This problem is probably documented somewhere, I stumbled in to it recently in a production environment and thought i'd write about it!
We have a custom executable that clients run at logon, that pretty much emulates CAPINST.EXE. It determines from the SLP which Site the client should assign too based on it's current IP Subnet, and generates a CCR which it deposits on to the selected Site server. This is great, its what you want, as an AdvCli installation from a Secondary means that the Client does not need to reach out across to a distant subnet to obtain the installation files.
It's an ok tool, however it does not care if the client is Advanced or Legacy and blindly generates CCR's on the SMS Site that manages the Subnet the client is on. No problem I hear you say, well if the Secondary doesn't have IIS and an (P)MP installed then things go a bit pear shaped quickly as shown below:
$$<SMS_CLIENT_CONFIG_MANAGER><Wed Jun 05 11:32:39.635 2007 GMT Daylight Time><thread=1868 (0x74C)>
---> Client type to be installed on Server7: Advanced client $$<SMS_CLIENT_CONFIG_MANAGER><Wed Jun 05 11:32:39.635 2007 GMT Daylight Time><thread=1868 (0x74C)>
---> No MP shares. Will not push the mobile client to Server7 $$<SMS_CLIENT_CONFIG_MANAGER><Wed Jun 05 11:32:39.635 2007 GMT Daylight Time><thread=1868 (0x74C)>
---> Failed to install CCM Client Bootstrap component on client (2)
However there are some things you should consider when installing an AdvCli from a Secondary Site server:
- IIS MUST be installed on to the Secondary Site server
- The Management Point role MUST be assigned to the Secondary Site server
- Without the Management Point role being assigned, the SMSCLIENT share will NOT be created.
If IIS\MP not installed then a CCR will fail before it even touches the target machine with the CCM.LOG reporting "No MP Share.". The CCR will be retried until it is deleted resulting in no installation. Only way to work around this is to move the CCR's to Secondary Site servers Parent Primary site (which really should have IIS and an MP!)
Also you cannot just create the SMSCLIENT share and walk away, as there is a check performed to see if the MP is present.
No IIS\MP on a Secondary results in failure to deploy the AdvCli, but does not impact the installation of the Legacy Client. For AdvCli means that the client will report back to it's Assigned Management Point for EVERY communication it makes, skipping over the Secondary and talking directly to it's Parent. If you don't put IIS\MP on to a Secondary then your clients will communicate with their Assigned MP for everything, effectively making the Secondary a DP only.
So if you design an environment with Secondary Site servers that do not have IIS or an MP think again, and enable these components to benefit from local client installations and take some load off the network using the Proxy Management Point.