Bandwidth Issues - dds.autodesk.com

[ictsupportVG2UN]

Hi,

We are currently deploying AutoDesk Inventor 2024 via our chosen deployment method, SCCM. Whilst we have the package successfully configured on our network and we deploy to our endpoints without any issues, we seem to have run into an issue with bandwidth surrounding software updates post-deployment.

Upon investigation, it appears that every endpoint is downloading some form of update for Inventor (which is typically around 1-3GB in size) and this is having a huge strain on our broadband (we have over 400 endpoints with the software installed) and the rest of our environment.

As a temporary measure, we have blocked updates at the firewall level by blocking the FQDN, dds.autodesk.com. This isn't and shouldn't be seen as a permanent solution as we have a centrally managed firewall and filtering system so this block is only valid until an update is pushed out from head office. 

My question is, is there a way that updates can be suppressed from the package creator, we don't want (or need) AutoDesk Inventor 2024 to automatically update, our preferred method for software updating is manual so we can keep track of versions and deployment schedules.

As you can see from the below screenshots, the traffic is coming from autodesk.com but when doing a deeper dive into the traffic report, we have noticed that the updates are coming from dds.autodesk.com so we have had to put a temporary block for this FQDN.

 

 

[TravisNave]

Have you tried uninstalling or disabling Autodesk Access?  

[ictsupportVG2UN]

I'm more looking for a way to avoid having to manually uninstall/disable that.

Surely there is a way to prevent Inventor for auto-checking for updates from the custom package creator? How are enterprises/educational institutions supposed to deploy this on a huge scale (hundreds of computers at a time) without the software eating up all the bandwidth because it's checking and downloading updates automatically? 

[Simon_Weel]

What kind of deployment did you make? Did you create a deployment online and downloaded all necessary files to a local share?

[ictsupportVG2UN]

Yeah, I created a deployment online and downloaded everything that was required to create the package. We utilise SCCM for our deployment method.

I've attached our full deployment settings for the package we created for a Custom Install.

[Simon_Weel]

Ok, how big is the deployment? If it includes the stuff it wants to download, it should be over 3 GB.

[ictsupportVG2UN]

The entire folder is 7.14GB in size on our SCCM server for this one application.

[Simon_Weel]

We don't have Inventor nor SCCM, but it looks like Inventor is partially deployed and starts downloading the rest when launched? I take it you've read the SCCM instructions. It doesn't mention you can configure applications to download additional stuff, so... Hmm. As far as I know, updates don't install automatically. Can you figure out what it actually is downloading?

[ictsupportVG2UN]

We analysed the traffic from dds.autodesk.com and noticed that each workstation was downloading the attached file...

[Simon_Weel]

'Autodesk Genuine Service' is required to run any Autodesk product - it's the anti-cheat software. It should be installed automatically along the rest of the package. But it isn't the 1-3 GB download you mentioned before?

I wonder what happens if you install the Genuine Service first and then the rest - will it still trigger a download?