In Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007, branch distribution points provide administrators with the option of placing distribution point functionality within a small or distributed office without having to set up a new primary or secondary Configuration Manager site. Branch distribution points can be installed in primary and secondary sites and can be installed on either a server-class or a workstation-class computer, depending on the requirements of the branch office. For more information, see About Standard and Branch Distribution Points.

If you are not sure whether to create a branch distribution point or a standard distribution point, see Choose Between a Standard and Branch Distribution Point.

Note
Do not create a custom shared folder on a branch distribution point using Configuration Manager's reserved package share naming convention. Doing so will break the branch distribution point functionality. For example, if you specify a drive in the branch distribution point's properties (for example, "D$:") and there is an existing share on the client computer's drive C (for example, SMSPKGD$), when the client gets the branch distribution point policy, it will start the download and provisioning to D:\SMSPKGD$ but will keep the existing share C:\SMSPKGD$. This will prevent other clients from downloading from the branch distribution point.

Before installing a branch distribution point, ensure that the following prerequisites are met:

For more complete information about the prerequisites for branch and standard distribution points, see Prerequisites for Software Distribution.

To ensure that clients download packages from a branch distribution point instead of a standard distribution point, configure the branch distribution point site system with a protected boundary for the clients that will use it. For more information about how boundaries are used with branch distribution points, see About Standard and Branch Distribution Points and About Protected Distribution Points. For procedural information about configuring a protected boundary, see How to Configure a Protected Distribution Point.

To deploy a branch distribution point

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Site Management / <site name> / Site Settings.

  2. Right-click Site Systems, point to New, and then click Server.

  3. Use the New Site System Server Wizard to deploy the branch distribution point on the specific client on which you want to install it.

    • On the System Role Selection page, select the Distribution Point role.

    • On the Distribution Point page, select the Enable as a branch distribution point option. If you want to limit the branch distribution point installation and package files to a specific partition on the client computer or if you want to reserve a specific amount of disk space for the operating system or workstation files, you can set those preferences on this page.

    For more information about configuring the options on this wizard page, see ConfigMgr Distribution Point Properties: General Tab.

See Also