Any action that generates network traffic must be carefully considered. Because ePO is used to deploy products, updates, and agents, an ePO administrator's actions could negatively affect the network. The MA installation package is not large, but it can significantly impact a network when sent to thousands of systems simultaneously. Apply careful planning to any deployment effort.

Recommendations for Agent Deployment:

Before checking in the new MA package:

• Disable Global Updating
  If you check in an MA package with Global Updating enabled, the new agent version might be deployed, even if the deployment task is not enabled.
   
• Disable the Agent Deployment task
  If the Agent Deployment task is still enabled from the previous deployment, the new version causes deployments to begin according to the configured schedule.

Deployment considerations:

• Enable the Agent Deployment task below the directory level
  Do not set the Agent Deployment task at the root level. Instead, schedule the deployment task at a Site level or at the group level. This action reduces the number of systems downloading the new agent at the same time.
   
• Randomize deployment tasks
  Do not configure the Agent Deployment task to start at a set time for the entire site. Use the randomization feature in the task, which allows the network traffic to be spread out over a selected period.