How To Install SCCM Distribution Point - ConfigMgr DP

3/22/24, 8:18 PM How to Install SCCM Distribution Point | ConfigMgr DP
How to Install SCCM Distribution Point |

ConfigMgr DP
Posted by Prajwal Desai
Last updated: July 27, 2022
In this article, I will show you how to set up or install SCCM distribution point. We will look at
ConfigMgr DP Installation and Configuration from scratch.
Before installing a new DP role on a server, you must ensure the SCCM distribution point
requirements are met. I have listed all the DP requirements in this guide to make it easier for
deployment.
What is a distribution point in SCCM? Distribution points in Configuration Manager host the
content files that you deploy to devices and users. SCCM Distribution points play a key role
in the delivery of packages, programs, endpoint protection updates, applications, software
updates, and operating system deployments (OSD).
https://www.prajwaldesai.com/install-sccm-distribution-point/ 1/25
When you distribute the content to a ConfigMgr DP, clients connect to DPs for installation
source files. They can be downloaded to the cache and then run, or they can run directly
from the DP. Distribution Points are also known as DPs. Instead of calling it a SCCM
distribution point, we commonly refer to it as SCCM DP.
When you want to install a new SCCM distribution point in your setup, there are many steps
involved. You have to complete these steps for the DP role installation to be successful.
Table of Contents
What is Distribution Point in SCCM?
A SCCM distribution point (DP) is a Configuration Manager server role where packages are
stored for later distribution. SCCM Distribution points play a key role in the delivery of
packages, programs, endpoint protection updates, applications, software updates, and
operating system deployment (OSD).
You can install multiple distribution points in your setup and each of the distribution point
servers can be located in different site location. Remember that each primary and
secondary site supports up to 250 distribution points.
Distribution Point Sizing and Scaling limits

How many distribution point servers can you have per site? The answer lies in the sizing and
scaling limits for DP defined by Microsoft.
Each primary and secondary site supports up to 250 distribution points.
Each primary and secondary site supports up to 2000 additional distribution points that
are configured as pull-distribution points.
A single distribution point supports a combined total of up to 10,000 packages and
applications.
Each distribution point supports connections from up to 4,000 clients.
SCCM Distribution Point Prerequisites

Before we install a new Configuration Manager Distribution Point, the following prerequisites
are required.
Windows Server Roles and Features
Remote Differential Compression
IIS Configuration
Application Development
ISAPI Extensions
Security: Windows Authentication
IIS 6 Management Compatibility: IIS 6 Metabase and IIS 6 WMI Compatibility.
Visual C++ Redistributable
To support PXE or multicast on ConfigMgr DP:
Enable a PXE responder on a distribution point without Windows Deployment Service.
Install and configure the Windows Deployment Services (WDS) Windows Server role.
For a multicast-enabled distribution point, make sure the SQL Server Native Client is
installed and up to date.
You can use a cloud service in Microsoft Azure to host a distribution point.
PowerShell 3.0 must also be installed on Windows Server before the SCCM distribution
point can be set up. Install every component needed for an SCCM distribution point.
SCCM DP Role: Firewall and Port Requirements

The distribution point must have the following inbound rules configured in the Windows
firewall:
Windows Management Instrumentation (DCOM-In)
Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI-In)
Ways to Install Distribution Points in SCCM

There are different methods to install a distribution point in SCCM:
Install a new distribution point by using the installation wizard using SCCM Console.
Install ConfigMgr DP using PowerShell script.
Cloud distribution point in Configuration Manager.
Set up SCCM CMG.
Requirements for the SCCM Distribution Point

OS
When you want to set up a SCCM distribution point, you must know the supported
operating system requirements. The following Windows Server operating systems are listed
as being compatible with the Distribution Point Role:
Windows Server 2022: Standard and Datacenter
Windows Server 2016: Datacenter and Standard
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2: Datacenter and Standard
The list of supported Windows Client operating systems for Distribution Point Role include:
Windows 11: Pro and Enterprise
Windows 10: Professional and Enterprise
Windows 8.1 (x86, x64): Professional and Enterprise
Distribution points can support a variety of configurations, each with their own set of
requirements. In some cases, these configurations permit installation on client operating
systems in addition to servers.
Distribution points on this OS don’t support PXE or multicast with the default Windows
Deployment Services. You can PXE-enable a distribution point on this OS with the option to
Enable a PXE responder without Windows Deployment Service.
You can refer to the following guides to install Distribution Point role on Windows 11 and
Windows 10.
Install SCCM Distribution Point on Windows 10
Install ConfigMgr Distribution Point on Windows 11
Add SCCM Site Server Computer Account for

DP Installation
On the server where you wish to install the ConfigMgr DP role, you must add the SCCM site
server computer account to the Local Administrators group. Before installing SCCM DP role,
this step must be completed; otherwise, DP installation will fail. You must perform this step
for every new SCCM DP installation in your hierarchy.
Let’s see how to add the SCCM site server computer account to local administrators group
on server.
Login to Windows Server.
Go to Local Users and Groups console using lusrmgr.msc shortcut.
Select Groups and right-click Administrators group.
In the Administrators properties, click Add button and add the SCCM Site Server
Computer account.
The site server computer account in the example below is called SCCM, and SCCMDP01 is
my DP server, where the SCCM distribution point role will be set up. You can see that we
have added the SCCM site server computer account to the Local Administrators group on
the SCCMDP01 computer.
Restart the server once you’ve added the site server account to the server local
administrators group.
Add SCCM Site Server Computer Account for DP Installation
Install SCCM Distribution Point Role | Add

ConfigMgr DP
Let us see how to install SCCM distribution point role. To add a new ConfigMgr DP role
using SCCM console:
Launch the SCCM console.
Click Administration > Site Configuration. Right click Servers and Site System Roles.
Select Create Site System Server.
The Creation Site System Server Wizard opens and should help you to install distribution
point role.
Install SCCM Distribution Point Role
In the Create Site System Server Wizard, click Browse. Select the Windows Server name
from Active Directory connected to the primary server.
It’s crucial to note that if there is no trust between the Windows server and the primary site
server, you can simply enter the FQDN of the Windows server where the remote DP role
should be installed.
Click the dropdown for site code and select the SCCM Site Code. Site codes are used to
identify the sites in a Configuration Manager and site code must uniquely identify each
Configuration Manager site in the hierarchy.
Click Next to continue.
On the System Role Selection page, check the box “Distribution Point”. Click Next.
Configure SCCM Distribution Point Settings

While installing distribution point role on a server, you will see several options to configure.
Let us look at each of these options.
The first option that we see is configure SCCM Distribution Point Settings.
Install and configure IIS if required by Configuration Manager: Enable this setting to
install Windows components required for a distribution point automatically. You can
manually install IIS Base Components on SCCM Distribution Point.
Enable and configure BranchCache for this distribution point: Enable this setting to
enable and configure BranchCache.
Adjust the download speed to use the unused network bandwidth (Windows LEDBAT):
Enable distribution points to use network congestion control. Learn how to enable LEDBAT
on SCCM SUP and SCCM DP.
Enable this distribution point for prestaged content: This setting enables you to add
content to the server before you distribute software. Because the content files are already
in the content library, they don’t transfer over the network when you distribute the
software.
Enable this distribution point to be used as Microsoft Connected Cache server: Use this
option to install a Microsoft Connected Cache server on your distribution point. By
caching this content on-premises, your clients can benefit from the Delivery Optimization
feature, but you can help to protect WAN links.
Configure SCCM Distribution Point Settings
Configure Communication Settings for SCCM DP

In this section, you’ll learn how to configure the communications settings for a distribution
point.
Configure how client devices communicate with the distribution point: There are
advantages and disadvantages to using HTTP or HTTPS. For more information, see
Security guidance for content management.
Allow clients to connect anonymously: This setting specifies whether the distribution
point allows anonymous connections from Configuration Manager clients to the content
library.
Create a self-signed certificate or import a PKI client certificate: Specify a certificate
which authenticates the distribution point to a management point before the distribution
point sends status messages.
Refer to the guide on how to deploy PKI certificates for SCCM.
Configure Communication Settings for SCCM DP
Configure Distribution Point Drive Settings

The next setting involves configuring the drive settings for distribution point server.
Specify the drive settings for the distribution point – You can configure up to two disk
drives for the content library and two disk drives for the package share.
Drive space reserve (MB) – This value here determines the amount of free space on a
drive before SCCM chooses a different drive and continues the copy process to that
drive. By default, the Drive space reserve is 50 MB. In this example, I will set it to 1024
MB.
Content Locations – Specify the content locations for the content library and package
share. By default, the content locations are set to Automatic. The primary content
location will be set to the disk drive that has the most disk space at installation and the
secondary location assigned the disk drive that has the second most free disk space.
To prevent Configuration Manager from installing on a specific drive, create an empty file
named NO_SMS_ON_DRIVE.SMS and copy it to the root folder of the drive before you
install the distribution point.
Configure Distribution Point Drive Settings
Configure Pull Distribution Point Settings

A pull-distribution point determines how the computer obtains the content that you
distribute to the distribution point.
You can enable the distribution point to pull content from other distribution points using Pull
DP. Take a look at the following guide on SCCM Pull Distribution Point settings.
We will not be enabling the pull DP settings here, click Next to continue.
Configure Pull Distribution Point Settings
Configure SCCM DP PXE Settings

On the ConfigMgr DP PXE Settings page, you can enable PXE support for clients. When you
enable PXE on the distribution point, you can use PXE to start OS deployments on clients.
When you enable PXE on ConfigMgr DP, Configuration Manager installs Windows
Deployment Services (WDS) on the server, if necessary. WDS is the service that supports
PXE boot to install operating systems.
Let’s look at the PXE settings available for SCCM distribution point.
Allow this distribution point to respond to incoming PXE requests: Enable this option for
WDS to respond to PXE service requests.
Enable unknown computer support: Specify whether to enable support for computers
that Configuration Manager doesn’t manage.
Enable a PXE responder without Windows Deployment Service: This option enables a
PXE responder on the distribution point, which doesn’t require WDS. Learn how to enable
PXE responder without WDS.
Require a password when computers use PXE: You can set a complex password to
secure PXE deployments on client computers.
User device affinity: Specify how you want the distribution point to associate users with
the destination computer for PXE deployments. Choose one of the following options:
Allow user device affinity with auto-approval: Choose this setting to automatically
associate users with the destination computer without waiting for approval.
Allow user device affinity pending administrator approval: Choose this setting to wait
for approval from an administrative user before users are associated with the
destination computer.
Do not allow user device affinity: Choose this setting to specify that users aren’t
associated with the destination computer. This setting is the default.
Network interfaces: Specify that the distribution point responds to PXE requests from all
network interfaces or from specific network interfaces.
Specify the PXE server response delay (seconds): When you use multiple PXE servers,
specify how long this PXE-enabled distribution point should wait before it responds to
computer requests.
Configure SCCM DP PXE Settings
Configure Multicast Options for ConfigMgr DP

Multicast deployments conserve network bandwidth by simultaneously sending data to
multiple Configuration Manager clients.
When you enable a multicast, Configuration Manager installs Windows Deployment Services
(WDS) on the server, if necessary.
To enable Multicast feature on ConfigMgr DP, select the option to Enable multicast to
simultaneously send data to multiple clients, and then configure the following settings:
Multicast Connection Account: Specify the account to use when you configure
Configuration Manager database connections for multicast.
Multicast address settings: Specify the IP addresses for sending data to the destination
computers. By default, it obtains the IP address from a DHCP server that’s enabled to
distribute multicast addresses. Depending on the network environment, you can specify a
range of IP addresses from 239.0.0.0 through 239.255.255.255.
UDP port range for multicast: Specify the range of UDP ports that are used to send data
to the destination computers.
Maximum clients: Specify the maximum number of destination computers that can
download the OS image from this distribution point.
Enable scheduled multicast: Specify how Configuration Manager controls when to start
deploying operating systems to destination computers. Configure the following options:
Session start delay (minutes): Specify the number of minutes that Configuration
Manager waits before it responds to the first deployment request.
Minimum session size (clients): Specify how many requests must be received before
Configuration Manager starts to deploy the operating system.
Configure Multicast Options for ConfigMgr DP
Content Validation
Specify whether to validate the integrity of content files on the distribution point. When you
enable content validation on a schedule, Configuration Manager will verify all the content
on distribution point.
Refer to SCCM content validation guide to understand how to enable content validation on a
distribution point. We will configure the content validation later. Click Next.
Content Validation – Install SCCM Distribution Point Role
Boundary Groups for DP

You can associate a distribution point with a boundary group and configure boundary group
relationships that define when and to which boundary groups a client can fall back to find
content.
To associate the DP with a boundary group, click Add button and select the boundary
group. You can do this after installing the ConfigMgr DP. Click Next to continue.
On the Summary page, review the SCCM DP role settings and click Next. On the
Completion page, click Close. This completes the steps to install SCCM distribution point
role. In the next section, we will find how to monitor the DP installation progress using
different methods.
Monitor SCCM DP Role Installation

When you install SCCM distribution point role, you can monitor the installation status. A DP
role installation could fail due to multiple reasons. For example, error 0x800706BA Failed to
install Distribution Point. There are different ways to confirm if the DP role has been installed
or failed. Let’s look at some of these methods.
Verify DP role Installation from SCCM console
To monitor the SCCM distribution point role installation:
In the ConfigMgr console, go to Monitoring workspace.
Click Distribution Point Configuration Status.

From the list of distribution point servers, select the server with newly installed DP role.
A green circle with tick means the DP role installation is successful whereas a red icon
means the DP role installation failed.
Monitoring SCCM Distribution Point Installation
Verify DP Role Installation using Folders

Another way to verify the successful DP role installation is by checking the folders. Log in to
the distribution point server and check for the following folders:
SCCMContentLib
SMS_DP$
SMSPKGE$
SMSPKGSIG
SMSSIG$
If all the above folders listed above are created on the drive, it means the DP role has been
created successfully.
Monitor SCCM DP Role Installation
ConfigMgr Distribution Point Troubleshooting

Log Files
When you install Configuration Manager, it comes with numerous log files. It is important to
know the location of log files for troubleshooting SCCM issues. All the ConfigMgr log files
are listed in the following guide – SCCM Log Files.
There are two log files that you can use for troubleshooting SCCM DP issues:
Distmgr.log – Records details about the configuration of enabling a distribution point for
Preboot Execution Environment (PXE).
SMSdpmon.log – Records details about the distribution point health monitoring
scheduled task configured on a distribution point.
ConfigMgr Distribution Point Troubleshooting Log Files
SCCM Distribution Point Best Practices

Listed below are some best practices that you can follow while installing a new distribution
point role in Configuration Manager.
Always use a supported Windows Server for installing DP role. Upgrade the DP OS in case
the server OS goes out of support.
The SCCM Distribution Point server should be domain joined. The server should be
updated with the latest patches.
Create an empty file named NO_SMS_ON_DRIVE.SMS and copy it to the root folder of the
drive before you install the distribution point, This will prevent Configuration Manager
from installing on a specific drive.
Open the ports on the firewall required by distribution point server.
What is a Distribution Point in SCCM?

A SCCM distribution point (DP) is a Configuration Manager server role where

packages are stored for later distribution. SCCM Distribution points play a key role in
the delivery of packages, programs, endpoint protection updates, applications,
software updates, and operating system deployment (OSD).
Recommended Reading
After you install a new Configuration Manager distribution point, some of these guides
should help you.
Windows Server Core as SCCM Distribution Point
How to Enable SCCM Distribution Point Maintenance Mode
Remove SCCM Distribution Point Using PowerShell Script
Configure HTTPS Distribution Point as a Source DP for Pull DP
How to Remove Distribution Point In SCCM
SCCM Content Library Cleanup Tool
Move DP Content using Content Library Transfer Tool
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3/22/24, 8:18 PM How to Install SCCM Distribution Point | ConfigMgr DP

How to Install SCCM Distribution Point |

Distribution Point Sizing and Scaling limits

SCCM Distribution Point Prerequisites

SCCM DP Role: Firewall and Port Requirements

Ways to Install Distribution Points in SCCM

Requirements for the SCCM Distribution Point

Add SCCM Site Server Computer Account for

Add SCCM Site Server Computer Account for DP Installation

Install SCCM Distribution Point Role | Add

Install SCCM Distribution Point Role

Install SCCM Distribution Point Role

Install SCCM Distribution Point Role

Configure SCCM Distribution Point Settings

Configure SCCM Distribution Point Settings

Configure Communication Settings for SCCM DP

Configure Communication Settings for SCCM DP

Configure Distribution Point Drive Settings

Configure Distribution Point Drive Settings

Configure Pull Distribution Point Settings

Configure Pull Distribution Point Settings

Configure SCCM DP PXE Settings

Configure SCCM DP PXE Settings

Configure Multicast Options for ConfigMgr DP

Configure Multicast Options for ConfigMgr DP

Content Validation – Install SCCM Distribution Point Role

Boundary Groups for DP

Monitor SCCM DP Role Installation

Click Distribution Point Configuration Status.

Monitoring SCCM Distribution Point Installation

Verify DP Role Installation using Folders

Monitor SCCM DP Role Installation

ConfigMgr Distribution Point Troubleshooting

ConfigMgr Distribution Point Troubleshooting Log Files

SCCM Distribution Point Best Practices

What is a Distribution Point in SCCM?

A SCCM distribution point (DP) is a Configuration Manager server role where

Update Privacy Settings

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