Systems Management Server Hierarchy Manager

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Multiple site hierarchies are constructed in two ways; by connecting Primary Sites together, and by creating Secondary Sites immediately beneath Primary Sites.

All Primary sites are created by running Systems Management Server Setup. Secondary Sites are created using the SMS Administrator. Primary Sites have a Systems Management Server Administrator and a SQL database. Secondary sites have no Systems Management Server Administrator or SQL database.

The terms parent and child, when applied to SMS sites, have their standard meanings used in any tree-based data structure. The site hierarchy tree formed can be any arbitrary multi-way tree, subject to the following rules:

1. A site can only have one parent. A strict multi-way tree structure is observed, where each node can only have one parent and an arbitrary number of children. A directed cyclic graph is not possible, nor are kind of cycles possible. In other words, the site tree cannot contain any kind of circular references and sites cannot have more than one parent.
2. Secondary sites cannot report to each other in a parent-child relationship. Each secondary site must report to a primary site as its immediate parent. There is no mechanism at secondary sites to forward information to another site in this way.
3. Primary sites are added to the tree from the bottom up. A parent site does not acquire a primary child site. A primary child site must decide to report to a parent and attach to the parent site after creating an address to that site.
4. Primary sites can decide to detach themselves from their parent site and become a top-level site with no parent. When they do this, the parent receives instructions to eliminate that site and all its children from its hierarchy tree. The primary site can then reattach to a different parent, if needed. The primary Site can also simply switch to a new parent site in one operation.
5. Secondary sites are deleted through their parent site. The site is physically deinstalled when this happens.
6. The structure of the site tree can be altered by changing parent site codes for the various sites. A primary site can detach from its current parent and attach to a new one or become independent, as stated in rule number four above. Secondary sites can also have their parent code altered to another site. While this is technically possible, this usage is not officially supported in Systems Management Server 1.0.