Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
for the amount of storage the distribution point uses and the amount of client traffic to the
distribution point.
Cloud-based distribution points include the following distribution point features:
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Support for individual or group-based management
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A possible fallback distribution point
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Support for intranet and Internet-based clients
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Support for BranchCache-configured systems to download content from the cloud-
based distribution point
There are additional features specific to using a cloud-based distribution point in
Microsoft Azure. When content is sent to a Microsoft Azure-based distribution point, the
content is encrypted while traversing the Internet. In addition, you can quickly scale the size
of your distribution points as necessary without investing in additional hardware.
Cloud-based distribution points have the following limitations:
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Cannot host software update packages
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Cannot be configured for PXE or multicast deployments
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Cannot be used with task sequences that use the Download Content Locally When
Needed By Running Task Sequence deployment option
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Do not support packages that run from the distribution point
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Do not support streaming packages
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Cannot be configured for prestaged content
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Cannot be configured as pull-distribution points
Distributing content in a Configuration Manager infrastructure generates network traffic at
various points in the distribution process:
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When content files are copied from the source path to the site server if the source path
is on a different server from the site server. For this scenario, files transfers use the
Server Message Block (SMB) protocol. The effect of this traffic on the network is usually
negligible because it occurs over a high-speed network.
■
When content files are copied from the site server to remote distribution points. In this
situation, file transfers use the SMB protocol, which can have a significant impact on
network usage, especially over low-speed network connections. You can manage this
traffic by using content throttling and distribution scheduling except for distribution
points that are located on site servers.
Consider the following when configuring content throttling and scheduling:
■
Content distribution detects updated files so that only the new or updated files are
distributed when content source files are updated.
