> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://documentation.2pintsoftware.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://documentation.2pintsoftware.com/stifler/introduction/your-stifler-guide.md). # Your StifleR guide StifleR is the real-time content distribution control system from 2Pint Software. It gives IT teams live visibility and control over how content — software, updates, OS images, and more — moves across the network, so background downloads never win a fight against business-critical traffic. StifleR doesn't just reduce WAN bandwidth usage — it treats content delivery as a control plane. It ensures content is sourced intelligently from the nearest available location, prioritizes what matters, and governs everything else, in real time, across your entire estate. It's compatible with Microsoft Configuration Manager (SCCM), Microsoft Intune, and hybrid environments, making it a natural fit for organizations on a cloud journey. ### Why teams run StifleR **Real-time visibility, not guesswork.** Live dashboards show exactly what's moving across every subnet, site, and client — down to individual jobs — instead of finding out about a saturated WAN link after the fact. **Intelligent, not just less.** StifleR builds on Microsoft's own peer-to-peer technologies — BranchCache, Delivery Optimization, and ConfigMgr Client Peer Cache — adding the intelligence, policy, and control layer they don't provide on their own. **Works with what you already run.** No rip-and-replace: StifleR integrates with SCCM, Intune, and hybrid environments, and coexists with LEDBAT-aware transports rather than competing with them. **Built for enterprise scale.** Every setting — bandwidth caps, job priorities, pause/resume — can be automated and scripted via PowerShell and WMI, or set directly from the Dashboard, at the client, subnet, site, or enterprise level. **Quick to start, easy to test.** Getting going is straightforward: with minimal initial configuration, StifleR can be deployed in a lab or production environment and start enhancing content distribution right away using native Microsoft technologies like BranchCache and Delivery Optimization. From there, you expand and refine — adding RBAC, identity integration, and advanced bandwidth policies — as you scale toward a full enterprise rollout. ### How it works, at a glance At the core, the StifleR Server and StifleR Clients communicate over SignalR — sessions start as HTTP and upgrade to WebSockets for persistent, bi-directional, real-time messaging. This is what lets StifleR react to network conditions and administrator commands within seconds, rather than on the next polling cycle. A few concepts show up throughout this documentation: * [**Client Leader roles**](/stifler/features-breakdown/client-leader-roles.md) — on each subnet, StifleR dynamically elects clients as Red, Blue, or Green Leaders to manage WAN downloads, cross-subnet proxying, and hosted caching, so peers share content instead of each independently pulling it from the source. * [**Beacon Servers**](/stifler/operations-and-features/beacons.md) — lightweight measurement endpoints deployed near your content sources, used to benchmark real-world bandwidth and feed StifleR's throttling decisions. * [**StifleRulez.xml**](/stifler/configuration/stiflerulez.xml-2.x-definitions.md) — a centrally managed rules file that tells clients how to prioritize competing download jobs (for example, keeping Windows Update patches ahead of routine background sync traffic). * **Templates and Network Groups** — reusable configuration profiles that let you roll out consistent bandwidth and BranchCache/DO settings across many locations at once, instead of configuring each one by hand. {% hint style="success" %} **New to StifleR?** Start with About for the full picture of how StifleR fits into your environment, then move on to Prerequisites and Installation to get a working setup running in a lab or production environment. From there, Configuration covers identity integration, RBAC, and bandwidth policy — and you can grow into automation and advanced scenarios as you scale. {% endhint %} ### Explore the documentation #### Get started {% content-ref url="/pages/wubwQYWL7NRw67F9d7fJ" %} [About](/stifler/about/stifler-overview.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/64bS8yqxcOxyPbrq9fnP" %} [Prerequisites](/stifler/setup/prerequisites.md) {% endcontent-ref %} #### Installation, by component Installation is broken down by component, so you can jump straight to the piece you're setting up: {% content-ref url="/pages/HhWipatarvbjIMO66bsF" %} [StifleR Server installation](/stifler/setup/installation/stifler-server-installation.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/J89PdJbBkVp0CJIcSEvj" %} [StifleR Dashboard installation](/stifler/setup/installation/stifler-dashboard-installation.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/rc4jXpUWtl8ol6ZeNO5P" %} [StifleR ActionHub installation](/stifler/setup/installation/stifler-actionhub-installation.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/KLw93eYtoL3VHCqHot0o" %} [StifleR WMI Agent installation](/stifler/setup/installation/stifler-wmi-agent-installation.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/tTIXoJJpaq3UaVgeeW3o" %} [StifleR Beacon installation](/stifler/setup/installation/stifler-beacon-installation.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/-LhD4\_ApocNOyLhW1FZ4" %} [StifleR Client installation](/stifler/setup/installation/stifler-client-installation.md) {% endcontent-ref %} #### The rest of the documentation {% content-ref url="/pages/XjYzh9e4YZOARVlQzxfb" %} [Configuration](/stifler/configuration/ping-identity-integration.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/UZ2cCqIomuK1GnDrBELd" %} [Operations and features](/stifler/operations-and-features/online-services.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/zJfPzemriqkHLhnaiVqr" %} [Guides](/stifler/guides/2pint-branchcache-guide.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/tOY8LaZ0MYXz4UbGehpz" %} [Troubleshooting](/stifler/troubleshooting/troubleshooting.md) {% endcontent-ref %} {% content-ref url="/pages/kpqOkYexcTzWHyJSWfRR" %} [Release notes](/stifler/introduction/release-notes.md) {% endcontent-ref %} --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. 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