Windows NT Workstation allows the use of special information files (.inf files), that can specify all possible custom settings. The format and parameters for these files are described in Chapter 2, "Customizing Setup."
Systems Management Server can use these information files for automated installations of the software. The vehicle for this is the Package Definition File, or PDF. A PDF is an ASCII file that specifies setup programs, installation options, and execution command lines for the software you will install. If the PDF contains a reference to an .inf file, then the .inf file is made available to the destination computers when the package is delivered through a Systems Management Server job. In fact, several .inf files can be included in a single package.
Since the PDF has options for installing Windows NT Workstation on computers currently running MS-DOS, Windows 3.1, or Windows for Workgroups 3.11, the queries need to target each platform individually.
In order to install Windows NT Workstation on the target computers, for MS-DOS-, Windows 3.1–, and Windows for Workgroups 3.11–based systems, the winnt command must be used to install the operating system. For computers that are running an earlier version of Windows NT Workstation, use the winnt32 command to install the operating system. Both the winnt and the winnt32 commands include a complete set of command-line switches that can further help automate the setup process. For more information on this, see Chapter 2, "Customizing Setup." Systems Management Server Distribution Packages can be used to run these commands locally on targeted workstations.
Each package is completely self-contained: It has all the files needed for the task or tasks it is designed to do. Furthermore, a single package can contain several different sets of helper files, EXEs, and INFs. The command you want is chosen when you create a job using the package.
1. In the Packages window of Systems Management Server, choose New from the File menu. The Package Properties dialog box appears.
2. Choose Import, and then select the file \\servername\import.src\enu\nt40.pdf, where servername is the name of the server to which you copied the PDF.
After you select the file, you are returned to the Package Properties dialog box.
3. Choose Windows NT Workstation. The Setup Package for Windows NT Workstation dialog box appears.
Enter the full UNC name of your distribution sharepoint in the Source Directory text box. If you choose to browse for the files, edit the resulting path so that it shows the UNC name (which would begin with \\servername) rather than the relative name (which would begin with the drive letter you have assigned to the server during the current session). Be sure to choose the "Automated Setup for Windows NT Workstation" command line.
4. If you want, you can examine the command line for the package by choosing Properties in the Setup Package for Windows NT Workstations dialog box.
You might also choose to view the inventory properties for the package by choosing Inventory in the Setup Package for Windows NT Workstations dialog box.
5. When you are satisfied with the package, click OK until the Package Properties dialog box is closed.
Once the package has been created and appears in the Packages window, you can include it in a job.
For more information on creating packages, see Chapter 10, "Packages," in the Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide.