SCCM 2012 SQL Design & Planning FAQs

This page contains the various categories for the SCCM 2012 SQL Design & Planning FAQs.

General

• Which versions of SQL Server does ConfigMgr 2012 support?
• Can I use the x86 version of SQL?
• Does ConfigMgr 2012 meet the standards defined in GB18030?
• Can different Sites in my Hierarchy use different SQL Database Collations?
• Which SQL Features do I need to install on a Site Server?
• Do I need to install the “SQL Server replication” feature for ConfigMgr 2012 Database Replication to work?
• Does ConfigMgr require its own dedicated instance of SQL?
• Does ConfigMgr require Windows Authentication?
• Should I configure the “SQL Server” Service to run as a Domain User Account or the Local System Account?
• Can a SQL Server host multiple Site Databases from different Sites?
• Where can I find the Microsoft Support Lifecycle for SQL?

Installation

• Can I install SQL Server on remote Site System for a Secondary Site?

SQL Versions

• Can different Sites in a ConfigMgr Hierarchy be running different versions of SQL Server?
• Do I have to install SQL Server upgrades on ConfigMgr Sites in a Hierarchy in a specific order?
• Does the SQL Edition I install for the Site Database of a Central Administration Site affect the maximum number of Clients that can be supported?
• Does the SQL Edition I install for the Site Database of a Standalone Primary Site affect the maximum number of Clients that can be supported?
• If I upgrade from SQL Standard on my CAS to SQL Enterprise or Datacenter will my Hierarchy then be able to support more than 50,000 Devices in Client Group 1?

SQL Express

• Which version of SQL Express does ConfigMgr Setup install?
• Is my Site Database limited to a certain size if I use SQL Express on a Secondary Site?
• Do I need to configure SQL Server Express for a Secondary Site?

Service Packs

• Can I upgrade the SQL Service Pack on a Site Server?
• Can different Sites in a ConfigMgr Hierarchy each be running a different SQL Service Pack?
• Do I have to install SQL Server Service Pack upgrades on ConfigMgr Sites in a Hierarchy in a specific order?

SQL Configuration

• Collation
  • What SQL Database Collation do I have to use for SCCM 2012?

• Database Files
  • How big will the Temp Database be?
• Memory
  • What is the default setting for “Minimum server memory (in MB)”?
  • What is the default setting for “Maximum server memory (in MB)”?
• Ports
  • What are the default ports used by SQL?
• Service Principal Name
  • What is a SQL SPN?
  • Does ConfigMgr require SQL SPNs?
  • Do I need to manually register the SQL SPN?
• SQL Services
  • Should I run the SQL Server Service using the local system account of the computer running SQL Server?

Reporting Services

• Do I need to install SQL Server Reporting Services?

Upgrades

• Can I perform an “In-place” upgrade from SQL Server 2008 to SQL Server 2008 R2 on a ConfigMgr Server?
• Can I perform an “In-place” upgrade to SQL Server 2012 on a ConfigMgr Server?
• Can I perform an “In-place” upgrade to SQL Server 2014 on a ConfigMgr Server?