Management point server role

Management point is the most important server role that needs to be deployed in the ConfigMgr environment as it provides communication between the ConfigMgr server and the clients. If the mentioned role is not functioning correctly, clients will be unable to communicate with the server, which results in an immediate break in managing the environment. It makes communication on both sides impossible and clients won't be able to send any data to the ConfigMgr server.

Clients choose the management point they will connect to, based on the boundary group, which will be described in more detail in Chapter 3, Configure Sites and Boundaries. Incorrectly designed infrastructure, resulting in a badly chosen management point by clients, might cause many unpredictable effects; for instance, clients won't perform installations, won't send data to the ConfigMgr server, or will connect and communicate with the wrong management point.

For better and more efficient usage of the network between the central office and company branches, it is possible to place the primary site server or simply a management point in these branches. In this scenario, all data targeting clients will be sent only once--from the primary site server to the management point from which clients will download the data using the local network.

This happens on the other side as well. When clients are making a hardware inventory, they send all pieces of data to the management point server; it aggregates the data and sends it at once to the ConfigMgr server. In this way, the administrator is able to significantly lower the amount of information sent over the network in the ConfigMgr environment.