Your network contains a System Center 2012 Configuration Manager environment.
The Client Status node in the Configuration Manager console shows a downward trend in
client health. You verify the logs on several clients.
You discover that the clients are healthy and are communicating normally to management
points.
You need to identify the reasons why the Configuration Manager console displays a
downward trend in client health.
Which reasons should you identify? (Choose all that Apply.)
A.
In Client Status Settings Properties, the Heartbeat discovery during the following days
interval is shorter than the Heartbeat Discovery interval.
B.
The age set in the Delete Aged Discovery Data maintenance task is shorter than the
Heartbeat Discovery interval.
C.
The Delete Obsolete Client Discovery Data maintenance task is disabled.
D.
The Active Directory sites that are members of boundary groups are modified.
E.
Microsoft SQL Server replication to the management points stopped.
Explanation:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg712308.aspx#BKMK_HeartbeatDisc
Planning for Discovery in Configuration Manager – About Heartbeat Discovery
Heartbeat Discovery differs from other Configuration Manager discovery methods. It is
enabled by default and runs on each computer client to create a discovery data record
(DDR).
Heartbeat Discovery runs either on a schedule configured for all clients in the hierarchy, or if
manually invoked, on a specific client by running the Discovery Data Collection Cycle on the
Action tab in a client’s Configuration Manager program. When Heartbeat Discovery runs, it
creates a discovery data record (DDR) that contains the client’s current information including
network location, NetBIOS name, and operational status details. It is a small file, about 1KB,
which is copied to a management point, and then processed by a primary site.
The submission of a Heartbeat Discovery DDR can maintain an active client’s record in the
database, and also force discovery of an active client that might have been removed from
the database, or that has been manually installed and not discovered by another discovery
method.
The default schedule for Heartbeat Discovery is set to every 7 days. If you change the
heartbeat discovery interval, ensure that it runs more frequently than the site maintenance
task Delete Aged Discovery Data, which deletes inactive client records from the site
database. You can configure the Delete Aged Discovery Data task only for primary sites.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg712679.aspx
Planning for Boundaries and Boundary Groups in Configuration Manager
In System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, a boundary is a network location on the
intranet that can contain one or more devices that you want to manage. Boundaries can be
an IP subnet, Active Directory site name, IPv6 Prefix, or an IP address range, and the
hierarchy can include any combination of these boundary types. To use a boundary, you
must add the boundary to one or more boundary groups. Boundary groups are collections of
boundaries. By using boundary groups, clients on the intranet can find an assigned site and
locate content when they have to install software, such as applications, software updates,
and operating system images.
When clients are on the Internet, or they are configured as Internet-only clients, they do not
use boundary information. These clients cannot use automatic site assignment and always
download content from any distribution point in their assigned site when the distribution point
is configured to allow client connections from the Internet.
Site Assignment
You can configure each boundary group with an assigned site for clients. Clients join the
assigned site of a boundary group that contains the client’s current network location. When a
boundary is added to multiple boundary groups that have different assigned sites, clients will
non deterministically select one of the sites. System Center 2012 Configuration Manager
does not support this overlapping boundary configuration for site assignment.
If you make a change to the site assignment configuration of a boundary group, only new
site assignment actions are affected. Clients that have previously been assigned to a site, do
not re-evaluate their site assignment based on changes to the configuration of a boundary
group.
Further information:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb632879.aspx
Delete Obsolete Client Discovery Data Task Overview
The Delete Obsolete Client Discovery Data task deletes obsolete client records from the
Configuration Manager 2007 site database. A record that is marked obsolete typically wassuperseded by a newer record for the same client. The newer record becomes the client’s
current record, and the older record becomes obsolete.
When you enable this task, you should configure the schedule to run at an interval greater
than the heartbeat discovery schedule. This allows clients to send Discovery Data Records
(DDRs) so that the obsolete bit is set correctly.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg682132.aspx#BKMK_ClientHealth
Introduction to Client Deployment in Configuration Manager – Monitoring the Status of Client
Computers in Configuration Manager
Use the Client Status node in the Monitoring workspace of the Configuration Manager
console to monitor the health and activity of client computers in your hierarchy.
Configuration Manager uses the following two methods to evaluate the overall status of
client computers.
Client Activity: You can configure thresholds to determine whether a client is active, for
example:
Whether the client requested policy during the last seven days.
Whether Heartbeat Discovery found the client during the last seven days.
Whether the client sent hardware inventory during the last seven days.
When all these thresholds are exceeded, the client is determined to be inactive.
Client Check: A client evaluation engine is installed with the Configuration Manager client,
which periodically evaluates the health of the Configuration Manager client and its
dependencies. This engine can check or remediate some problems with the Configuration
Manager client.
Client status uses the monitoring and reporting capabilities of Configuration Manager to
provide information in the Configuration Manager console about the health and activity of the
client. You can configure alerts to notify you when clients check results or client activity
drops below a specified percentage of clients in a collection or when remediation fails on a
specified percentage of clients.