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Application Deploy

Scripts > Application Deploy

The Application Deploy page is a wizard tool that creates a script to distribute vendor installation packages, typically setup.exe. The wizard walks you through a step by step process resulting in a script you can schedule to deploy an application to any managed machine.

Deploying Software Vendor's Install Packages

Most vendors provide either a single file when downloaded from the web or set of files when distributed on a CD. Executing the installer file, typically named setup.exe or abc.msi, installs the vendor's application on any operating system.

The Application Deploy wizard takes you though an interview process to determine the type of installer and automatically generates a script to deploy install vendor packages.

The VSA provides a small utility to automatically identify all supported installer types. Download and run kInstId.exe to automatically identifies the installer type.

Step 1: How do you want to deploy the application?

The wizard generated script tells the managed machine where to get the application installation file to execute. The Application Deploy wizard asks you in step 1 if you want to Send the installer from the VSA server to the remote machine and execute it locally or Execute the installer from a file share on the same LAN as the remote machine.

Pushing the application installation file to each machine from the VSA may be bandwidth intensive. If you are installing to multiple machines on a LAN no internet bandwidth is used to push out the application installation file. Each machine on the LAN can execute the application installation file directly from a common file share.

Step 2: Select the application install file or Specify the UNC path to the installer stored on the same LAN as the remote machine.

If Send the installer from the VSA server to the remote machine and execute it locally was selected, then the installer file must be on the VSA server. Select the file from the drop down list.

Note: If the installer file does not appear in the list then it is not on the VSA server. Click the here link to upload the file to the server.

If Execute the installer from a file share on the same LAN as the remote machine was selected, then the installer file must be on the remote file share prior to running the application deploy script. The specified path to the file must be in UNC format such as \\computername\dir\.

Note: If the file is not already on the remote file share, you can put it there via FTP. Click the here link to start FTP.

Step 3: What kind of installer is this?

The wizard need to know what kind of installer was used by your software vendor to create the install package. The VSA provides a small utility to automatically identify all supported installer types. Download and run kInstId.exe to automatically identify the installer type. Supported installer types are:

  • Windows Installer (MSI files)
  • Wise Installer
  • Installshield - Package For The Web
  • Installshield - Multiple Files
  • Other

Step 4: Name the script.

The new script appears under the Install Tab. Master administrators can specify a shared script or private script. Standard Administrators can only create private scripts.

Step 5: Reboot the machine after installing the application.

Check this box to automatically reboot the managed machine after running the install. The default setting is to not reboot.