Planning for the use of certificates

One of the great things about Configuration Manager is that it actually uses a combination of PKI certificates and self-signed certificates. The documentation advises that you should use certificates as a best practice. This is sound advice and you should follow this where possible; however, I have found that usually people are more than willing to accept what little risk there is of not running with certificates.

Tip

Note that the setup of certificates is outside the scope of Configuration Manager and is not intended to replace a certificates specialist, as for troubleshooting you require deep knowledge of the setup of the certificate authority.

Certificates are required in some scenarios though; if you plan to use any one of the following features, then you are required to use certificates:

• Internet-based client management
• Management of mobile devices
• Management of Apple Mac devices
• Cloud distribution points
• Managing out of band computers with Intel AMT

You...