Technical Reference for the Prerequisite Checker in Configuration Manager
Updated: May 14, 2015
Applies To: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP2, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager SP1
The Prerequisite Checker (prereqchk.exe) is a standalone application that verifies server readiness for a site server or specific site system roles. Before site installation, Setup runs the Prerequisite Checker. You might choose to manually run the Prerequisite Checker on potential site servers or site systems to verify server readiness. This allows you to remediate any issues that you find before you run Setup. The Prerequisite Checker notifies you of any warnings or errors encountered that would cause Setup to fail. Tests that result in a warning do not prevent you from successfully installing Configuration Manager. However, resolving the condition that generated the warnings now might prevent issues later and helps to ensure optimum site performance. Tests that result in an error prevent you from completing the setup process and you must resolve the condition that generated the error.
Note
The Configuration Manager Setup prerequisite check rules verify that software and settings required for setup are installed. In some cases, the required software itself might require additional software updates not verified by Configuration Manager Setup. Before you start Setup, verify that the operating system running on the computer, and additional installed software that Configuration Manager Setup relies on, have been updated with all relevant software updates.
Tip
When the prerequisite check runs, it logs its results in the ConfigMgrPrereq.log file on the system drive of computer. The log file can contain additional information that does not display in user interface.
The following sections provide technical details about available prerequisite checks.
Prerequisite Checks for Security Rights
Prerequisite Checks for Configuration Manager Dependencies
Prerequisite Checks for System Requirements
Prerequisite Checks for Upgrade
For more information about the Prerequisite Checker, see the Prerequisite Checker section in the Install Sites and Create a Hierarchy for Configuration Manager topic.
Prerequisite Checks for Security Rights
The following table provides a list of the prerequisite checks that Prerequisite Checker performs for security rights.
Prerequisite check name |
Severity |
Version of Configuration Manager |
Applicability |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Administrator rights on central administration site |
Error |
|
|
Verifies the user account that runs Configuration Manager Setup has local Administrator rights on the central administration site computer. |
Administrative rights on expand primary site |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the user running Setup has local Administrator rights on the stand-alone primary site that will be expanded. |
Administrative rights on site system |
Error |
|
|
Verifies the user account that runs Configuration Manager Setup has local Administrator rights on the site server computer. |
CAS Machine administrative rights on expand primary site |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the computer account of the central administration site has local Administrator rights on the stand-alone primary site that will be expanded. |
Connection to SQL Server on central administration site |
Error |
|
|
Verifies the user account that runs Configuration Manager Setup on the primary site to join an existing hierarchy has the sysadmin role on the instance of the SQL Server for the central administration site. |
Site server computer account administrative rights |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the site server computer account has administrative rights on the SQL Server and management point computers. |
Site System to SQL Server Communication |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that a valid Service Principal Name (SPN) is registered in Active Directory Domain Services for the account configured to run the SQL Server service for the SQL Server instance used to host the Configuration Manager site database. A valid SPN must be registered in Active Directory Domain Services to support Kerberos authentication. |
SQL Server security mode |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that SQL Server is configured for Windows authentication security. |
SQL Server sysadmin rights |
Error |
|
|
Verifies the user account that runs Configuration Manager Setup has the sysadmin role on the SQL Server instance selected for site database installation. This check also fails when Setup is unable to access the instance for the SQL Server to verify permissions. |
SQL Server sysadmin rights for reference site |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the user account running Configuration Manager Setup has the sysadmin role on the SQL Server role instance selected as the reference site database. SQL Server sysadmin role permissions are required in order to modify the site database. |
Prerequisite Checks for Configuration Manager Dependencies
The following table provides a list of the prerequisite checks that Prerequisite Checker performs for Configuration Manager dependencies.
Prerequisite check name |
Severity |
Version of Configuration Manager |
Applicability |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Active migration mappings on the target primary site |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that there are no active migration mappings to primary sites. |
Active Replica MP |
Error |
|
Primary site |
Checks for an active management point replica. |
Administrative rights on distribution point |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the user running Setup has local Administrator rights on the distribution point computer. |
Administrative rights on management point |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the computer account of site server has Administrator rights on the management point and distribution point computer. |
Administrative share (Site system) |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the required administrative shares are present on the site system computer. |
Application Compatibility |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that current applications are compliant with the application schema. |
BITS enabled |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is installed on the management point site system computer. When this check fails, BITS is not installed, IIS 6 WMI compatibility component for IIS7 is not installed on the computer or the remote IIS host, or Setup was unable to verify remote IIS settings because IIS common components were not installed on the site server computer. |
BITS installed |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) is installed in Internet Information Services (IIS). |
Case-insensitive collation on SQL Server |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the SQL Server installation uses a case-insensitive collation, such as SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS. |
Check existing stand-alone primary site for version and sitecode |
Error |
|
|
Verify that the primary site you plan to expand is a standalone primary site, and has the same version of Configuration Manager, but a different sitecode than the central administration site to be installed. |
Client version on management point computer |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that you are installing the management point on a computer that does not have a different version of the Configuration Manager client installed. |
Configuration for SQL Server memory usage |
Warning |
|
|
Checks whether SQL Server is configured for unlimited memory usage. You should configure SQL Server memory to have a maximum limit. |
Dedicated SQL Server instance |
Error |
|
|
Checks whether a dedicated instance of the SQL Server is configured to host the Configuration Manager site database. If another site uses the instance, you must select a different instance for the new site to use. Alternatively, you can uninstall the other site or move its database to a different instance for the SQL Server. |
Existing Configuration Manager server components on secondary site server |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that a site server or site system role is not already installed on the computer selected for secondary site installation. |
Existing Configuration Manager server components on server |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that a site server or site system role is not already installed on the computer selected for site installation. |
Firewall exception for SQL Server |
Error |
|
|
Checks whether the Windows Firewall is disabled or if a relevant Windows Firewall exception exists for SQL Server. You must allow sqlservr.exe or the required TCP ports to be accessed remotely. By default, SQL Server listens on TCP port 1433 and the SQL Broker Service uses TCP port 4022. |
Firewall exception for SQL Server (stand-alone primary site) |
Warning |
|
|
Checks whether the Windows Firewall is disabled or if a relevant Windows Firewall exception exists for SQL Server. You must allow sqlservr.exe or the required TCP ports to be accessed remotely. By default, SQL Server listens on TCP port 1433 and the SQL Broker Service uses TCP port 4022. |
Firewall exception for SQL Server for management point |
Warning |
|
|
Checks whether the Windows Firewall is disabled or if a relevant Windows Firewall exception exists for SQL Server. |
IIS HTTPS Configuration |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies Internet Information Services (IIS) website bindings for HTTPS communication protocol. When you select to install site roles that require HTTPS, you must configure IIS site bindings on the specified server with a valid PKI certificate. |
IIS service running |
Error |
|
|
Verifies Internet Information Services (IIS) is installed and running on the computer to install the management point or distribution point. |
Match Collation of expand primary site |
Error |
|
|
Verify that the site database for the stand-alone primary site that you will expand has same collation as the site database at the central administration site. |
Microsoft Remote Differential Compression (RDC) library registered |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the Microsoft Remote Differential Compression (RDC) library is registered on the Configuration Manager site server. |
Microsoft Windows Installer |
Error |
|
|
Verifies the Windows Installer version. When this check fails, Setup was not able to verify the version or the installed version does not meet the minimum requirement of Windows Installer version 4.5. |
Microsoft XML Core Services 6.0 (MSXML60) |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that Microsoft Core XML Services (MSXML) 6.0, or a later version, is installed on the computer. |
Minimum .NET Framework version for Configuration Manager console |
Error |
|
|
Checks whether Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.0 is installed on the Configuration Manager console computer. You can download Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.0 from Microsoft Download Center. |
Minimum .NET Framework version for Configuration Manager site server |
Error |
|
|
Checks whether Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5 is installed on the Configuration Manager site server. For Windows Server 2008, you can download the Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5 from Microsoft Download Center. For Windows Server 2008 R2, you can enable the Microsoft .NET Framework version 3.5 as a feature within Server Manager. |
Minimum .NET Framework version for SQL Server Express edition installation for Configuration Manager secondary site |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.0 is installed on Configuration Manager secondary site computers for installing SQL Server Express edition. |
Parent/child database collation |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the collation of the site database matches the collation of the parent site's database. All sites in a hierarchy must use the same database collation. |
PowerShell 2.0 on site server |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that Windows PowerShell version 2.0 or later is installed on the site server for the Configuration Manager Exchange Connector. For more information about PowerShell 2.0, see Article 968930 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. |
Primary FQDN |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the NetBIOS name of the computer matches the local hostname (first label of the FQDN) of the computer. |
Primary FQDN |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the NetBIOS name of the computer matches the local hostname (first label of the FQDN) of the computer. |
Remote Connection to WMI on Secondary Site |
Warning |
|
|
Checks whether Setup is able to establish a remote connection to WMI on the secondary site server. |
Required SQL Server Collation |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the instance for SQL Server and the Configuration Manager site database, if installed, is configured to use the SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS collation, unless you are using a Chinese operating system and require GB18030 support. For information about changing your SQL Server instance and database collations, see Setting and Changing Collations in the SQL Server 2008 R2 Books Online. For information about enabling GB18030 support, see Technical Reference for International Support in Configuration Manager. |
Setup Source Folder |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the computer account for the secondary site has Read NTFS file system permissions and Read share permissions to the Setup source folder and share. Note The secondary site computer account must be an administrator on the computer if you use administrative shares (for example, C$ and D$). |
Setup Source Version |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the Configuration Manager version in the source folder that you specified for the secondary site installation must match the Configuration Manager version of the primary site. |
Site code in use |
Error |
|
|
Checks that the site code that you specified is not already in use in the Configuration Manager hierarchy. You must specify a unique site code for this site. For more information about site naming, see the Configuration Manager Site Naming section in Install Sites and Create a Hierarchy for Configuration Manager topic. |
SMS Provider machine has same domain as site server |
Error |
|
|
Checks if a computer that runs an instance of the SMS Provider has same domain as the site server. |
SQL Server Edition |
Error |
|
|
Checks that the edition of SQL Server at the site is not SQL Server Express. |
SQL Server Express on Secondary Site |
Error |
|
|
Checks that SQL Server Express can successfully install on the site server computer for a secondary site. |
SQL Server on Secondary Site |
Error |
|
|
Checks that an instance of SQL Server is not already installed on the secondary site server and that it does not use the instance name CONFIGMGRSEC. It also verifies that another instance for SQL Server does not use the specified TCP port. Note This check applies only when you select to have Setup install SQL Server Express. |
SQL Server on the Secondary Site Computer |
Error |
|
|
Checks that SQL Server is installed on the secondary site computer. It is not supported to install SQL Server on remote site system. Warning This check applies only when you select to have Setup use an existing instance of SQL Server. |
SQL Server process memory allocation |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that SQL Server reserves a minimum of 8 GB of memory for the central administration site and primary site, and a minimum of 4 GB of memory for the secondary site. For more information about how to set a fixed amount of memory by using SQL Server Management Studio, see How to: Set a Fixed Amount of Memory (SQL Server Management Studio). Note This check is not applicable to SQL Server Express on a secondary site, which is limited to 1 GB of reserved memory |
SQL Server service running account |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the logon account for the SQL Server service is not a local user account or LOCAL SERVICE. You must configure the SQL Server service to use a valid domain account, NETWORK SERVICE, or LOCAL SYSTEM. |
SQL Server TCP Port |
Error |
|
|
Checks that TCP is enabled for the SQL Server and is set to use a static port. |
SQL Server version |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that a supported version of SQL Server is installed on the specified site database server. For more information, see SQL Server Requirements section in the Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager topic. |
Unsupported site system role 'Asset Intelligence synchronization point' on the expanded primary site |
Error |
|
|
Checks that the Asset Intelligence synchronization point site system role is not on installed on the stand-alone primary site that you are expanding. |
Unsupported site system role 'Endpoint Protection point' on the expanded primary site |
Error |
|
|
Checks that the Endpoint Protection point site system role is not installed on the stand-alone primary site that you are expanding. |
Unsupported site system role Microsoft Intune Connector' on the expanded primary site |
Error |
|
Central administration site |
Checks that the ‘Microsoft Intune Connector' site system role is not installed on the stand-alone primary site that you are expanding. |
User State Migration Tool (USMT) installed |
Error |
|
|
Beginning with System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, this checks whether the User State Migration Tool (USMT) component of the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) is installed. With System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, this checks whether the User State Migration Tool (USMT) component of Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 8.1 is installed. |
Validate FQDN of SQL Server Computer |
Error |
|
|
Checks that the FQDN that you specified for the SQL Server computer is valid. |
Verify Central Administration Site Version |
Error |
|
|
Checks that the central administration site has the same version of Configuration Manager. |
Verify site server permissions to publish to Active Directory. |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the computer account for the site server has Full Control permissions to the System Management container in the Active Directory domain. For more information about your options to configure required permissions, see Prepare the Windows Environment for Configuration Manager. Note You can ignore this warning if you have manually verified the permissions. |
Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) language |
Warning |
|
|
Checks that the language version for Windows AIK is the same as the operating system language of the Configuration Manager site server. For more information about Windows AIK installation, see Windows Automated Installation Kit for Windows 7. |
Windows Deployment Tools installed |
Error |
|
|
With System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, this checks whether the Windows Deployment Tools component of the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) is installed. Beginning with System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, this checks whether the Windows Deployment Tools component of Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 8.1 is installed. |
Windows Failover Cluster |
Error |
|
|
Checks that computers that run an instance of the SMS Provider are not part of a Windows Cluster. |
Windows Failover Cluster |
Error |
|
|
Checks that computers that have a management point or distribution point are not part of a Windows Cluster. |
Windows Preinstallation Environment installed |
Error |
|
|
With System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1, this checks whether the Windows Preinstallation Environment component of the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) is installed. Beginning with System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, this checks whether the Windows Preinstallation Environment component of the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) for Windows 8.1 is installed. |
Windows Remote Management (WinRM) v1.1 |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that WinRM v1.1 is installed on the primary site server or Configuration Manager console computer to run the out of band management console. For more information about how to download WinRM 1.1, see Article 936059 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. |
Windows Server 2003-based Schannel hotfix |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that a specific Schannel hotfix for Windows Server 2003 is installed on the site server for the out of band service point. For more information about the hotfix, see Article 942841 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. |
WSUS on site server |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) version 3.0 Service Pack 2 is installed on the site server. When you use a software update point on a different computer than the site server, you must install the WSUS Administration Console on the site server. For more information about WSUS, see Windows Server Update Services web page. For information about how to configure WSUS for use with a software update point on a computer that runs Windows Server 2012, see the Step 2: Install the WSUS Server Role from the Windows Server Update Services web page. |
Prerequisite Checks for System Requirements
The following table lists the prerequisite checks that Prerequisite Checker performs for system requirements.
Prerequisite check name |
Severity |
Version of Configuration Manager |
Applicability |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Active Directory Domain Functional Level Check |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the Active Directory domain functional level is a minimum of Windows Server 2003. The domain functional level must be a minimum of Windows Server 2003 if you configure discovery to filter and remove stale computer records. For more information about Active Directory domain functional levels, see What are Active Directory Functional Levels. |
Check Server Service is running |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the Server Service is started. |
Check Server Service is running |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the Server Service is started. |
Check Server Service is running |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the Server Service is started. |
Domain membership |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that Configuration Manager the computer is a member of a Windows domain. |
Domain membership |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that Configuration Manager the computer is a member of a Windows domain. |
Domain membership |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that Configuration Manager the computer is a member of a Windows domain. |
FAT Drive on Site Server |
Warning |
|
|
Checks whether the disk drive is formatted with the FAT file system. Install site server components on disk drives formatted with the NTFS file system for better security. |
Free disk space for Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) |
Error |
|
|
Checks that the SMS Provider site system computer has at least 1 GB of free disk space to install the Windows Automated Installation Kit. |
Free disk space on site server |
Error |
|
|
The site server computer must have at least 5 GB of free disk space to install the site server. You must have an additional 1 GB of free space if you install the SMS Provider site system role on the same computer. |
Pending system restart |
Error |
|
|
Checks whether another program requires the server to be restarted before you run Setup. |
Read-Only Domain Controller |
Error |
|
|
Site database servers and secondary site servers are not supported on a read-only domain controller (RODC). For more information, see You may encounter problems when installing SQL Server on a domain controller in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. |
Schema extensions |
Warning |
|
|
Determines whether the Active Directory Domain Services schema has been extended, and if so, the version of the schema extensions that were used. Configuration Manager Active Directory schema extensions are not required for site server installation, but are recommended to fully support the use of all Configuration Manager features. For more information about the advantages of extending the schema, see Determine Whether to Extend the Active Directory Schema for Configuration Manager. |
Site Server FQDN Length |
Error |
|
|
Checks the length of the FQDN of the site server computer. |
Unsupported Configuration Manager console operating system |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the Configuration Manager consoles can be installed on computers that run a supported operating system version. For more information, see the Configuration Manager Console Requirements section in the Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager topic. |
Unsupported site server operating system version for Setup |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that a supported operating system is running on the server. For more information, see the Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager topic. |
WIM filter driver |
Error |
|
|
Checks whether the WIM filter driver is currently running on the SMS Provider computer, which prevents Setup from installing the Windows Automated Installation Kit. |
Prerequisite Checks for Upgrade
The following table lists the prerequisite checks that Prerequisite Checker performs when you upgrade Configuration Manager to a new service pack version.
Prerequisite check name |
Severity |
Versions of Configuration Manager |
Applicability |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Backlogged inboxes |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the site server is processing messages in critical inboxes in a timely fashion, and that inboxes do not contain files older than one day. |
Distribution point package version |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that all distribution points in the site have the latest version of software distribution packages. |
Migration active source hierarchy |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that no active source hierarchy is currently configured for migration. |
Parent site replication status |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the replication status of the parent site is Replication Active (corresponds to status=125). |
Share Name in Package |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the Share Name in Package does not have the unsupported character: #. |
Software update points in NLB Configuration |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that software updates management does not use any virtual locations for active software update points. |
SQL instance hosting an active site Database |
Error |
|
|
Checks that the site database being tested for database upgrade is not an active site database. |
SQL Server database collation |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the SQL Server database collation settings are the same for the tempdb database and the site database. |
SQL Server Express version on secondary site |
Warning |
|
|
Checks if the version of SQL Server Express on the secondary site is at least SQL Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (version 10.51.2500.0). If Configuration Manager did not install SQL Server Express when the secondary site installed, then Setup skips this check. Beginning with System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, this checks if the version of SQL Server is at least SQL Server 2012 Express with no service pack and cumulative update 2. |
SQL Server Native Client |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the SQL Server Native Client 2012 is installed. |
Unsupported ConfigMgr database version |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that the site database version to be upgraded is at least System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 RC1. |
Unsupported upgrade path |
Error |
|
|
Verifies that all site servers in the hierarchy meet the Configuration Manager minimum version that is required for upgrade. |
Verify that the built-in collections have not been modified |
Warning |
|
|
Verifies that the built-in collections have not been modified. |