Guidelines for Deploying the Self-Service Portal

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Applies To: System Center Service Manager 2010 SP1

Before you deploy the Service Manager Self-Service Portal, make sure you understand the following guidelines, best practices, and requirements.

System Requirements

Before you deploy the Self-Service Portal, make sure you review the system requirements for the Self-Service Portal in the System Center Service Manager 2010 SP1 Planning Guide (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=207215).

Hardware Considerations

You must deploy the Service Manager management server and Service Manager database before you deploy the Self-Service Portal. As a best practice, do not install the Self-Service Portal on the same computer that hosts the Service Manager management server or the Service Manager database.

The combination of the Self-Service Portal and Service Manager management server on the same computer requires significant hardware resources. In addition, if you install the Self-Service Portal on a computer hosting a Service Manager management server, you cannot uninstall the Self-Service Portal without uninstalling the Service Manager management server.

Note

Do not install the Self-Service Portal on a computer hosting the data warehouse management server. Reports might be deleted if you install the Self-Service Portal on the same computer that hosts the data warehouse management server.

After you have deployed the Self-Service Portal, you will want to develop a communication strategy to notify employees informing them that they can access the Web portal without having to call the help desk.

Security

To provide security, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) must be used with the Self-Service Portal. For more information about setting up SSL on Internet Information Services (IIS) 7.0, see Scott Guthrie’s blog, Enabling SSL on IIS 7.0 Using Self-Signed Certificates (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=163640) or How to Setup SSL on IIS 7.0 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=163641).

Account Considerations

The account you use to setup the Self-Service Portal must meet the following criteria:

  • It is the same account you specified for the Service Manager services account.

  • It is a member of the local administrators group on the computer that hosts the Service Manager database.

  • It is a member of the sysadmin database role on the SQL Server hosting the Service Manager database.

Also, you must enable Windows Authentication in IIS, if it is not already present. Use the procedures in this topic to install the Self-Service Portal.

Disjoint Namespace Considerations

If you are installing a Self-Service Portal in an environment with a disjoint namespace, see the topic Deployment Considerations with a Disjointed Namespace.

Did you find this information helpful? Please send your suggestions and comments about System Center Service Manager documentation to scsmdocs@microsoft.com.