Topic Last Updated—August 2008

To use a server as a distribution point for providing packages to distribute packages to your client computers, you must first designate a site system as a distribution point. For more information on adding the distribution point role to an existing site system, see New Site Role Wizard.

You can designate a distribution point either when creating a new site system or by adding the distribution point site role to an existing site system. Although you can also add this site role to an existing server share, this will be rare, as the distribution point role is the only one available for a server share and so this site role will usually be installed already.

Note
To move a distribution point from one drive to another, you must remove all the packages from the distribution point before the drive can be moved.

Server or Server Share

The main reason for you to create a share on a server and defining that share as a distribution point is that this allows you to choose a specific drive where Configuration Manager will create and write the support files for the distribution point role. This is done by creating a server share on the site system and directing it to a specific drive on the computer. You can then designate it as a distribution point. (This is the only site role that can be created on a server share. For more information about creating a server share with the distribution point role, see New Site System Server Share Wizard.

It is important to note, however, that if you use a server share as your distribution point, Configuration Manager will not create a data discovery record (DDR) for that site system. Without a DDR, the Heartbeat Discovery method will not monitor the health of the site system.

Note
If you do need a discovery record for a distribution point that you've placed on a server share, create the site system as both a Server Share and as a Server. Assign the distribution point role to the Server Share site system entry and do not assign any site system roles to the Server site system entry. It is important to note, however, that configuring both as a distribution point is not supported, as it will cause consistency problems between the two distribution points.
Important
Do not create distribution point shares or branch distribution points on Internet-based clients. While Configuration Manager might not prevent you from doing so, creating any type of distribution point on an Internet-based client greatly increases your attack surface and should be avoided. Create distribution points only on site systems that can be managed within the intranet or the perimeter network.

For more information about creating a site system server with the distribution point role, see New Site System Server Wizard.

Note
Do not create a custom share on a distribution point using Configuration Manager's reserved package share naming convention. Doing so will break the distribution point functionality.

In order to designate a distribution point, you must have Modify permissions for the Site class or object type. For more information about security permissions, see Classes and Instances for Object Security in Configuration Manager.

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

To designate a distribution point on a new server or server share

  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 or Server Share, depending on which you want to create.

  3. If you are creating a new server, use the New Site System Server Wizard to create the site system server, and select the Distribution Point check box from the Available Roles on the System Role Selection page to designate this server as a distribution point. For more information on this wizard, see New Site System Server Wizard.

    If you care creating a new server share, use the New Site Server Share Wizard to create the server share, and select the Distribution Point check box from the Available Roles on the System Role Selection page to designate this server share as a distribution point. For more information on this wizard, see New Site System Server Share Wizard.

    For additional information, see How to Configure Site System Roles.

    Note
    When designating a distribution point, the site server or share name is case sensitive. As a result, if you are renaming or recreating a previously existing distribution point, it may not be correctly discovered in some locations (such as the Manage Distribution Points Wizard) if the case does not match the original distribution point entry.

To designate a distribution point on an existing server or share

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

  2. Click Site Systems.

  3. Right-click the specific site system server or server share to which you want to assign the distribution point role to, and then click New Roles.

  4. Use the New Site Role Wizard to select the Distribution Point check box from the Available Site Roles on the System Role Selection to designate this server or share as a distribution point. For more information on this wizard, see New Site Role Wizard.

    For additional information, see How to Configure Site System Roles.

    Note
    When designating a distribution point, the site server or share name is case sensitive. As a result, if you are renaming or recreating a previously existing distribution point, it may not be correctly discovered in some locations (such as the Manage Distribution Points Wizard) if the case does not match the original distribution point entry.

See Also