Microsoft Systems Management Server is a computer management system that enables you to inventory and support computers on an enterprise network level. An enterprise network can be a single local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN) that is composed of multiple LANs connected using WAN links (routers and bridges).
From a Microsoft BackOffice component perspective, Systems Management Server interacts directly with Windows NT Server as a collection of application services and utilizes Microsoft SQL Server as its data store. Furthermore, Systems Management Server instigates substantial network operations via the transfer of data from one LAN to another using a variety of protocols over various network media.
With respect to Microsoft BackOffice performance optimization, Systems Management Server is a very complex system for which there exists no perfect optimal configuration. However, the following information, consisting of optimization guidelines and techniques, can be used to optimally configure a variety of Microsoft BackOffice solutions that include Systems Management Server.
Accordingly, the following information presents a brief description of the Systems Management Server service components and their relationship to performance. Moreover, the interaction between Systems Management Server and Microsoft SQL Server will be discussed. For more information concerning Systems Management Server, please refer to Appendix A.