MECM Updates Source directory clean up

Question

I have seen this asked in the past and I have seen use of the contentclean script to clean expired updates from Software update groups that are not automatically getting cleaned up.

I have instances where a SUG is created for a year end wrap up (eg Updates 2015 and earlier) and have been distributed to the DPs. Can I simply remove the source folders for the older year(s) SUGs since they should not be updated anymore or do I need to keep them around on the primary?

I am just trying to reclaim disk space...

https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/configuration-manager-archive/software-update-content-cleanup-in-system-center-2012/ba-p/273069

Answer 1

In general, I would never specifically delete anything from the source folders as these should correspond to an update downloaded and most likely deployed in the console thus delete the source file could break the deployment (assuming the package gets updated at some point as well). If they need or want to reclaim disk space, then they need to clean up the deployed updates in the console first although really, adding disk space is advisable here also because as noted, 210GB is not all that miuch.

Answer 2

Thanks again, given the concern of the size of these sources overall, can some of them be deleted from the sources folder or is it wise to keep the source folders since the deployments are still active even if the content has been distributed? If best practice to leave them as is then I will advise they plan for capacity going forward.