2003 Client Deployment Just Happened 2

[masm]

Hi,

Installing SMS 2003 into a single site which is currently SMS 2.0, using new hardware and site code. Configured Client Push Installation method but did not run the Client Push Installation wizard to start deploying clients. Despite this SMS started upgrading clients! We had planned to remove old client first using the login script and then deploy the new client again in the logon script using capinst.exe. I tested this previously in our lab and the client deployment didn't trigger automatically as expected.

The official Microsoft training manual clearly goes through first setting up the Client Push Installation properties and only then using the Wizard to deploy to discovered systems. I also thought you had to remomove the legacy client first if the site code was different; that is why we went the logon script route.

Now totally confused as to what has happened and why!

thanks for any thoughts

Paul

 

[tbrennans]

The 2003 client will uninstall the 2.0 client as part of the installation....you said at the end of that you made a logon script? if you did that, then that would explain why clients are upgrading...but I might be misunderstanding that.

If you click on the enable to clients assigned to a site it will install those clients.

 

[masm]

Thanks for the reply

I had not got as far as modifying the login script. I configured the Client Push Installation properties and enabled it but I thought the client installation did not start unless you right clicked on a collection or query and selected Install Client. Reading the documentation it's ambiguous about the process.

Paul

 

[tbrennans]

Yeah....its kind of crappy the way this was done, you would think you had to run the wizard but such is not the case, you run the wizard if you dont enable the box...from the help file:

Client Push Installation Properties Dialog Box: General TabUse this tab to enable this discovery method.

Enable Client Push Installation to assigned resources
Enables this method to install the Microsoft® Systems Management Server (SMS) client on any computers that are:
Running Microsoft Windows NT® 4.0, Microsoft Windows® 2000, Microsoft Windows XP Professional, or a Windows Server 2003 operating system.
Discovered, but do not have an SMS client installed.
Assigned to this site.
Note

If you enable Client Push Installation, any compatible resource that is then discovered is installed as an SMS client if it is within the site boundaries of the SMS site. If the resource falls in the boundaries of another site, Client Push Installation occurs from that site only if the site has Client Push Installation enabled, and the site discovers the client (or the discovery data is sent to that site).

 

[masm]

Cheers this does seem to be the case though it does seem a bit unclear from reading endless documentation and help files. Gu8es it's in the wording as the help for the client push installation says it will 'install on clients that are discovered but do not have an SMS client installed. Well in our case they do have a client but it's for SMS 2.0 and the old sitecode. I guess 2003 assumes this is not a recognised client and just trashes it anyway!

Looks like it didn't work as it should have in our test environment not the other way around! Groan.

thanks

Paul