Use secondary sites to manage the transfer of deployment content and client data across low-bandwidth networks.
You manage a secondary site from a central administration site or the secondary site's direct parent primary site. Secondary sites are attached to a primary site. You can't move them to a different parent site without uninstalling them and then reinstalling them as a child site below the new primary site.
However, you can route content between two peer secondary sites to help manage the file-based replication of deployment content. To transfer client data to a primary site, the secondary site uses file-based replication. A secondary site also uses database replication to communicate with its parent primary site.
Consider installing a secondary site if any of the following conditions apply :
* You don't require a local point of connectivity for an administrative user.
* You're required to manage the transfer of deployment content to sites lower in the hierarchy.
* You're required to manage client information that's sent to sites higher in the hierarchy.
The following information can help you decide when to install a secondary site :
* If a local instance of SQL Server isn't available, secondary site servers automatically install SQL Server Express during site installation.
* Secondary site installation is initiated from the Configuration Manager console, instead of running setup directly on a computer.
* Secondary sites use a subset of the information in the site database. This behavior reduces the amount of data that SQL Server replicates between the parent primary site and secondary site.
* Secondary sites support the routing of file-based content to other secondary sites that have a common parent primary site.
* Secondary site installations automatically install the management point and distribution point site system roles on the secondary site server.
* Each secondary site has its own SQL database server (SQL Express) that helps establish the connection between clients and primary site servers.
* Secondary site servers
support 5,000 client hierarchies, and they also deploy SCCM clients.
