Here is what we did;
Installed new SEPM site with two new servers (SEP-App1 and SEP-App2). New site has a new SQL DB (SEP-SQL)
New site replicates to current site with one server (ADMSAV1) and it's DB (ADMSAVSQL).
Old site was 11.07. New site was installed with 11.07 to maintain versions. We are going to get rid of old site in the future (old, unsupported hardware).
Everything worked (all clients are 11.07).
Management list created to tell all the clients to report to Sep-App1 (SEP-App2 is a failover/load balancing server)
Replication was disabled, both sites upgraded to 12.1.2, replication re-enabled and it works (almost all the time).
Upgraded a group of clients to 12.1.2. They initially connect, then no longer show connected on the client end (clients no longer have the green dot). SEPM says they are connected (it has a green dot for associated client).
If I delete the registry key for the hardware ID and the associated XML file on the computer, the client immediately reconnects to the old SEPM. As soon as it gets a policy update, the green dot on the client disappears again. Initiating a policy update on the client side allows the green dot to momentarily show up and the troubleshooting info that can be found under help, shows the correct server for about 2 seconds, then it goes back to offline.
Using the communication package feature in 12.1 (which is new), the clients remain connected. But, we are a school district with 9000 computers, never all on at once (so pushing out the client comm package will be a burden).
Any ideas on how to keep the clients connected? I have already considered the sylinkreplacer, but that does not look to be any easier to use....