Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP Tool (PrefServ.exe)

Use the Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP tool to specify a preferred distribution point and CAP for a client. The Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP tool places an NAL path in the correct registry location on a client. When a client needs to access a distribution point or CAP, the servers specified by this tool will be tried first.

Important You must run this tool on the client computer.

Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP Runs On

Processors: i386, Alpha
Operating systems: Windows NT 4.0, Windows NT 3.51, Windows 98, Windows 95, Windows for Workgroups 3.11, Windows 3.1.

Files Required for Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP

PrefServ.exe

Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP Syntax

prefserv [/cap sitecode | /dp sitecode] [/add nalpath | /remove nalpath]

/cap sitecode: Indicates that the NAL path specified for the /add or /remove options represents a CAP. Specify the site by typing the unique three-letter SMS site code. When this option is used, the NAL path for the CAP will either be added or removed from the client registry.
/dp sitecode: Indicates that the NAL path specified for the /add or /remove options represents a distribution point. Specify the site by typing the unique three-letter SMS site code. When this option is used, the NAL path for the distribution point will either be added or removed from the client registry.
/add nalpath: The NAL path to add to the client registry for the CAP or distribution point.
/remove nalpath: The NAL path to remove from the client registry for the CAP or distribution point.

Using Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP

When using the Set Preferred Distribution Point and CAP tool, you can only specify a NAL path for either the distribution point or for the CAP. To add or remove a NAL path for both a distribution point and a CAP, you must run the tool twice.

Note Unless the NAL path ends with a file name, the NAL path must end with a backslash.

To specify a NAL path for a Windows NT CAP, use the following syntax:

MSWNET:["SMS_SITE=<sitecode>"]\\<server>\cap_<sitecode>\

To specify a NAL path for a Windows NT distribution point, use the following syntax, where server_share_enumeration is the drive letter that hosts the distribution point share:

MSWNET:["SMS_SITE=<sitecode>"]\\<server>\SMSPKG<server_share_enumeration>$\

To specify a NAL path for a Windows NT distribution point with an administrator-defined share name, use the following syntax:

MSWNET:["SMS_SITE=<sitecode>"]\\<server>\<sharename>\

For more information, the following syntax and parameters indicate the elements that make up a NAL path:

<provider_qualifier_list><provider_name>:<machine_qualifier_list>\\<provider_specific_path>\<directory>\<file>

where

provider_qualifier_list: The list of provider qualifiers, enclosed in brackets. For example, [“Qual1”,“Qual2”,...].
provider_name: One of six possible provider names: generic, abexprt, local, mswnet, nwbind, or nwnds.
machine_qualifier_list: The list of machine qualifiers. For example, an SMS site qualifier (type [SMS_site=sitecode]) or an SMS preferred server qualifier (type [“Preferred”].
provider_specific_path: The path elements. For example, a server and share or volume, or a tree and context.
directory: The directory in the target NOS.
file: The file in the target NOS.

The following is an example of a generic NAL path:

["DISPLAY=\\Server1\Share1\"]MSWNET:["SMS_SITE=NNN","PREFERRED"]\\Server2\\SMS_CAP\