Systems Management Server makes it easy to automatically distribute commercial or internally-developed applications, upgrades or fixes, or virus-checking software to selected personal computers on the local network and at remote sites.
The following lists the steps in the software distribution and installation process:
Inventory information gathered by Systems Management Server is stored in the SQL Server database, which the administrator can query to identify computers that meet certain qualifications. (For example, you could query a site for all computers that are currently running Windows 3.1 and that meet other requirements, and target them for an upgrade to Windows 95.)
Systems Management Server provides some predefined queries, or you can write your own. When you run a query, all computers that meet the criteria of the query are listed in a window, similar to the one in the following illustration.
Systems Management Server uses packages to store information about software so it can be installed on clients, shared from servers, inventoried, or even removed from a computer. Before creating a package to distribute or share software, you must place all the files you want to use for the package in a shared source directory on a server or local drive.You then create a package by identifying the files (those now in the source directory) and defining the package's properties. This is the configuration and identification information used either to install the package on clients (Workstation Properties), or to share the package so that it can be run from network servers (Sharing Properties).
Workstation Properties.
Packages with Workstation properties and Run Command On Workstation job type are used to install software, such as Windows 95, on target clients. Rather than having to personally visit each computer attached to your LAN, you can create a job that sends the package to distribution servers. When each target computer logs on to the network, a program called the Package Command Manager (PCM) runs automatically and allows the user to install the new software by choosing the package from the PCM Window.
Package Command Manager (PCM).
This program is installed and set up automatically when the computer is first inventoried by Systems Management Server. At intervals set by the administrator or user, the Package Command Manager checks to see if there are any software installation jobs intended for its computer. If there are, it retrieves the software from the local distribution server and follows the installation instructions. You can give the user the option of accepting the package now or later, and you can set a deadline by which the user must accept the package. Systems Management Server can even install operating system software, such as Windows 95, when the computer is unattended—overnight, for example.
Sharing Properties.
Packages with Sharing properties and Share Application On Server job type are used to install, and then share, software on one or more networked file servers. This job sends the package to the distribution servers at a site, shares the necessary network directories, and makes the package available to users with the specified access permissions.
Packages can have one or more properties defined. In other words, a package with both Workstation and Inventory properties defined would allow installation of new software to a target client, and then include the new software in the site's inventory.
You can define packages for commercial applications, for applications you have developed, and for data files. Systems Management Server includes package definition files (PDFs) that specify the setup programs, installation options, and execution command lines for certain applications. In addition, software developers may create package definition files for their applications. If there is a PDF for the application you want to install, import it to automatically define all the variables. The PDF for Windows 95 is called WIN95.PDF.
After defining the package, you have to let Systems Management Server know where to send it. To do this, drag and drop the defined package onto the site (in the Site Properties Window) and fill in a few job details, including the distribution servers to use and the type of job—Run Command On Workstation, Share Application On Server, and Remove Shared Package From Server—corresponding to the package properties.
Systems Management Server can distribute packages to each site over any LAN or WAN protocol supported by Windows NT Server (such as TCP/IP or IPX), over an SNA backbone, or over standard serial lines (including ISDN or X.25).
After you have defined the package properties and the job details, Systems Management Server takes over the distribution process, installing or sharing the software from the distribution server, or performing an inventory — typically all without any user input.
Before Systems Management Server distributes a package, it compresses it, thereby reducing the amount of traffic on the network. As the package is passed through the hierarchy, Systems Management Server manages error detection and correction over the WAN. If the distribution requires more time than is available on the link you've specified between sites, Systems Management Server distributes segments of the package sequentially when the WAN is available. When the package arrives at the site, it is placed on the specified distribution servers.
After the package has been copied to the distribution site and uncompressed, Systems Management Server uses the package properties and job type to determine what to do with the it next.