SMS packages with multiple programs

[drewdown]

Anyone have any experience doing these? I want to create a package for Visual Studio 2005. Wondering if anyone has done so yet. Here is what I have done:

Created a package for the prerequisites:
.NET 2.0
MSXML 6.0
.NET redistributable Package 2.0
Document Explorer 2.0

Supposedly have to install them in order, so had each one install after the one before has been run.

Package for Visual Studio 2005

Package for Visual Source Safe 2005

Collections? Seperate for all of them? Or one collection for all everything, prereqs, VS 2005 and VSS 2005?

Any input would be much appreciated.

 

[drewdown]

A question I have, is there a way to daisychain the component install? I can put all the programs in that package but it asks me to choose a program to install and I am currently at a loss how to get it to do all of them. In order.

 

[mib147]

The way I see it you can do this one of two ways. You can either create a script that installs them each in order and make a program for the script. You can also create a program for each install and make one dependent for the other by using the Advanced tab in the program properties. I don't see a reason why you would need multiple collections. The script option might be the best because you can also put logic in the script to check for each pre-req and see if they are already installed. If not then install it.

 

[drewdown]

Yeah its not simple by any means. Need to install components in a certain order, then reboot, then install VSS 2005. I have not been able to come up with a way to use the advanced tab to install everything seemlessly via one collection and one program.

I am not so great at scripts either, However I have gotten it to work via mulitple advertisements/collections/programs.

 

[VictorySabre]

There is a way to daisychain the programs to run in sequential order in SMS 2003, which is what mib147 is indicating.

From what I gather, you have one package created with the individual programs created to install each component.

So for the Visual SourceSafe 2005 program, go to the Advanced Tab and select the option to Run Another program first. Specify the appropriate package name and program name for the Visual Studio 2005 program.

Now go to the Visual Studio 2005 program and to the Advanced Tab and select the appropriate package name and program name for the Document Explorer 2.0 program. And repeat the process until you get to .Net 2.0, which won't have any entries in the Advanced Tab since that is the start.

Now when you advertise, you advertise the program to install Visual SourceSafe 2005. When the client executes that advertisement, it'll see that it has a dependency on another package that needs to run first and attempts to run that. When it runs that package it determines it has another package to run and repeats until it gets to .Net 2.0.

So the install performs the install in a chained manner. Since each package may need a reboot, configure the package accordingly and SMS takes care of the reboot for you.

I've used this method for various software deployments that I'm running and it works quite well.

 

[drewdown]

Yeah I figured as much. Still not completely sold on SMS's ability to tell if something is already installed or not. its not like all our machines are clean installs, some users have some of the components and others don't. Some of SQL 2005 and some don't.

 

[Count430]

Wow, your situation has one turn after the next this is where the scripting comes into play.

You could write, or possibly download a template of sorts to call the individual components.

You'll use the same script for each item only changing certain variables and script name per product.

Each script should contain the relative product code and perform a registry search before calling the program_name.msi

If it detects the product
(it exits the script and passes control back to SMS)

else

(It installs the product) exits the script passing control back to SMS where the next dependency item is run, .

Use the same method VictorySabre recommended, only you'll need the script to help work around the different configurations in your environment.

Good Luck