Use the Data Access tab in the Configuration Manager 2007 deployment package name Properties dialog box to specify how users can access distribution points to retrieve the files contained in the deployment package. Deployment packages are created by using the Download Updates Wizard or Deploy Software Updates Wizard.

The General tab contains the following elements:

Access distribution folder through common ConfigMgr package share

Specifies that users access the package through the common package shared folder (SMSPKGx$, where x is the drive letter) on distribution points. By default, this option is selected.
Share distribution folder

Specifies that users access the package through a custom package shared folder and path. The folder should be created and shared prior to selecting this option.
  • Share name: Specifies a unique shared folder name and path to be created for the package source files on distribution points. The value can either be a shared folder, which must be unique among all packages, or a shared folder and path, where the path must be unique among all packages. See the following table for examples.

    Important
    Do not specify a folder that is in use by another process. If the folder that you specify contains files, these files might be overwritten.

Shared folder name Resulting path on distribution points

Office

\\DPservername\Office

Packages\OfficeXP

\\DPservername\Packages\OfficeXP

Packages\Spreadsheets\Excel

\\DPservername\Packages\Spreadsheets\Excel
Note
Do not enter a full Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path in Share name, such as \\server\share. Instead, enter the shared folder name as shown in the table above.

If the shared folder name is entered as a shared folder only, as in the first example, all files and subdirectories within that shared folder are deleted and re-created each time the package is updated or refreshed. If the shared folder name is entered as a shared folder name and path, only the bottom path (OfficeXP and Excel in the above examples) is deleted and re-created each time the package is updated or refreshed.

To control which drive either the default or custom package folder is created on, assign the distribution point role to a server shared folder instead of a server computer. For distribution points on server shared folders, if a shared folder name is entered for a package, it is treated as a path beneath the distribution point shared folder (\\MyServer\MyShare):

Package shared folder name Resulting path on distribution points

Office

\\MyServer\MyShare\Office

Packages\OfficeXP

\\MyServer\MyShare\Packages\OfficeXP

Packages\Spreadsheets\Excel

\\MyServer\MyShare\Packages\Spreadsheets\Excel
Disconnect users from distribution points

Specifies whether to notify users and disconnect them from distribution points when ConfigMgr updates package data. By default, this setting is not enabled. When enabled, the following options are available:
  • Number of retries before disconnecting users: Specifies the number of times that ConfigMgr tries to update the package source files before starting to disconnect users from distribution points. The default value is 2 and you can specify 0 to 99, inclusive.

  • User grace period (in minutes): Specifies the number of minutes Configuration Manager should wait after notifying users before disconnecting them from distribution points. The default setting is 5 minutes; you can specify 0 to 59 minutes, inclusive.

OK

Saves the changes and exits the dialog box.
Cancel

Exits the dialog box without saving any changes.
Apply

Saves the changes and remains in the dialog box.
Help

Opens the help topic for this tab of the dialog box.

See Also