Creating New Installation Scripts

One option when you are migrating PGC applications from SMS 1.2 is to recreate the package in SMS 2.0. This option is particularly useful if you have migrated a package and the application does not execute correctly in SMS 2.0, but the reason is not evident. It is also useful when you want to create an entirely new shared application in SMS 2.0. In those cases, you need to create an entirely new application.

If you create an entirely new application, you will need to:

Create an application image (see “Creating the Application Image” later in this chapter.)
Create a client installation script if this is necessary for your application. This script should create a shortcut on client desktops that connects to the application on the distribution point, create registry keys, and copy any files that must be local to each client.
If necessary, create a server installation script to modify the application image on each distribution point.

You must create an installation package for your application and distribute it across your site as outlined in “Deploying Shared Applications” later in this chapter.

Some pre-packaged applications provide client and server installation options for creating shared applications, but many do not. If the application you are distributing does not provide client and server installation options, you may be able to use the SMS Installer to create such scripts. You can create a client installation script by using the Repackage Application wizard in SMS Installer to capture all the client modifications that are made when you install the application. You must then test the application with a client and a server, modifying the client as necessary to run the application from the server.

First, set up a server computer and two client computers. All computers should be reference computers for SMS Installer, as described in Chapter 13, “Creating Self-Installing Files with SMS Installer 2.0,” in the SMS 2.0 Administrator’s Guide. In general, a new installation of the operating system works best. Creating a client installation script using the procedure that follows only works if you can choose to install your application on a specific drive, since you cannot isolate the client changes otherwise.

To create a client installation script (configuration command line) for a shared application on servers

Set up a server computer and two client computers.
On one of the client computers, map a drive for the server computer.
On the same client computer, start SMS Installer and on the View menu, select Installation Expert. Click Repackage.
Enter the setup program name in the Installation Program text box, and enter any options in the Command line options text box. In the Directory text box, where you choose which directories to scan, choose to scan only the drive that contains the %Windir% directory.
Note If you scan only the drive on the server computer, this can create an application image. You must thoroughly test before you use this application image before you use it.
When the setup program displays the default location for the application, change the entry so that it installs the application on the server share.
When the repackage is completed, examine the installation script. You must change any hard-coded references to the server computer’s drive to be more general. You may be able to use the %INST% Installer variable, as the Setstart client installation script does. For more information, see “Managing Server-Based File References” earlier in this chapter.

Test the client script with a second client and make sure both clients can run the application from the server. For more information about creating SMS Installer scripts, see Chapter 13, “Creating Self-Installing Files with SMS Installer 2.0,” in the SMS 2.0 Administrator’s Guide.

Sometimes the above procedure allows you to create the client installation script directly, but it is suitable for only a subset of all the applications that can be installed as server-based applications. Even though you cannot use SMS Installer to directly create the client installation script, you can still use the Repackage Wizard to monitor all the changes that are made to your computer when you install the application. With this information, you can modify the installation script that SMS Installer creates, so that you can use it to set up clients for running your application as a shared application.

Another way to create the client installation script is to modify the Setstart client installation script, which creates the client shortcut that connects to the distribution point to run the application.

This may be as simple as creating the shortcut on each client to run the application from the server. In that case, you can use Setstart without modification. When you use Setstart, you keep the Setstart script on the distribution point in the same directory as the application image. When you run it, Setstart places an icon on the client that runs the application from the distribution point.

If you need to make more extensive changes to Setstart, the process is the same as if you are migrating a package from SMS 1.2 and is outlined in “Modifying the Setstart Client Installation Script” earlier in this chapter.