How can I create a Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 secondary site?

A. To create a secondary site--a site that has no local site database server and whose information is stored in its parent site--perform these steps:

1. Ensure that the computer account of the primary SMS server is a member of the local Administrators group of the soon-to-be secondary site server. You can do so via the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) Computer Management snap-in if you're running Windows Server 2003 or from a command line. You can learn more about this process in the FAQ "How can I avoid errors when I create Active Directory (AD) containers on a server that runs Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 in Advanced Security mode?" at http://www.windowsitpro.com/articles/index.cfm?articleid=42543 .
2. Log on to the parent SMS server and start the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) SMS Administrator Console snap-in (Start, Programs, Systems Management Server, SMS Administrator Console).
3. Expand the Site hierarchy, and right-click the parent site of the new secondary site. Select New, Secondary Site from the context menu to open the Create Secondary Site Wizard. Click Next.
4. Enter the three-letter site code of the new site, a name for the new site, and a comment for the site. Click Next.
5. Specify the domain and server that will host the secondary site components, as the figure shows. You can also modify the server's processor type and installation folder, if necessary. Click Next.
6. The wizard can copy the files containing the secondary site components from the parent site to the new secondary site server over the network, or you can select to use a local source (e.g., CD-ROM) to copy the files from. If you have good network connectivity, copying the files over the network is fine. Click Next.
7. Select the security mode for the new site. Assuming that you're running Active Directory (AD) and all SMS servers are in AD, select "Advanced security mode" and click Next.
8. Next, you need to configure the address that will be used to communicate between the parent and secondary sites. No addresses exist at this point, so select "Yes. Create a new address" and click Next.
9. By default, the new address will be a standard sender address, and the destination server will be the new secondary server. You can also specify an account to use to communicate with the secondary site. To do so, click Set, then enter the account name and password. The specified account must have Read, Write, Execute, and Delete permissions on the Sms\Inboxes\Despoolr.box\Receive folder on the destination site server. Click Next. The best practice is to leave the account unset and use the local computer accounts if you're using Advanced SMS Security mode. Doing so saves having to worry about managing the account, resetting passwords, and so forth.
10. Configure the sender address to the primary site--again you can specify an account.
11. At the confirmation screen, click Finish.

SMS now creates the secondary site and installs the server. You'll also notice that two groups on the primary site server have been modified to include the computer account of the new secondary site server--the SMS_SiteSystemToSiteServerConnection group and the SMS_SiteToSiteConnection group. SMS also creates these groups on the secondary site server and populates the SMS_SiteToSiteConnection group with the primary site server's computer account.

You should now see an smssetup.log file at the root of the new secondary server. At the end of the file, you should see these lines:

 Done with service installation
 SMS Setup completed successfully!