SCCM BranchCache storage location when configured via Client Settings

Copper Contributor

Two questions:

  1. When you enable the BranchCache feature in SCCM and set it for a percentage of the disk, where does the content for BranchCache get stored? In the windows\softwaredistribution folder or in ccm cache?
  2. If you enable BranchCache for a percentage of the disk, and you also set the size of the CCM cache to a specific number of Gb (as an example), I assume that the total cache space that SCCM might consume is (BranchCache size + CCM cache). Is that assumption correct?

 

Thanks!

3 Replies

Hi @mfreedberg.

 

1. BranchCache is an OS level mechanism independent from WSUS or ConfigMgr. It uses its own local cache location which by default is C:\Windows\ServiceProfiles\NetworkService\AppData\Local\PeerDistRepub.

2. Not exactly. As noted, BranchCache is an independent mechanism that can't be correlated directly to what content ConfigMgr is also caching in ccmcache.

 

@Jason_Sandys let me follow up on #2: I am not too worried about the correlation of content, just the overall simple math of how much space we might allocate as cache if we configure a Client Setting with a BranchCache of 10% of disk and a CCM cache of 15 Gb or max cache size of 20% of disk. Is the end result that 30% of the disk can be consumed as cache (part BranchCache and part CCM cache, operating independently)?

@mfreedberg The simple answer is yes because both are independent.

 

Keep in mind that BranchCache include deduplication at a block level and the cache retention periods for both are different. That doesn't change the simple answer above, just additional info on the caches. Also, remember than neither is reserved space, they are simply a maximum size that each can grow to.