How to Set Up System Center Service Manager on Windows Server 2016

How to Set Up Windows Server 2016 Service Manager

System Center Service Manager (SCSM) is the IT Service Management (ITSM) component of Microsoft’s System Center suite. It provides an integrated platform for incident management, problem management, change management, release management, and a self-service portal based on the IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework. Service Manager on Windows Server 2016 can be connected to other System Center components, enabling automatic incident creation from SCOM alerts, automated software deployments through SCCM requests, and asset discovery population from the CMDB. This tutorial covers installing Service Manager 2016, configuring connectors to Active Directory and SCOM, creating incident management workflows, and setting up the Self-Service Portal.

Prerequisites

You need two Windows Server 2016 servers for a standard deployment: one for the Service Manager Management Server and one for the Self-Service Portal. A third dedicated server for the Data Warehouse Management Server is recommended for reporting. SQL Server 2016 is required for the ServiceManager and ServiceManagerDW databases. Service accounts svc-scsm and svc-scsm-dw must be created in Active Directory with local administrator rights on their respective servers. Ensure the servers are fully patched and joined to the domain before installation.

Step 1: Install Required Windows Features

Install the prerequisites on the Service Manager Management Server before running the installer.

Install-WindowsFeature `
    NET-Framework-Features, `
    NET-Framework-45-Features, `
    NET-WCF-Services45, `
    RSAT-AD-Tools `
    -IncludeManagementTools -Restart

Install the Microsoft Report Viewer 2015 Runtime and SQL Server System CLR Types on the console machine.

# Install from downloaded packages
Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList '/i SQLSysClrTypes.msi /qn /norestart' -Wait
Start-Process msiexec.exe -ArgumentList '/i ReportViewer.msi /qn /norestart' -Wait

Step 2: Create the SQL Server Databases

Service Manager requires two databases: the operational database (ServiceManager) and the data warehouse database (ServiceManagerDW). Pre-create them for better control over file placement and initial size.

-- Run in SQL Server Management Studio
CREATE DATABASE [ServiceManager]
ON PRIMARY (NAME = 'ServiceManager', FILENAME = 'E:SQLDataServiceManager.mdf',
    SIZE = 2048MB, FILEGROWTH = 512MB)
LOG ON (NAME = 'ServiceManager_log', FILENAME = 'F:SQLLogsServiceManager_log.ldf',
    SIZE = 512MB, FILEGROWTH = 128MB)

CREATE DATABASE [ServiceManagerDW]
ON PRIMARY (NAME = 'ServiceManagerDW', FILENAME = 'E:SQLDataServiceManagerDW.mdf',
    SIZE = 4096MB, FILEGROWTH = 1024MB)
LOG ON (NAME = 'ServiceManagerDW_log', FILENAME = 'F:SQLLogsServiceManagerDW_log.ldf',
    SIZE = 512MB, FILEGROWTH = 256MB)

Step 3: Install the Service Manager Management Server

Run the Service Manager 2016 setup from the installation media. Select Service Manager Management Server. Enter the management group name, SQL Server instance, and service account credentials. The installation creates the ServiceManager database, registers the management group in Active Directory, and starts the Service Manager services.

# Unattended install example
Setup.exe /Silent:True /Install:Server `
    /ManagementGroupName:CORP-SM `
    /AdminRoleGroup:"CORPSM Admins" `
    /CustomerExperienceImprovementProgram:No `
    /EnableErrorReporting:No `
    /DatabaseServer:SQL01.corp.local `
    /DatabaseName:ServiceManager `
    /SMSvcAccountUsername:CORPsvc-scsm `
    /SMSvcAccountPassword:S3rv!ceP@ss2016 `
    /WorkflowAccountUsername:CORPsvc-scsm `
    /WorkflowAccountPassword:S3rv!ceP@ss2016

Step 4: Install the Data Warehouse Management Server

The Data Warehouse collects data from multiple Service Manager management groups and hosts the SCSM reporting infrastructure built on SQL Server Reporting Services. Install it on the dedicated data warehouse server.

Setup.exe /Silent:True /Install:DataWarehouse `
    /ManagementGroupName:CORP-SM-DW `
    /AdminRoleGroup:"CORPSM Admins" `
    /CustomerExperienceImprovementProgram:No `
    /DatabaseServer:SQL01.corp.local `
    /DatabaseName:ServiceManagerDW `
    /SMSvcAccountUsername:CORPsvc-scsm-dw `
    /SMSvcAccountPassword:S3rv!ceP@ss2016 `
    /ReportingServer:SQL01.corp.local `
    /ReportingWebServiceURL:http://sql01.corp.local/ReportServer

Step 5: Register the Data Warehouse with the Management Server

Connect the Service Manager management group to the Data Warehouse to enable reporting. This step is performed in the Service Manager console under the Administration workspace.

# Verify Service Manager services are running
Get-Service | Where-Object { $_.DisplayName -like '*Service Manager*' } |
    Select-Object DisplayName, Status

# Check the management group registration
Get-SCOMManagementGroup

Step 6: Configure the Active Directory Connector

The Active Directory Connector imports users, computers, groups, and printers from Active Directory into the Service Manager Configuration Management Database (CMDB). This provides the people and asset records that incidents and changes are assigned to.

# Configure AD Connector via PowerShell
Import-Module System.Center.Service.Manager

$adConnector = New-Object Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.ConnectorFramework.ConnectorInfo
$adConnector.Name = 'AD Connector'
$adConnector.Description = 'Active Directory Connector'

# In the Service Manager console:
# Administration > Connectors > Active Directory Connector
# Create connector with:
#   - Domain: corp.local
#   - OU scope: DC=corp,DC=local
#   - Run As Account: CORPsvc-scsm
#   - Schedule: Every 1 hour

Step 7: Configure the SCOM Alert Connector

Connect Service Manager to Operations Manager so that SCOM alerts automatically create incidents in Service Manager. This eliminates manual incident creation for monitored infrastructure alerts.

# In Service Manager console: Administration > Connectors > Operations Manager Alert Connector
# Enter:
#   - Server: scom01.corp.local
#   - Run As Account: CORPsvc-scom
#   - Alert routing rules: map alert severity to incident priority/urgency

Step 8: Create Incident Management Templates

Incident templates pre-populate common incident fields to speed up ticket creation. Create templates for frequent incident types such as server outages, application errors, and user account issues.

# Use the Service Manager console to create templates:
# Library > Templates > Create Template
# Choose Work Item type: Incident
# Set fields:
#   - Classification: Network / Hardware / Application
#   - Impact: High / Medium / Low
#   - Urgency: High / Medium / Low
#   - Support Group: IT Operations

# Alternatively manage via PowerShell using the SMLets module
Install-Module SMLets -Force
Import-Module SMLets

$template = Get-SCSMObjectTemplate -DisplayName 'Server Outage'
New-SCSMIncident -Template $template -Title 'Web Server Down' `
    -Description 'Web server WEB01 is not responding' `
    -AffectedUser (Get-SCSMObject -Class (Get-SCSMClass -Name 'System.Domain.User') `
        | Where-Object { $_.UserName -eq 'john.smith' })

Step 9: Install the Self-Service Portal

The Self-Service Portal allows end users to submit and track service requests and incidents through a web browser. Install it on a separate Windows Server 2016 server with IIS.

Install-WindowsFeature Web-Server, Web-Asp-Net45, Web-Net-Ext45, Web-ISAPI-Ext, `
    Web-ISAPI-Filter, Web-Mgmt-Console -IncludeManagementTools

# Run the Service Manager setup and select the Self-Service Portal role
Setup.exe /Silent:True /Install:Portal `
    /PortalWebSiteName:'SCSM Self-Service Portal' `
    /PortalWebSitePort:443 `
    /ManagementServer:scsm01.corp.local `
    /UseSSL:True

Step 10: Configure Change Management Workflows

Service Manager workflows automate actions in the change management process such as sending approval notifications and updating record status. Configure the Standard Change approval workflow in the Administration workspace under Workflows.

# Query change requests pending approval using SMLets
Import-Module SMLets
Get-SCSMObject -Class (Get-SCSMClass -Name 'System.WorkItem.ChangeRequest') |
    Where-Object { $_.Status -like '*Review*' } |
    Select-Object Title, Priority, Status, CreatedDate | Format-Table -AutoSize

# Approve a change request
$cr = Get-SCSMObject -Class (Get-SCSMClass -Name 'System.WorkItem.ChangeRequest') `
    | Where-Object { $_.Id -eq 'CR1234' }
Set-SCSMObject -SMObject $cr -PropertyHashtable @{ Status = 'Approved' }

System Center Service Manager on Windows Server 2016 transforms IT support operations by providing a structured, ITIL-aligned platform for managing incidents, changes, and service requests. By following this guide you have installed the management server and data warehouse, configured Active Directory and SCOM connectors, created incident templates, deployed the Self-Service Portal, and set up change management workflows. Take time to customize the CMDB classification lists to reflect your organization’s service catalogue, configure SLA calendars and metrics to meet your organizational commitments, and train your service desk staff on the console and the incident resolution workflows. A well-configured Service Manager deployment significantly reduces the mean time to resolution for IT incidents.