We are currently using multiple Automation servers with WSUS and it's working great. Can you do this same thing with SCCM 2007? Would there be any benefits for this?
You can certainly utilize automation servers with SCCM 2007. The actual benefits will depend on the architecture of the deployment itself. A couple of questions I typically ask whenever determining a need for additional auto servers:
Some additional information on automation servers from the page 145 of the Patch Manager Administrator Guide
Scenarios that warrant deploying additional Automation role servers are the most common when implementing Patch Manager in large or distributed networks. Patch Manager uses Automation role servers to initiate RPC/WMI connections to remote systems. When you deploy additional Automation role servers, Patch Manager can target more systems simultaneously. Furthermore, when you deploy Automation role servers closer to the remote systems they manage, the RPC/WMI connection has to travel a lesser distance.
Scenarios that warrant deploying additional Automation role servers are the most
common when implementing Patch Manager in large or distributed networks.
Patch Manager uses Automation role servers to initiate RPC/WMI connections to
remote systems. When you deploy additional Automation role servers, Patch
Manager can target more systems simultaneously. Furthermore, when you
deploy Automation role servers closer to the remote systems they manage, the
RPC/WMI connection has to travel a lesser distance.
Thanks David. I was just wondering what specific advantages using automation server for SCCM over WSUS. We don't have a distributed network but we do have other domains that make things interesting. Thanks for the info!
