AD Software deployment issues

[helsknight]

This is a bit hairy so bear with me. We are using AD to deploy some of our softwares. After I created and activate a policy to deploy the software, some computers will install right away some may never see it. I want some form of consistences so I added this to the logon script "gpupdate /force". I was hoping that with the gpupdate it'll contact the server for any policy changes. This didn't help much. Still inconsistence to when the computer saw the software package.

I setup a test OU and enabled Computer Configuration\System\Logon\Always wait for network at startup and logon. After this change, the computer saw all the software packages consistantly, but it's a laptop (most of our computers are laptop)and when i take it home it'll take 5 minutes waiting for network and applying security policy at bootup. I since delete the policy and OU, move the computer a different OU but it seems the computer still acts like the policy is still applied. Takes a log time to boot when I'm away from the office.

Is there a time out I can adjust for computers to wait for the network?

So in a nutshell how can I force the computers to see the software packages consistantly, without the side effect of waiting 5 minutes at bootup waiting for the network. Any help would be appreciated.

Hels

 

[porkchopexpress]

When you have XP set to apply group policy asychronously it can take upto three reboots (usually two) to apply the software policy but it will be installed eventually.

 

[Cstorms]

You should also setup the slow link detection policy. This could be a partial problem with your setup..

http://technet2.microsoft.com/windo...6a14-479f-8b10-8986020339931033.mspx?mfr=true

off to lunch but I caught this article which seemed to harbor some content about it.. Good luck in any case.

 

[helsknight]

Pork - the issue with that is for example, I install the server side software and use AD to push client side software out. It's seem silly to tell the users to keep rebooting until the system installs the new client software.

What's the difference between group policy asychronously and sycnronous?

Cstorms - Thanks for the link. We are on a 100mb network but maybe the systems are misreading the link detection.

 

[porkchopexpress]

The difference is that with asychronous group policy is applied as they arrive when the network becomes available but the user could already be logged on by then using cached credentials. As a user is logged on it can't suddenly start installing software so it waits untill the next reboot. Sycnronous means they are all applied one after the other and must finish before a logon is allowed and this means that the software can be applied.

 

[helsknight]

How do you turn off cached credentials? Is it by selecting the wait for network during startup and logon in the domain policy as i done above?

 

[helsknight]

Just google cached creditials... I'm going to turn it off.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Well cached credentials is used so laptop users can logon using their domain account when not connected to the network, if you want that ability then i wouldn't turn it off.

 

[helsknight]

Thanks again Pork,

I guess I'm really back to square one, turn off cache logins and wait 5 minutes for bootup when laptops are out of the office or keep cache logins on and the software will install after 2 to 3 reboots.

So those are my two options... I was hoping that microsoft would have a option to say if network connection is not present use cache logon eles use wait for network.

O well I guess we'll have to deal with the reboots. Thanks for your help...

Hels

 

[Cstorms]

Just so you know, cached logons do exactly as you hoped, but as it relates to your original question if you are going to use the "Always wait for network connection" there are no timeout limits that you can explicitly set for a timer like feature, its either going to wait or not, and if its not set with this wait policy you are likely going to have issues with this intermittently all the time depending on your laptops external connection.