-library


Other References

Shout out to my guy Justin Chalfant at Patch My PC, couldn’t have done it without his detailed guide: https://youtu.be/amrg_mlFvuk?si=KSHFS0FwOEqUkIzP

You May Also Enjoy

SCCM Post-Installation Configuration

4 minute read

This document covers post-installation setup and configuration to make SCCM fully functional. It follows my previous project where I performed end-to-end SCC...