Loading Packages with Binaries from a Network Location

Scenario

An organization might want to standardize the packages installed by different workstations and users. A way to do this, could be to install these packages from Package Manager selecting a network folder as the install location, and get workstations to add that path to Manage Node and Package Paths.

Problem

While the scenario works properly for packages that contain only custom nodes, it might not work for packages containing binaries, like zero-touch nodes. This issue is caused by security measures the .NET framework places over loading assemblies when they come from a network location. Unfortunately, using the loadFromRemoteSources configuration element, as suggested in the linked thread, is not a possible solution for Dynamo, because it is distributed as a component rather than an application.

Workaround

One possible workaround is to use a mapped network drive pointing to the network location, and have workstations reference that path instead. The steps to create a mapped network drive are described here.