Hello all, Maybe this is very easy question. I am in position to deploy configuration manager in my environment. I do not have sms 2003 or anything in existing environment. So configuration manager will well suit. however, I guess I will be choosing native mode. Does configuration manager requires Active directory or machine in which configration manager will be installed has to be a member of domain or can be stand alone ? M

HiThe machine on which you install Configuration Manager must be member of a domain. Configuration Manager is able to manage computers that are not members of a domain but the server itself must be a member.Native mode i SCCM requires certificate on the server and on the clients. This makes the communication internally more secure with SSL communication between the server and clients. When you have native mode you are also able to manage computers that are outside of your corporate network. Native mode is a little more complex so i recommend that you start in mixed mode and then at a later time go to native mode when you have all the certificates in place.Regards Ulf Mansson MCT, MCSE www.lumagate.com

I guess I will be choosing native mode. Why? Native mode is non-trivial and adds a large amount of complexity in the form of a PKI. Starting off by implementing Native Mode will cause you a lot of grief and additional implemntation time. I second Ulf's recommendation to start in mixed mode and then if you require the additional security and/or Internet-based clients, make the switch. Setting up a PKI is not a technically overwhelming task but takes a great deal of planning and understanding to do correctly and obviously should not be taken lightly. If you do not already have a PKI in your environment, then you're setting yourself up for major problems by implementing two new technologies at the same time with one depending on the other. Even if you have a PKI in your environemnt, it may not meet all of the recommendations and still cause your ConfigMgr deployment to have issues.Jason | http://myitforum.com/cs2/blogs/jsandys | http://blogs.catapultsystems.com/jsandys/default.aspx | Twitter @JasonSandys