The question arises sometimes about why install a secondary site server. Well here is why you would want to do it. This obviously won’t cover all the possibilities:
1. Slow site across the WAN with say 10 or more computers. By installing a secondary and adding a proxy MP to it you can control the chit chat between the clients and the MP. You will also have 1 package pulled down that will then be pulled by the 10 machines
2. Secondary location where it is not necessary to have a primary site. This group of computers could number in the low thousands. Exact numbers depends on the Hardware specs and hierarchy arrangement.
3. You have a site that you can’t afford to have a Primary site. A primary site would require an additional license, SQL connection / Database
4. Maybe you just have that many subnets and you want to disperse what machines grab from what DP / MP.
Example Assignment Scenarios for Configuration Manager: Secondary Sites
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680569(TechNet.10).aspx
Configuration Manager Site Capacity Planning
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680869(TechNet.10).aspx
Branch DP: If you have a very small number of computers (100 ) you could opt for a branch DP. Note that this is runs on a client machine. The more computers that connect the slower that persons machine will become.
This does cover Branch DP, shared DPs and such. Just the basics of installing a Secondary Site Server. Be aware that you don’t need to install a MP proxy if you just want the client to pull packages from here. The client will then talk directly to the MP.
