Internet Information Services (IIS) on the site system servers to run the distribution point

For more information about this requirement, see the Prerequisites for Site System Roles section in the Supported Configurations for Configuration Manager topic.

When you install a distribution point, Configuration Manager can install and configure IIS if it is not installed. If IIS is already installed, Configuration Manager configures it to support required operations. Configuration Manager does not change settings that have been configured as part of an IIS template.

Note
You must manually install IIS on computers that run Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2.

Certificate for client authentication

When you add the distribution point site role to a server, you must specify a certificate that authenticates the distribution point to management points. Computers use the same certificate if they perform a PXE boot from the distribution point. Configuration Manager can create a self-signed certificate, or you can import a PKI certificate file that contains client authentication capability and the private key.

For more information about the PKI certificate requirements for the distribution point, see the PKI Certificates for Servers section in the PKI Certificate Requirements for Configuration Manager topic.

For an example deployment of this certificate, see the Deploying the Client Certificate for Distribution Points section in the Step-by-Step Example Deployment of the PKI Certificates for Configuration Manager: Windows Server 2008 Certification Authority topic.

Distribution points

Before content files can be sent to devices, at least one distribution point must be configured for the Configuration Manager site.

Distribution point groups

Although distribution point groups are not required, they let you manage content files on a logical grouping of distribution points. For example, you can distribute content to a distribution point group, and all distribution points that are members of the distribution point group receive the content.

Package Access Accounts

Package Access Accounts lets you set NTFS file system permissions to specify the users and user groups that can access a package folder on a distribution point to download content files. By default, Configuration Manager grants access only to the generic access accounts Users and Administrators. In most cases, the default settings are sufficient. For more information about configuring the Package Access Account, see the Manage Accounts to Access Package Content section in the Operations and Maintenance for Content Management in Configuration Manager topic.