Determining Requirements for Software Distribution Point Servers

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

The method that works better for deploying and managing software distribution point servers depends on the objectives of your organization. You can use either of the following methods:

  • Set up a universal naming convention (UNC) path to a server share.

  • Use DFS.

Setting up a UNC Path to a Server Share

By using the UNC names, a user or application can specify the physical server and share names to gain access to file information. For example: \\Server\Share\Path\File_name. You can use a UNC path to allow direct access to a shared file by mapping to a network drive, where the drive letter denotes \\Server\Share. You can also perform a deep net use to navigate beyond the redirected drive.

However, as networks grow and as organizations begin using existing storage for new purposes, mapping a single drive letter to individual shares becomes inefficient. Also, despite the fact that users and applications can refer to UNC names directly, the increasing number of places users must go to retrieve data can be overwhelming.

Using DFS to Manage Your Software Distribution Point Servers

DFS provides fault tolerance for your software distribution points by mapping a given logical name to shared folders on multiple file servers. This way, software remains available for installation, regardless of whether one of the physical servers where the software deployment files reside becomes unavailable. DFS also improves storage scalability because you can deploy additional or higher-performance file servers and present the storage on the new computers as new directories in an existing namespace.

When you use DFS in combination with Group Policy–based software deployment, you benefit from its location independence and load-sharing abilities. These features simplify management and optimize the installation for users. Instead of allowing all users to install software from a single server, and taxing the server, you can design a DFS namespace to distribute network traffic across multiple servers.

For more information about DFS, EFS, and creating a replication topology and schedule, see "Designing and Deploying File Servers" in Planning Server Deployments.