[gptalk] Re: Determining if Group Policy Deployment is right for us....
- From: "Nelson, Jamie R" <Jamie.Nelson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 3 Mar 2008 17:03:30 -0600
Well for starters, you'll want to make sure you package the .dll files
in an MSI installer package so that you can deploy them through Group
Policy. Basically what would happen is that an administrator would need
to create a new GPO to deploy your software package. In your case it
sounds like you would want to assign it to computers so that it is
always installed.
As far as upgrades are concerned, Group Policy doesn't know what to do
unless you tell it. You assign a new package and configure it so that it
upgrades the previously assigned package. Whenever a system falls out of
scope of the GPO, you can also have it configured to automatically
remove the software.
Third party tools are not necessarily centered around Group Policy. Most
are completely separate products and offer much more flexibility and
better reporting, however, most also require a client agent on each
workstation. Group Policy doesn't but require an agent, but it is
reliant on the machine rebooting if you have assigned a package to a
computer. This kind of limits your ability to reach and touch machines
quickly.
Suggest you read Darren Mar-Elia's whitepaper on Group Policy software
deployment. He is the moderator of this list and a highly respected
Group Policy guru. His paper is available from the following link:
http://www.sdmsoftware.com/registration.php
Jamie Nelson | Systems Engineer | Systems Support, Information
Technology | I N T E G R I S Health | Phone 405.552.0903 | Fax
405.553.5687 | http://www.integrisok.com <http://www.integrisok.com/>
From: gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gptalk-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
On Behalf Of Matt Walker
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 3:58 PM
To: gptalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [gptalk] Determining if Group Policy Deployment is right for
us....
Hi all,
We are currently in the process of creating a new application which will
house all the logic on a server and have workstations hit that. The
workstations will need some .dll's, etc. installed to allow the
integration with some other third party applications. It is the desire
to have these components installed on the workstations with the
following points in mind:
Ease of installation with little to no user interaction
No need to have admin rights on the workstation
No need to reboot the target workstation
Ability to self update
Ease of uninstallation.
With these in mind, will Group Policy work for us? I know it may be
difficult to determine without knowing the actual footprint of the
workstation components.
In reading some Group Policy information, a question does arise for me.
What method would I use since this package that will be installed will
not really be a functioning application, but simply unrelated
components? There are no real entry points to this 'application' that
would be installed. Would I assign this package to a computer/user? In
other words, this package should be installed always.
Then, down the line, we would want to be able to upgrade, remove, etc.
If upgrading, how does that actually work? I know how to upgrade simply
using the Windows Installer methodology, but how does that fold into
Group Policy. In using group policy for this purpose, would I just be
telling the system to install this .msi then, based on its internal
codes, upgrade accordingly? Is there any way to detect when an update
is needed or is it simply the job of the Administrator to monitor this
and employ a new policy to push the update?
Any help is greatly appreciated so I thank you in advance.
I read up on third party deployment tools and many seem to be wrapped
around Group Policy in some way. Is this an accurate statement or do
many tools handle pushing software differently?
Again, thanks for the help!!
Matt Walker
Installation Development
Synergis Software
472 California Road | Quakertown, PA 18951
Phone: 215.529.9900, x192 | 800.836.5440
Fax: 215.536.9249
www.synergis-adept.com <http://www.synergis-adept.com/>
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