When you migrate from Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2012, you probably have content on Configuration Manager 2007 distribution points that both Configuration Manager 2007 clients and Configuration Manager 2012 clients might require.
Although you can create and distribute the same content in the Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy, you can also use the following options to manage this content:
- Use shared distribution points.
- Upgrade some Configuration Manager 2007
distribution points to Configuration Manager 2012
distribution points.
Use the following sections to help you plan for content deployment during migration:
- About
Migrating Content to Configuration Manager 2012
- About Shared Distribution Points
in Configuration Manager 2012 Migration
- Planning
to Upgrade Distribution Points in Configuration Manager 2012
Migration
About Migrating Content to Configuration Manager 2012
When you migrate content for deployments, you must assign the content object to a site. This site then becomes the owner for that content. Although the top-level site of your Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy migrates the metadata for content, it is the assigned site that accesses the original source files for the content across the network.
To minimize the network bandwidth that is used during migration, consider transferring ownership of content to the closest available site. Because information about the content is shared globally in Configuration Manager 2012, it will be available at every site.
Consider relocating the source files in the Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy before you start migration, or relocate them to the central administration site during migration. This action might avoid a Configuration Manager 2012 site accessing the source files across a low bandwidth network connection. Even though information about content is shared to all sites by using database replication, any content, that you assign to a Configuration Manager 2012 primary site and then deploy to distribution points at other primary sites, transfers by using file-based replication. This transfer is routed through the central administration site and then to the additional primary site. By centralizing packages that you plan to distribute to multiple primary sites before or during migration when you assign a site as the content owner, you can reduce data transfers across low bandwidth networks.
About Shared Distribution Points in Configuration Manager 2012 Migration
Shared distribution points are Configuration Manager 2007 standard distribution points or branch distribution points from the active source hierarchy that are shared with the new Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy during the migration period. You can use shared distribution points to make content you have migrated immediately available to your Configuration Manager 2012 clients without having to recreate the content and then distribute it to new distribution points in the Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy. When a Configuration Manager 2012 client requests content, the information about the shared distribution points are given to the clients as a valid content location.
Use the following information to help you plan for shared distribution points:
- The share distribution point action is a
site-wide setting to share all distribution points at a source
site. You cannot select individual distribution points to
share.
- Configuration Manager 2012 clients
receive content location information for packages that are
installed on shared distribution points in the Configuration
Manager 2007 hierarchy.
- When you share a protected distribution
point, Configuration Manager 2012 creates a boundary
group that includes the protected network locations of the
Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point. You cannot modify
this boundary group in Configuration Manager 2012.
However, if you change the protected boundary information of the
Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point, this change is
reflected in Configuration Manager 2012 after the next
data gathering cycle finishes.
- The package version for packages that you
migrate must be the same in the source hierarchy and in
Configuration Manager 2012. If the package version
changes in either hierarchy, Configuration Manager 2012
clients cannot retrieve the content from the shared distribution
point.
- You can view shared Configuration Manager
2007 distribution points and their properties in the Active Source
Hierarchy node of the Administration workspace in the
Configuration Manager 2012 console.
- You cannot use a shared distribution point to
host packages for Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V).
App-V packages must be migrated and converted for
Configuration Manager 2012 clients.
Planning to Upgrade Distribution Points in Configuration Manager 2012 Migration
As part of your migration strategy, you can upgrade a shared distribution point to a Configuration Manager 2012 distribution point. This process removes the distribution point from your Configuration Manager 2007 hierarchy and makes it a site system server in your Configuration Manager 2012 hierarchy. When you upgrade a distribution point, you do not have to redistribute migrated content that was hosted on the Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point.
.gif) Note |
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| Configuration Manager 2012 does not support server shares for site systems but does support the upgrade of a Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point on server shares. When you upgrade a Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point that is on a server share, the distribution point type is automatically converted to a server. |
You can upgrade a shared distribution point from within the Configuration Manager console, or install a Configuration Manager 2012 distribution point to a server that is no longer a Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point or site system server by using the option Enable this distribution point for prestaged content when the new distribution point installs.
Distribution Point Upgrade
You can use the Configuration Manager console to upgrade Configuration Manager 2007 distribution points that you have shared with Configuration Manager 2012. When you upgrade a shared distribution point, the distribution point is uninstalled from the Configuration Manager 2007 site, and then installed as a Configuration Manager 2012 distribution point for a site that you specify during the upgrade. The upgrade process converts the migrated content that is stored on the distribution point to the Configuration Manager 2012 single instance content store. To upgrade the distribution point, Configuration Manager 2012 uses the Source Site Access Account configured to gather data from the SMS Provider of the source site. While this account requires only read permissions for site objects to gather data from the source site, it must also have site delete permissions to successfully remove the distribution point from the Configuration Manager 2007 site during the upgrade. You can only upgrade one distribution point at a time.
Before you upgrade a distribution point, ensure that all content that is hosted on the distribution point is migrated. Content that has not migrated before you upgrade the distribution point is not available after the upgrade. When you upgrade a distribution point for Configuration Manager 2012, the content in the migrated packages are converted into a format that is compatible with the Configuration Manager 2012 single instance store. To upgrade a distribution point from within the Configuration Manager console, the Configuration Manager 2007 site system server must meet both of the following conditions:
- The Configuration Manager 2007 site system
server must have only the distribution point role assigned to it.
You cannot upgrade a Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point
that has any additional site system roles.
- The site system server must have sufficient
disk-space for the content to be converted from the Configuration
Manager 2007 content storage format to the single instance store
format. This requires available free space equal to two times the
existing data on the distribution point.
To upgrade a distribution point, in the Administration workspace, expand the Active Source Hierarchy node under Migration, and then select the source hierarchy that owns the distribution point you want to upgrade. Next, in the details pane, on the Distribution Points tab of the source site, select the distribution point to expose the contextual tab for Distribution Points in the Configuration Manager console ribbon. On the Distribution Points tab, under the Distribution Point group, select Upgrade. This opens a single page wizard that identifies whether the distribution point is eligible for upgrade and that you use to configure the Configuration Manager 2012 site to which the distribution point is assigned.
Distribution Point Upgrade by Using Prestaged Content
If you do decide not to upgrade a shared distribution point, you can still install a Configuration Manager 2012 distribution point on a former Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point to use the content previously deployed to that server. To do so, you can deploy a Configuration Manager 2012 distribution point with the option Enable this distribution point for prestaged content.
Before you install the Configuration Manager 2012 distribution point, you must first uninstall all Configuration Manager 2007 site system roles from the site system server. When you uninstall a Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point, the content stored on the distribution point server is not deleted. Next, in Configuration Manager 2012, you can configure the new distribution point to use the option Enable this distribution point for prestaged content and specify the content that remains after the Configuration Manager 2007 distribution point is uninstalled.
Unlike distribution point upgrades from within the Configuration Manager console, when you upgrade a distribution point and use the option Enable this distribution point for prestaged content, you do not have to migrate the content to Configuration Manager 2012.
For more information about prestaged content, see .