How to Use ConfigMgr SCCM Change Package Content Ownership Tool Endpoint Manager

How to Use ConfigMgr SCCM Change Package Content Ownership Tool Endpoint Manager. In SCCM (ConfigMgr), package content ownership is also changed much from SCCM 2007 days.

To unlock (or to change the ownership of) the packages in SCCM 2007, we used to follow an unsupported way to update Data Base with SQL queries like “SMSPackages set SourceSite=’IT1′ where SourceSite=’TMP'”. 

More details about unlocking collections, packages, and advertisements are here.

How to Use ConfigMgr SCCM Change Package Content Ownership Tool Endpoint Manager

Now Microsoft has provided a tool (Content Ownership Tool) to change the Ownership of the content or package without editing DB. This Content Ownership Change Tool (ContentOwnershipTool.exe.exe) helps change the ownership of orphan packages. Orphaned packages are packages without an owner site server.

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Packages created at a site can become orphaned by removing the site server while this site server still owns them.

You won’t be able to filter The SCCM ConfigMgr Content Ownership Tool (ContentOwnershipTool.exe) with package ID; rather, you’ll be able to filter or search this with Package Name, Site Code, and Types of Packages. This tool also provides a feature to filter depending upon the package type.

a) SMS_package (Normal SCCM classic packages),

b) SMS_BootImagePackage (SCCM Boot Images),

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c) SMS_SoftwareUpdatesPackage (Software Update related packages) and

d) SMS_ContentPackage (New Application packages introduced in SCCM 2012).

You can explore other SCCM 2012 R2 tools here Content Library Explorer Tool and Collection Evaluation Viewer Tool.

Pre-Requisite or Requirement 

You can run the ContentOwnershipTool.exe from any site server in the hierarchy. However, when you try to run it on another machine, you may get the following error. The Content Ownership Tool must be run while logged in as an administrative user with sufficient package permissions.

To run this application, you must install one of the following version of the .NET framework: V4.0.30319. Contact your application publisher for instructions about obtaining the appropriate version of the .NET framework.

Walkthrough of Content Ownership Tool (ContentOwnershipTool.exe) 

1. I’m running the SCCM ConfigMgr Content Ownership Tool from SCCM 2012 CAS server. You can run it from the Primary server or any other site server in your SCCM 2012 hierarchy.

SCCM Change Package Content Ownership Tool
Content Ownership Manager Tool Connected to CAS

2. In my case, there are NO orphan packages; that is why in the above screenshot, you’re NOT able to see any packages. When you select all packages options in the filtering section, you can see all the packages.

Content Ownership Manager Tool Connected All packages Option
Content Ownership Manager Tool Connected All packages Option

3. The Content Ownership Manager Tool can be used to filter different types of packages like

SMS_package (Normal SCCM classic packages), SMS_BootImagePackage (SCCM Boot Images), SMS_SoftwareUpdatesPackage (Software Update related packages) and SMS_ContentPackage (New Application packages introduced in SCCM 2012).

Content Ownership Manager Tool Type of Packages
Content Ownership Manager Tool Type of Packages

4. How to Change the ownership of orphan packages or content using The SCCM ConfigMgr Content Ownership Tool?

I’m changing a package created at the primary site. The ownership of that package is the PRI server. I’m changing it to the CAS server.

a) Select the package which you wanted to change the ownership.

b) Select the site details from the drop down menu “Change Site Ownership to

c) Click on APPLY and Click on View Log button to check whether the ownership is changed successfully.

Content Ownership Manager Tool Change OwnerShip
Content Ownership Manager Tool Change Ownership

5. View the log file called ContentOwnershipTool.log located at %temp%. Where is the location of The SCCM ConfigMgr Content Ownership Tool log file?

Successfully changed the site code of the package to CAS. Before the Content Ownership Change, the package owner was the PRI site (check the pic above). And at the bottom of the content Ownership tool, you can see the message successfully changed the source site of an object to CAS.

Content Ownership Manager Tool Chnaged the Ownership and Source Site
Content Ownership Manager Tool Changed the Ownership and Source Site

Following are the normal log entries

INFO: STARTING ContentOwnershipTool…
INFO: Refreshing package list from WMI…
INFO: InitializeSmsProviderScope: Connected to \\root\sms successfully.
INFO: InitializeSmsProviderScope: Connected to Site CAS
INFO: Setting package properties in the background.
INFO: Filtering package list by Name(), SiteCode(), Type(), Orphaned-Only?(False)…
INFO: Filtering package list by Name(), SiteCode(), Type(SMS_SoftwareUpdatesPackage), Orphaned-Only?(False)…
INFO: Filtering package list by Name(), SiteCode(), Type(SMS_BootImagePackage), Orphaned-Only?(False)…
INFO: Filtering package list by Name(), SiteCode(), Type(SMS_ContentPackage), Orphaned-Only?(False)…
INFO: Filtering package list by Name(), SiteCode(), Type(SMS_Package), Orphaned-Only?(False)…
INFO: Filtering package list by Name(), SiteCode(), Type(), Orphaned-Only?(False)…
INFO: Changing site code for Package PR100001 from PR1 to CAS…
INFO: InitializeSmsProviderScope: Already connected to site CAS. Returning true.
INFO: Setting package properties in the background.
INFO: Filtering package list by Name(), SiteCode(), Type(), Orphaned-Only?(False)…

Resources

SCCM Server Side Troubleshooting Tool Kit Guide HTMD Blog (anoopcnair.com)

Author

Anoop is Microsoft MVP! He is a Solution Architect in enterprise client management with more than 20 years of experience (calculation done in 2021) in IT. He is a blogger, Speaker, and Local User Group HTMD Community leader. His main focus is on Device Management technologies like SCCM 2012, Current Branch, and Intune. E writes about ConfigMgr, Windows 11, Windows 10, Azure AD, Microsoft Intune, Windows 365, AVD, etc…

6 thoughts on “How to Use ConfigMgr SCCM Change Package Content Ownership Tool Endpoint Manager”

  1. Hi Anoop,
    Thank you for sharing your knowledge.
    I have a query here.
    I have a client environment where we initially had a primary server and now on client request we have created a central server. i need to move all packages from existing primary server to central server for centralized management.
    the only way i know is manually importing and exporting all packages. Can u please help me with any tool or script that can help me do it.

    Reply
    • Hi – Have you connected CAS to the Primary server or you have created new hierarchy with CAS?

      If first scenario, you will get the packages automatically reflected in CAS console. If not, you need to go through the migrations jobs – via SCCM console – Administration – Migrations.

      It’s not very good decision to have a central administrative server (CAS).

      Reply
      • Hi Anoop,
        Thank you so much for a quick response.
        Yes, my CAS is connected to the primary server and it already has all the contents created by primary. But currently all packages are owned by primary server. I wanted to know if there is any way i can move the packages (ownership,PackageID,source).
        I can do it by exporting all contents from primary and importing it in Central, but it will be very time consuming and there will be manual efforts.

        Also, please help me know what you meant by this “It’s not very good decision to have a central administrative server (CAS).”

      • I don’t think there is worth changing ownership of existing packages. It work well with Primary site ownership if I’m not mistaken.

        “It’s not very good decision to have a central administrative server (CAS) ==> https://www.anoopcnair.com/sccm-intune-sample-architecture-diagram-decision-making-tips/

        I always advice to AVOID CAS. I’m bit struggling with CAS personally. The only reason to have CAS is client count. If you have more than 140K clients to manage then, you need to have CAS. Otherwise no reason to have CAS.

  2. Thank you for the advice…
    your blogs and videos have always helped me alot to learn SCCM.
    Please let me know if you have any seminars in Mumbai. I would definitly like to be a part of it 🙂

    Reply

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