IT:Network:Applications

 Installation by CD/DVD? ◦ OK for 1 or 2 machines, not 100’s ◦ Consistency  Share distribution point and let user install it ◦ Little control ◦ Files are available and must be secured  Group Policy ◦ Create software packages ◦ Custom installations

 What is difference? ◦ Difference applies to how the application is installed  Publish—application is not installed until you install it through the Add Programs application  Assign—application is installed during GPO application and completed the first time the application is run  What’s best? ◦ Depends on the environment, application etc.

 What is best? ◦ Does this application have to be here regardless of who is logging on? ◦ Is the application needed regardless of where the user is working?  Rotating jobs  When does it happen? ◦ Machine—Applying computer settings…  When the machine authenticates to the network ◦ User—Applying user settings…  After the user authenticates to the network

 For Group Policy to work as designed we need an MSI file ◦ Microsoft Software Installation file ◦ Possible to include an MST file  Transform file  Used for customized installations  Can’t do EXE files ◦ Ok, there is a ZAP file but not nice!

 Several Products ◦ WinInstall-LE (Free!!!) ◦ AdminStudio (was Adobe?, then Symantec, now Flexera)  Basic idea ◦ Let repackager “watch” you do install ◦ It will create MSI based on what you did/do

 To get it to work “right” need a clean machine ◦ OS ◦ Patches ◦ NOTHING ELSE!!!  Imaging works nice for this  Also virtualization is ok most of the time

 Comes as MSI file(s)  setup.exe simply a front end  LOTS of user interaction ◦ CD Key ◦ License Agreement (EULA) ◦ What to install ◦ …  Administrative install ◦ Setup.exe /admin

 Used to be able to create a TRANSFORM to perform unattended install ◦ Microsoft took that away in 2007!!!  Now we get an MSP file ◦ Microsoft Patch ◦ Applied after installation  Not good for CD Key

 Copy CD contents to distribution point ◦ \\mysrv\mysw\office12\  Run setup.exe /admin ◦ creates an MSP file with info  Owner Info  CD Key (no spaces or dashes!)  What to display  What to install ◦ Save in \\mysrv\mysw\office12\update\

 setup.exe /config myconfig.xml ◦ need to add “path” to setup.exe and myconfig.xml  Setup will look at myconfig for initial installation info (including key)  Setup will look for any MSP file in update directory and will apply those after install

 A bit of work up front ◦ Obtain or create an MSI file ◦ Configure product  READ THE MANUAL!!!  Use Group Policy to ◦ Distribute software ◦ Modify software