Design Considerations

Information that will help you design and plan the implementation of 1E Content Distribution in your organization.

This page is part of the design phase of implementation.

1E Content Distribution architecture

You should review the architecture for 1E Content Distribution. This describes the customer-facing components and how they connect to provide the functionality in 1E Content Distribution. Refer to Content Distribution architecture.

Infrastructure dependencies

1E Platform

Although not a requirement for generally using 1E Content Distribution, the 1E Platform must be available before you can use certain features.

The following features use 1E Content Distribution and require 1E Platform and platform features of 1E Content Distribution to be enabled:

Content Distribution app provides visibility of content distribution activity.
Single Site Download (SSD).
Single Site Peer Backup Assistant - SSPBA (SSPBA).
Get Migration Settings task sequence action used to manage computer associations.
Nomad Pre-caching
Nomad Download Pause

1E Client integration with 1E Content Distribution

When 1E and Content Distribution clients are both enabled in the 1E Client, then the clients and 1E instructions will - by default - automatically use 1E Content Distribution to download content. 1E Client uses 1E Content Distribution to download content from the 1E Background Channel, or from any website, without any dependency on Configuration Manager.

For more information, from a 1E perspective, refer to Downloading client content and Content Distribution integration.

1E Content Distribution components

To understand what 1E Content Distribution can do for you, refer to 1E Content Distribution features and Content Distribution. Once you have decided what features you will use, then you will need to deploy relevant components to clients and servers.

In addition to the Nomad app and Content Distribution components described above, the following sections provide a brief overview of 1E Content Distribution components.

1E Client

The client is the core component of 1E Content Distribution and can be used on its own without any other components.

Content Distribution client is part of the 1E Client and is only supported on Windows devices. You must deploy the 1E Client (with Content Distribution enabled) to:

In-scope client devices - use 1E Client Deployment Assistant (CDA) to help deploy 1E Client via Configuration Manager.
Configuration Manager Distribution Points - use the installer transform file created by CDA edited as required to suit the type of DP, ensuring LSZ Generation is enabled (enabled by default in SpecialNetShare).

The 1E Client also includes the following clients that must be enabled to support optional Content Distribution features:

1E client: Provides real-time features required by the Nomad Download Pause feature.
Shopping/WSA client: Provides Windows Servicing Assistant (WSA) features.
PXE Everywhere Agent: Allows computers to automatically boot up into Windows PE, which then allows a Windows Operating System to be installed.

Please refer to:

The 1E Toolkit for Configuration Manager Console extensions
Requirements for prerequisites
Deploying the Nomad client using Configuration Manager for detailed steps
Introducing 1E Client for details about 1E Client and other optional client modules (1E, Shopping/WSA, PXE Everywhere, WakeUp)

Configuration Manager Console extensions

The extensions must be installed on all computers where Configuration Manager administrators use their CM Admin Console to :

Edit OSD Task Sequences
Configure Content Distribution content download settings for applications, packages, software updates
Use the Nomad Download Pause feature
Use the Nomad Baseline wizard feature

Configuration Manager OSD Tools

The Configuration Manager OSD Tools (also known a NomadBranch Tools) must be installed on all Site Servers (except Secondary) and all SMS Provider servers. Specifically servers which Configuration Manager Consoles may connect to.

The installer copies the 1E Content Distribution binaries to the ConfigMgr site installation folder .\OSD\bin\<Architecture> on the SMS Provider server. This enables the files to be injected into the OSD boot image allowing 1E Content Distribution to be used during the WinPE deployment phase. The installer will also extend the Configuration Manager Site WMI namespace to include definitions of the1E Content Distribution built-in task sequence steps.

Download Monitor tool

Also known as NomadBranch GUI, the Nomad Download Monitor tool is optionally installed on client devices alongside the 1E Content Distribution client, and is used for troubleshooting and testing only. It should not be installed generally in your network.

Client deployment and common configuration settings

1E Client Deployment Assistant (CDA)

The 1E Client Deployment Assistant (CDA) is the recommended method of deploying 1E Client to Windows computers if you have Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, and also for deploying 1E NightWatchman Agent. Refer to Client Deployment Assistant. 1E Client may be deployed independently using alternative software distribution methods.

The CDA creates Packages, Applications, empty Collections and Deployments with custom Windows Installer transforms to simplify the installation and initial configuration of the 1E Client and its modules. You can then simply add devices into the Collections to upgrade Content Distribution on those devices.

The wizard allows you to configure commonly used settings. The template .mst contains many additional installer properties, but not all of them. You should review your requirements and decide which installer properties to modify or add. The full list is available in Nomad installer properties.

Some less common settings are described in more detail further below.

Connection to a Configuration Manager site is required even if you only want to use the CDA wizard to create the MST transform files. The site must have software distribution features enabled.

CDA helps create everything you need to deploy clients and agents in your Configuration Manager environment. If you prefer, you can use CDA in a lab or other environment to create the Configuration Manager application and/or package content (including MST transform files). Then you can copy the content to your production environment and manually create your deployments.

If you don't want CDA to create objects in Configuration Manager then you can use Microsoft's Orca to edit the base MST transform files supplied with CDA, and manually create your deployments.

Orca is a Microsoft tool for creating and editing Windows Installer packages (MSI) and merging modules (MST transforms). It is available from the Windows Installer Development Tools: Orca.exe.

1E Content Distribution OSD tools and Content Distribution Configuration Manager Console extensions are both available in the NomadBranchTools.msi installer. The installer will automatically choose which components to install based on the server where the installer is running. For Configuration Manager sites and SMS Providers the Content Distribution OSD tools will be installed and if the Configuration Manager Console is present the 1E Content Distribution Configuration Manager Console extensions will be installed.

So, in addition to deploying 1E Client (with 1E Content Distribution client module enabled) on all computers and on Configuration Manager Distribution Points, the following locations require the NomadBranchTools.msi to be run:

Configuration Manager sites and SMS Providers.
Configuration Manager site servers, any other computer that has the Configuration Manager Console installed.

For full documentation on the 1E Client Deployment Assistant, refer to Client Deployment Assistant

1E Content Distribution client settings

1E Content Distribution client installer properties are associated with each area of functionality in Content Distribution, and are mostly configured in the registry, it's only the enabling of Content Distribution and 1E that's completed in the 1E Client configuration file.

They can be specified during installation of the 1E Client as Windows installer properties, and must be specified in upper-case. Settings that exist in the 1E Client configuration file can be mixed-case, and can be reconfigured after installation using 1E Client command-line parameters.

For a full list of the 1E Client installer properties available for the 1E Content Distribution client module refer to Content Distribution client settings.

Common configuration settings

These are settings that most frequently vary between organizations, and are therefore presented as options in CDA.

Nomad client settings in CDA

Content Distribution client settings in 1E Client installer

Each of the following features is optional. Although not a requirement for generally using 1E Content Distribution.

1E Content Distribution feature	Description	Installer properties	Infrastructure requirement
Hidden Nomad Share	The 1E Content Distribution cache is configured as a share that enables peer-to-peer distribution of downloaded content. 1E Content Distribution provides control over the accounts that have access to the share and also provides an advanced Nomad FanOut mechanism that can overcome the connection limit to shares on workstations to ensure that content is distributed efficiently and securely.	MODULE.NOMAD.SPECIALNETSHARE	Content Distribution Administration Tools Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
Single Site Download (SSD)	The Single Site Download (SSD) feature ensures a download across the WAN only happens once per site. It does this by maintaining information about which subnets are neighbors of each other (accessible on LAN rather than WAN), so that when an elected master considers a download from a DP rather than a peer in its subnet, it can discover which other local subnets already has the package. These subnets are typically at a single customer site, specifically a single geographical location. SSD uses Microsoft content distribution. When a 1E Content Distribution client downloads a package, it registers this information with 1E Content Distribution, enabling a profile to be created on which 1E Content Distribution clients hold particular packages. When SSD is enabled in the CDA wizard, then Content registration is also enabled.	MODULE.NOMAD.SSDENABLED MODULE.NOMAD.CONTENTREGISTRATION	1E Platform Content Distribution Administration Tools Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
FanOut	Windows imposes a limit on the number of concurrent connections on the Nomad share. The Nomad FanOut feature compensates for this limitation by enabling any peer that has more content than the requester to respond to the FanOut request. It is not limited to peers that have an active connection to the master.	MODULE.NOMAD.SPECIALNETSHARE	Content Distribution Administration Tools Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
Peer Backup Assistant (PBA)	The Peer Backup Assistant (PBA) feature enables files and settings data to be backed-up to a peer computer so that they can be maintained when the computer is being migrated to a new Operating System. Using PBA, you can avoid the cost of State Migration Point servers to hold the backup data, as peer computers can be used to provide this storage. The risk of losing user data through the migration process is also greatly reduced in the process.	MODULE.NOMAD.SSPBAENABLED	Content Distribution Administration Tools Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
Prevent Failing Over to BITS	If 1E Content Distribution generates a return code that is not in the list, it passes a fail to the CTM component which causes the Configuration Manager client to try downloading the content itself using BITS, or use another Alternate Content Provider (ACP). This process may itself succeed or fail depending on the conditions that resulted in the original Content Distribution return code, and may have an undesirable impact on the network. The special code 0x9999 can be added to the list, or used on its own, to cause 1E Content Distribution to always return a success to CTM. As a consequence this code is also known as "prevent failover to BITS".	MODULE.NOMAD.SUCCESSCODES	Content Distribution Administration Tools Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
Single Site Peer Backup Assistant (SSPBA)	SSPBA can be enabled at install time using the MODULE.NOMAD.SSPBAENABLED installer property. Post-installation SSPBA can be enabled by setting the following registry values: Update the SSPBAEnabled registry value to 1. Update the SSDEnabled registry value to 0x3 to enable Microsoft content distribution integration required for this feature to work. When SSPBA is enabled, PBA will initially attempt to find suitable PBA data stores on the local subnet. If it does not find one, it will send the request to neighboring subnets using the information held in Microsoft content distribution.	MODULE.NOMAD.SSPBAENABLED	1E Platform Content Distribution Administration Tools Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
Use FIPS Encryption	FIPS encrypts the following types of 1E Content Distribution data: Data sent over a network in peer-to-peer communications, including: Election communications Connectionless data transfer FanOut requests Sign-on/sign-off communication SSD Package Status Requests PBA communications	MODULE.NOMAD.USEFIPS	Content Distribution Administration Tools Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager
Delivery Optimization Reporting	Monitor and report on Delivery Optimization (DO) downloads. This feature is only supported in full versions (OS with UI) of Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10 Version 1909 onwards.
P2P Protocol SMB HTTP HTTP(S)	If you are installing 1E Content Distribution for the first time, consider how your peers are going to communicate for content transfer. You will need to make sure your clients are configured to use the same protocol. Depending on whether you use either SMB, HTTP or HTTP/S the configuration steps will be slightly different, for example if you decide to use a PKI certificate for server or client authentication HTTP/S. 1E Content Distribution peer-to-peer content transfer uses SMB by default, which requires File and Print services to be enabled in order for it to share the content. For better security 1E Content Distribution can be configured to use HTTP or HTTPS for peer-to-peer content transfer, removing the requirement for file shares. When 1E Content Distribution is configured to use HTTP/S, if Peer Backup Assistant is enabled it will also use HTTP/S. Refer to Peer copy over HTTP or HTTPS for more information, including: Enabling HTTP/HTTPS Authentication Certificate Selection Firewall exceptions Windows PE support Configuring use of PKI-issued certificates post-installation	MODULE.NOMAD.P2PENABLED	Content Distribution Administration Tools Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager

Other configuration settings

In general, the default values using in the CDA template .mst file will suit most organizations, however you should consider the following to ensure you have the optimum configuration for your organization.

Maximizing download speed for high-bandwidth links using Dynamic Block Sizes

The Dynamic Block Size (DBS) feature increases block size on high-bandwidth links to get maximum efficiency, and reduces it on low-bandwidth links to reduce the impact. Using DBS, 1E Content Distribution is able to automatically decide the appropriate block size for a given link bandwidth and also adjust it as needed during the download if the link conditions change. As a result, 1E Content Distribution is far more efficient and faster on all types of connection bandwidths while retaining its minimal impact on other link traffic.

DBS is enabled or disabled by configuring Bit 25 in the CompatibilityFlags registry. Setting Bit 25 disables DBS and clearing Bit 25 enables DBS. In 1E Content Distribution 7.0 onwards, the DBS feature is turned off by default for new installations, and not changed for upgrades. Prior to v6.3 the default value of BlockSize registry setting was 32KB (0x8000). From v6.3 onwards the default is 128KB (0x20000).

The installer automatically sets this to 128KB for both fresh installs and upgrades from previous versions. The only exceptions to this are:

It will use the specified value if the BLOCKSIZE property is used in the installation command line or in a MST transform, when doing a fresh install or upgrade.
It will retain the previous value of BLOCKSIZE if it was set to anything other than 32KB (the older default), when doing an upgrade.

For more details refer to the BlockSize page.

Managing stable LAN connections

1E Content Distribution provides extra stability by managing a machine's network connections as they move between a wireless and a wired LAN. Depending on the OS version or other factors, once an SMB or HTTP session is running on a wireless connection, it will remain on wireless even when a wired LAN becomes available. 1E Content Distribution uses WLanBlipSecs to temporarily drop a wireless connection when it detects a wired LAN connection, to give time for the OS and 1E Content Distribution to automatically switch to the LAN connection.

For example, if a 1E Content Distribution master was initiated when a machine was on a wireless connection and a wired connection subsequently became available, 1E Content Distribution disables the wireless adapter for a long enough period to enable a switchover to the wired connection. As a result of this, the IP address and the share path will change and peers will log error messages until each peer re-establishes its connection to the master and the new share location.

This feature is turned off by default.

Other applications may be affected when switching from wireless to wired connection.

Irrespective of the WLanBlipSecs setting, you can also control which service set identifier (SSID) 1E Content Distribution connects to by managing a list. To do this, update the NomadBranch WLanProfileList registry value with a comma-delimited list of SSIDs or use the wildcard (*) character for any SSID.

For more information refer to the WLanBlipSecs page.

Setting intra-day work rates

1E Content Distribution allows hourly variable work rates to be set throughout the day enabling organizations to use different maximum percentage of available bandwidth during the working day and in the evenings. Intra-day work rates are set on the client using the MaxWorkRates registry value. If the intra-day work rate is less than that defined on the command-line, it will override the command-line value. If the intra-day work rate is higher than that defined on command-line, the command-line value is used in preference.

For more information refer to MaxWorkRates page.

Work rates only apply to transfers from a DP not to P2P transfers within a LAN.

Inhibiting subnets and sites

You can define subnets and AD sites where machines will download from the DP (these machines will not relay download status messages) and not participate in 1E Content Distribution elections. This feature only supports IPv4 subnets and is useful for sites that have the following:

Local DP.
VPN without isolation. Typically, VPN solutions isolate each client using single-node subnets (i.e. each client is in its own subnet with a 32-bit subnet mask) to prevent broadcast traffic between VPN clients that are typically geographically dispersed and not on the same local network. If the VPN solution is not configured in this manner and clients get an IP address with a subnet mask less than 32 bits, broadcasts can be exchanged between the VPN clients enabling Content Distribution to elect a master that is not on the same local network.

The 1E Content Distribution additional setting ++pr will not override the download priority.

The 1E Content Distribution NomadInhibitedSubnets or NomadInhibitedADSites registry values can be set with a comma separated list of sites or subnets in which 1E Content Distribution functionality should be inhibited. If the client machine exists in either an inhibited subnet or an inhibited site, peer functionality is disabled, the agent will not participate in elections and will download from the DP.

Inhibit files and formats

You can append the inhibited subnet and AD site lists with content from text files to make it easier to manage if there are many sites and subnets to be defined. Inhibited sites or subnets are defined in text files with a .inh extension and must reside in the %INSTALLDIR%\Inhibits directory.

Each file should contain a list of the inhibited subnets in a classless inter-domain routing (CIDR) format, or a list of inhibited AD sites. Each site or subnet must be on a separate line or be separated by commas. For example, the following defines two subnets and one AD site to be inhibited:

192.168.0.0/24, 192.168.1.0/24
ACMEDOM1

When the 1E Content Distribution service starts or is reset, any .inh files in the 1E Content Distribution %INSTALLDIR%\Inhibits directory are read in. Both the registry values and the contents of these files are used together to determine the list of inhibited subnets and sites.

A service reset occurs when the 1E Content Distribution registry is updated or there is a change of subnet. So, if a laptop moves to another subnet half way through a download, the 1E Content Distribution service will reset and check the current subnet against its list of inhibited subnets. If the check determines that the new subnet is an inhibited subnet, 1E Content Distribution’s peer-to-peer functionality is disabled – the service stops downloading from the peer and will instead download from the local DP.

Support for IPv4 and IPv6

1E Content Distribution supports IPv4 by default, and optionally supports IPv6, which is commonly required when clients connect to the corporate network using the DirectAccess. To configure support for IPv4 and/or IPv6, update the 1E Content Distribution SpecialNetShare registry value:

Bit 1 - 0x0002 - Enable IPv6
Bit 2 - 0x0004 - Disable IPv4