Reporting is an important design factor when you plan to run long time period reports across hundreds of nodes. However, running such a report might be a big overhead for the machine processing the report.
The MS SQL database might be installed on the same server or on a separate machine. The separation of SQL and the ConfigMgr server might significantly improve the efficiency of both systems. It is also possible to move SQL Server Reporting Services to another SQL on a different machine. This might additionally improve the efficiency of the SQL Server and SQL Server Reporting Services.
Additionally, ConfigMgr in version 1706 introduced the possibility of using the Data Warehouse service point, which holds all long-term historical data of ConfigMgr deployment. Data is synchronized with the ConfigMgr site database and can hold up to 2 TB of data.
Note
Data Warehouse can be installed only on the top of the hierarchy, so it can be installed on the central administration or the primary site. Keep in mind that, if you wish to expand the standalone primary site, you need to remove the Data Warehouse service point role from that site. After CA is installed, you can install the role on the newly created top site.