Getting Started
This page will walk you through the setup of Specops Deploy and helping you deploy your first package.
Setting it up
Specops Deploy comes with a program called Specops Deploy Setup Assistant that will help you to install Specops Deploy in your environment. The Setup Assistant should be run for the first time on the computer you intend to be your Specops Deploy server. The server should normally be running Windows Server 2000 or 2003, but during evaluation and testing it can also be a workstation (2000 or XP) computer.
The downloaded package (SpecopsDeploySetup.exe) is a compressed package that first will uncompress and then automatically start the Setup Assistant. Run the file on the computer you will use as Specops Deploy Server and follow the instructions.
Note! The Specops Deploy Setup Assistant requires that Microsoft .Net Framework is installed on the server where the Setup Assistant is started. If it is not installed it can downloaded from Microsoft, http://www.microsoft.com/downloads. The Setup Assistant guides you through four different steps that should be performed in the following order to get you started as fast as possible:
- Server installation Installs the Specops Deploy Server software on the local computer.
- Client installation (on a single computer) Installs the Specops Deploy Client Side Extension on the local computer. This method of installation should only be used when installing during evaluation, for a live installation, see the Client Deployment tab.
- Admin tools installation (on a single computer) Installs the Specops Deploy Administrative Tools on the local computer.
- Client deployment Guides you through the process of deploying the Specops Deploy Client Side Extension to all the client computers. It is recommended to start with the manual installation mentioned above during initial testing and then use this method when you feel comfortable with Specops Deploy. The actual setup performed is not covered in this document since all details needed for the installations can be found in the Setup Assistant.
Note! Although Specops integrates into Active Directory, it does not edit or extend the Active Directory Schema so you can conduct your tests in a live environment if you want to, without having to worry about irreversible changes to your environment.
It is possible to conduct an entire evaluation on a single computer if you lack a larger testing environment, although the computer has to be a member of an Active Directory Domain and you need to have at least one Group Policy Object (GPO), which applies to the computer and preferably your user, which you can edit. In a single computer test, the computer will have the server software, admin tools and the client side extension installed.
Deploying your first package
Specops Deploy comes with two different administrative tools, Specops Deploy Control Center and the Specops Deploy GPMC Snap-in, the latter integrates into the Microsoft Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) and is intended for administrators that already have knowledge about GP and use it to administer their environments. Specops Deploy Control Center hides some of the complexity of the underlying GP infrastructure and is primarily intended for administrators that are not used to working with GP. Both tools contain the same functionality and can be used to edit the same GPOs.
In this chapter it is assumed that Specops Deploy Control Center is used but any differences between the two tools will be explained as well.
1. Start Specops Deploy Control Center
Specops Deploy Control Center can be started from the Setup Assistant when the nstallation has been completed. Click the Start button in the Start Specops Deploy Control Center section. The setup also adds a shortcut on the start menu to Specops Deploy Control Center in the All Programs→Special Operations Software> Specops Deploy folder.
GPMC information
GPMC can be started from the Setup Assistant. It can also be started from the Administrative Tools folder on the Start menu or in the Control Panel. The Specops Deploy
GPMC Snap-in is accessed, from within GPMC, by selecting Edit… from the context menu of a GPO. When the Control Center is started for the first time a dialog will be displayed
where you are asked to select or create a new GPO.
2. Select a GPO for Specops Deploy
Specops Deploy stores all information about software deployments in Group Policy Objects. When working in the administrative tools you are always working within the context of one GPO. Make sure that the scope of the GPO contains all the computers and users you wish to manage software for. Follow these instructions to create and link a new GPO:
- Click on the Create and select a new Group Policy Object link.
- In the New Group Policy object dialog, enter Specops Deploy Applications as a name for the new GPO.
- Select an Organizational Unit (OU) that contains the computers or users you intend to manage software for. If you do not know where the computers and users reside, then select the entire domain in the root of the tree. It is important to note that even if the GPO itself targets the entire domain only the computers where the Specops Deploy Client Side Extension has been installed will actually be affected.
- Click OK.
The GPO will now be created and linked to the selected OU (or domain) and is
ready to use. Another GPO can be selected at any time from within the Control
Center from the Options section.
GPMC information
If GPMC is used then the normal procedures apply when creating and linking GPOs.
Although Control Center works with a single GPO it is possible to use any number of
GPOs to manage software with Specops Deploy. If more than one GPO is used it may be
easier to use the Specops Deploy GPMC Snap-in since GPMC is more suited for switching
between several different GPOs
3. Deploy the package
When deploying software using Specops Deploy there are three basic terms
which are important to get to know. They are:
- Package Information about the software that is to be deployed. Such as name, version and path to the setup files..
- Target The computers or users that should receive the package. Such as All Windows XP SP1 Computers
- Deployment A package and target combined with additional deployment parameters such as when and how the package will be deployed. The deployment also has a state such as deploying or undeploying.
3.1 Make the software package available on the network
The first thing we need is the actual setup file (or files). We will start with a
Windows Installer package. Windows Installer setup files end with the msi
extension. Legacy setup files such as setup.exe can be deployed as well, but in
this example we will use a Windows Installer package.
If you dont have a Windows Installer package to try out, you may download the
trial version of the Special Operations Software product Active Directory Janitor,
and use this as a test package:
http://www.specopssoft.com/products/ADJanitor
The first step when deploying software is to make the installation source files
available on the network so that the clients can access them during installation.
Find or create a new subdirectory on a server share where you will house all the
setup files. In this directory you must create a new sub directory for each setup
package, use the name of the application for the folder name, for example Active
Directory Janitor. Copy the setup file(s) to the new directory.
Normally it is recommended to use a Distributed File System (DFS) share to
store the setup files. For testing purposes any share will do and if you currently
do not have access to a server share you can create a share on your own
computer.
3.2 Start the Deploy Package Wizard
On the Welcome page for Control Center, click on the Start Deploy Package Wizard link. The wizard that will guide your through all steps if deploying your first
Package.
GPMC information
In GPMC the deployments works slightly different then the Wizard in Control Center, instead of a Wizard, a deployment can be created from the Specops Deploy GPMC snap-in and is started from either the Computer or User part of the GPO. Select the root node named Specops Deploy under Software Settings and then click on the link Click here to deploy a package. This will show the new Deployment page that contains the same information as the Control Center Wizard.
3.3 Create a package
On the first page of the wizard click the Create new Package… button. Select
Windows Installer Package in the Package type dialog.
Windows Installer and Legacy Setups
Windows Installer is a Microsoft technology that is built into the operating system and
defines a common standard for setup packages. Specops Deploy natively manages
Windows Installer packages and retrieves more detailed information from the setups than
most other tools.
Legacy Setup is a common name for older types of setup packages that is started from a program such as Setup.exe or equivalent. Specops Deploy can be used to install this type of package to both computers and users, even to computers where the logged on user do not have administrative permissions. Legacy Setups is often used for hardware driver installations.
The window that appears is the package window. In this window you can enter
and view all the information about a package.
The first field is the Package Category field. Click New… button to create a new
Package Category. In the Package Category, enter a name, for example Specops Deploy Test Category; you can also enter a description for the new category. Click
OK.
It is not necessary to select a package category for the package, it does not affect the actual deployment, but it makes it easier to sort and view the deployments when the number of deployments increases.
In the Network path to install file the path to the Windows Installer (*.msi) file that was copied to the network share earlier should be entered. You can use the browse button to browse to the file, however the path must be in the UNC format, e.g. \\<server name>\<share name\path or if it is a AD integrated DFS path \\<domain name>\<DFS root name>\<Share name>\Path. Mapped drive letters cannot be used.
The Package Properties will automatically be updated with the information found in the selected Windows Installer package.
Enter a description for the package in the description field, this information is not necessary, but useful especially if more than one administrator are working with the same package. The package window should now look something like Figure 1.
Now click Installation options in the menu box to display the Installation options page. The following settings can be edited here
- Root to the package file(s) Specops Deploy downloads all the installation files locally to the client before starting the installation. By default all the files in the same folder as the selected msi-file and all subdirectories are downloaded. This is normally the desired behaviour but in some circumstances the root directory from where files will be copied may need to be changed.
- Install command Only used for Legacy setups. For Windows Installer packages this will always say Windows Installer.
- Additional Windows Installer properties Some Windows Installer packages can be customized using Windows Installer properties. Any properties entered here will be used during installation. This option is only used during installation not advertisements.
- Install commands parameters Only used by Legacy Setups and allows for specific switches to be used during installation. An example of a commonly used switch is /s that indicates a silent, no user interface, installation. The switches that can be used are normally provided by the manufacturer of the package.
Click OK to save the new package.
3.4 Select a Target
Now the package is created and it is time to select the recipients of the deployment. For this, we use a target. A target contains one or more criteria that define which computers or users will get the deployment. Click the Create new target… button. Select Computer target in the Target Type dialog.
GPMC information
The two different target types (Computer and User) in Control Center hides the division of the underlying GPOs computer and user part. When using the Specops Deploy GPMC snap-in targets created in the computer section are always computer targets and vice versa.
Enter a name for the target, e.g. My Specops Deploy Test Computers and optionally enter a description in the description field, then click Target criteria. In this page one or more criteria can be added to the target. A computer or user must meet all the criteria of the target to be reached by the target. For this test do not add any criteria, only select the checkbox All computers. This will make the target reach all the computers within the scope of the current GPO. Select OK.
The difference between Computer and User targets is that packages deployed to
a Computer target will install software to a specific set of computers while a
User target will install on any computer where the users, which are reached by
the target, log on.
Select Next > to continue.
3.5 Select installation type
For Windows Installer there are two types of installations:
- Install A full installation that completely installs the package on the computer.
- Advertise only The package is prepared for installation but the files are not installed. Shortcuts are mounted on the start menu so when a user clicks on one of the shortcuts the installation is completed.
In most cases Install should be selected since the installation can be installed in the background without interfering at boot or logon times.
The option ‘’Uninstall the package if the deployment falls Out of the Scope of
Management’‘ determines what happens if the target is not valid any more or if
the actual GPO no longer applies, for example if the user or computer has been
moved to another part of AD where the GPO is not linked.
Select Install and then Next >.
3.6 Select installation time
Specops Deploy can schedule operations to occur after a set date and time. Note that the date and time set is the earliest time the operation will start, but the actual time will be the first time Group Policies are being processed after the specified time has passed. GP processing is by default about every 90 minutes. You may also specify if operations should be performed during:
- At startup (for computer targets) or at logon (for user targets)
- After the PC has started
- Either way
The default is to always install after the computer is booted or after the user has
logged on. This will optimize boot and logon times.
Do not change any settings at this time and then select Next >.
3.7 Select a message to the end users.
If a user is logged in when the deployment operations starts, a custom message can be displayed to the end user about the deployment. If no message is entered the end user will only be notified by a standard text that describes that the package will be installed, uninstalled, repaired etc.
Select the checkbox Use custom end user message and enter e.g. This is a Specops Deploy Test Package. Then click Next>.
3.8 Finalize the deployment
The deployment is now finished and ready to deploy. Select Next > to submit the
changes to the GPO. Control Center now displays the deployments that are
active. Leave Control Center in this state.
4. Watch the result on the clients
Logon to one of clients that has the Specops Deploy Client Side Extension
installed. Normally you have to wait for the next Group Policy cycle, by default
90 minutes interval with a random offset of 0 to 30 minutes, but this cycle can be
forced to happen immediately by entering the following command in a
command prompt:
- Windows XP/2003 GPUpdate
- Windows 2000 SecEdit /refreshpolicy machine_policy
Now the GP cycle is started and soon an icon will appear in the Systray that
indicates that software changes are going to be performed. Double click the icon
and select the Start now button. The deployment will now be performed.
5. Watch the feedback in Control Center
Go back to Control Center and see how the client reports back information about
the deployment changing between different states. You can also get detailed
information on a specific deployment by selecting it and selecting ‘’Deployment
feedback’‘.
You have now successfully deployed your first software package with Specops
Deploy and also learned about its basic features.
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