Object Policy - software deployment

[Pav1977]

Hi I'm assigning software to clients from Active Directory. It's Windows Server 2003 - XP Professional client environment. After assigning a program to a user (group of users) the assigned software should show up in Start Menu and also produce an icon on the desktop. I can install it via add/remove programs but that's not ideal. Have I maybe got my msi package wrong? What files should it contain? Mine has just the exe and the rest is in the folder that the path for the client leads to.

Any help would be much appreciated if anyone had that problem before.

Thank you.

 

[ncotton]

it depends on
a) If you want a manual installation / the program is automatic by default, or whether you want to create an MST file that bascially is a automatic input generator, which takes standard installation mechanisms, such as installing office, which needs user inputs, and lets you predefine these inputs before you distribute, you include this file with your MSI/EXE, and this creates a silent installation client side.
b) The kind of assignment you have set. You can set Software Installation in 3 main ways...
-i)Install next time machine starts/user logs on
-ii)Publish the installation, and let the user request the installation
-iii)You associate the installation with file type....so you could create an installation for MSWord, then associate say, .txt and .doc, to the installation. The policy would be refreshed on the client side to say that any time a user tries to open an associated file type, the new installation is downloaded, even if they already have a local assocation that says .doc open in Word97 or what ever.

For more information, look here MS Tech-Net | Group Policy Software Installation

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[Pav1977]

Does that mean that I have to do it manually?
After doing it my way b) i) - which is assignment of the software I haven't got the shortcuts in the start menu o the client - according to all references that I've checked including MS Tech-Net, shortcuts should appear and they don't.
Do I have to do it manually with the MST file? Do I need third party software to create it as I did for MSI?

Thanks again.

 

[ncotton]

The first question is....does the software have a fully automated installation process that has a silent switch, or does it need user interaction?
If it needs user interaction....do you want to automate this the same for everyone, or give the users the option to do it themselves?
Do you want the software to be installed on Every Machine, or for Every User (not necessarily EVERY, but all in specified group/ou)

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant

 

[Pav1977]

I'm trying to work this out for a number of software (Ultra VNC, DreamWeaver and few others) the one I'm doing the test on is Adobe Reader 7 - using the msi they provided - I was using one I've created but started using theirs just to make sure. I don't think it's got the silent driver - how do I check it? I know that I have the silent driver for the Ultra VNC. So the answer would be it needs user interaction.
Yes I will apply it only to the groups that need it so Every User.
I want to automate it for all users, so the icon or shortcut appears on their desktop (and, or Start Menu) and then by using it they will install it.
I understand that I can assign it so when they use a program associated with the application it installs automatically - this is not an issue though, and I'll look at it later.

Thanks again,
Regards

 

[Seaspray0]

Be careful when you use group policy. There are two sections... computer and user. Computer policy will only apply to computer objects and user policy will apply to user objects. What type of policy did you apply (computer/user), where did you apply it, and what type of objects are included in the OU/container you applied it to? I.E. Applying a computer policy to the user's container is useless because there are no computer objects in the container to apply it to.

You can find software installation options for both the user and computer parts of group policy.

Start, Help. You'll be surprised what's there. A+/MCP/MCSE/MCDBA

 

[ncotton]

Seaspray is correct that in pointing out that you need to make sure you are applying the policy to the right kind of objects. See the top of this thread, in my first post there is the link to the Tech-net guide to group policy software installation.

Hope this Helps.

Neil J Cotton
njc Information Systems
Systems Consultant