Distribution package cloud storage

Endpoint Manager SU3 adds a new cloud storage feature for distribution packages and additional files. Normally, organizations configure preferred servers to host their distribution files. Storing these files in the cloud instead can reduce the amount of Endpoint Manager infrastructure you have to maintain. Cloud storage supports both Windows and macOS.

The supported cloud storage environments are Amazon S3 buckets and Microsoft Azure blobs. Your organization will need its own Amazon S3 or Microsoft Azure account. The credentials you provide for these accounts are stored in the Endpoint Manager credential manager. You must use the core server's console when adding credentials and creating Azure or Amazon cloud connections.

Once you've entered your cloud credentials in credential manager, you need to set up your cloud source as a software distribution preferred server.

Creating a cloud distribution package

When you create a distribution package, your configured S3 buckets or Azure blobs display in the list of available package file sources. The cloud distribution package format is AZ:<container name>:\ or S3:<container name>:\. To see a list of files, you need to have the correct package type (for example, macOS will show .pkg files but Windows will not).

Both cloud storage providers support the creation of pre-signed URLs that point to individual files. When you select a cloud file for the package, software distribution uses API calls to generate the secure pre-signed URLs and includes them in the package configuration. When these URLs are created, you can specify how long the URLs will be valid for. Once the URL expires, the link and any software distribution packages using it will no longer work.

A cloud distribution package's primary file must be from a cloud source. Additional files can be any mix of cloud or other sources, such as preferred servers.

When distributing a cloud distribution package to endpoints, those endpoints will automatically download cloud package files as necessary. If cloud files are already in the distribution cache on nearby peers, peer download and other configured bandwidth-saving distribution options will work as they normally do.