Software Deployment

Hi,

You don't use command line switches when deploying via AD - just make is a user based packaged and have it assigned not published. Here's some MS info: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/887405 which should help [;)]

Cheers,
Rob.

OK... thanks for the info...

I am afraid I dont understand this sentence: - just make is a user based packaged and have it assigned not published

please could you clarify?

Thanks

Charlie

I think i see what you mean...

but this is not the only switch I have... or that I may need to use...

Some of my customers want to deploy with advertising, others dont... I have created the MSI to be deployed, but I would like to provide them with the way of tayloring it to their requirments without having to create different MSIs for each eventuallity!

here are some of the different options I would like to provide..

%windir%\system32\MSIEXEC.EXE /JM "Setup.msi" (advertise for all users)
%windir%\system32\MSIEXEC.EXE /I "Setup.msi" ALLUSERS=2 (install for all users)
%windir%\system32\MSIEXEC.EXE /I "Setup.msi" ALLUSERS=0 (install for "me" only)
%windir%\system32\MSIEXEC.EXE /JU "Setup.msi" (advertise to me only)

etc...

Thanks again!

With ALLUSERS=2, you can edit the MSI file itself and specify public property, or include it into a .mst file.

You can install applications to computer or user accounts. The difference between assigning and publishing is:

Application assignment
In Windows 2000, you can use the Software Installation snap-in extension of the Group Policy snap-in to assign applications to users so that the applications appear to be installed and available on the user's desktop whenever a user logs on. You assign applications to a particular Group Policy Object (GPO), which is, in turn associated with a selected directory container (site, domain, or organizational unit). When you assign applications, the application is advertised to every user managed by the GPO. Advertising the application installs only enough information about the application to make application shortcuts appear on the Start menu and the necessary file associations appear in the registry. When a user managed by the GPO logs on to a computer running Windows 2000, the application appears on his or her Start menu. When the user selects the application from the Start menu for the first time, the application is installed. Advertised applications can also be installed by clicking on a document managed by the application (by either file extension or by COM-based activation).

Application publishing
In Windows 2000, you can use the Software Installation snap-in extension of the Group Policy snap-in to publish applications to users. Published applications are those that the administrator makes available for on-demand use. Published applications have no presence on the users' computers. That is, no shortcuts or Start menu references to the application are present on the desktop. A published application is advertised to the Active Directory. The advertised attributes are used to locate the application and all the information required for installing it. After the application is advertised in the Active Directory, it can be activated by document association, just as an assigned application. Users can also set up the program using the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel tool on their desktop.

(The above was pinched from here: http://www.asu.edu/it/w2k/glossary.html)

Controlling whether the app is avaliable to all or just select users is managed by AD group membership - this is documented further here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302430

As long as your MSI package is correctly assembled and any validation errors have been fixed then that 1 package should cover all deployment requirements. I'd setup a test GPO and do some experimenting if you are unsure - but maybe not in your live environment just yet - especially if you are talking about testing with AD All Users and AD All Workstations groups... [;)]

Hope this helps,
Rob.