SMS: How to Specify Senior Site for WinNT Logon Point Management in a Single Domain with Multiple Sites

When multiple Systems Management Server sites using Windows Networking Logon Client Installation and/or Windows Networking Logon Client Discovery share a common domain, the senior site is responsible for updates to user profiles, scripts, and logon point files. By default, senior sites are elected based upon site code and version.

Administrators may need the ability to manually configure which site will serve as senior site; for example, if the default senior site is across a slow link.

Systems Management Server Service Pack 1 (SP1) gives Administrators the ability to specify which site will act as the senior site, without regard to participating sites' version or site code.

To specify which site is to server as senior site, you need to create a Senior.lst file in the smslogon\sitescfg directory on the PDC. The first three characters of the file need to contain the desired site code.

NOTE: The site specified in the senior.LST file MUST participate in Logon Point Management by having Windows Networking Logon Client Installation and/or Windows Networking Logon Client Discovery enabled.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Systems Management Server version 2.0. This problem has been corrected in the latest U.S. service pack for Systems Management Server version 2.0. For information on obtaining the service pack, query on the following word in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (without the spaces):

Administrators can create a Senior.lst file with any text editor; however, for simplicity the example below uses the MS-DOS copy con command.

How to create a Senior.lst File

1. Move to an MS-DOS command prompt.
2. Type copy con Senior.lst and press ENTER.
3. Type the desired three-character site code; for example, XYZ and press ENTER.NOTE: The SMS_NT_LOGON_SERVER_MANAGER service is case sensitive, so the site code must be entered in uppercase text.
   
   
4. Press CTRL+Z.
5. Copy the Senior.lst file to your PDC; for example, \\server\smslogon\sitescfg.

To verify the new site specified is acting as the senior site, you can enable logging for SMS_NT_LOGON_SERVER_MANAGER in Systems Management Server Service Manager, then monitor the Nt_logon.log file. The senior site's Nt_logon log states the following: For participating sites that are not acting as senior sites, the Nt_logon.log file states the following: NOTE: If this file does not exist then the senior site is the one with the highest version of Systems Management Server which has either logon disc or installation enabled. The proposed Senior Site must have either logon discovery or logon installation enabled.