5. Injecting in a Disk ImageThis
section describes how to add applications to deployment shares you
build with MDT 2010, and then inject those applications into disk images
or install them when deploying the disk image. When
planning application deployment, you choose between three deployment
strategies: thick image, thin image, and hybrid image. If you're using a thin-image strategy, you
won't be injecting
applications into disk images. Instead, you'll use a systems-management
infrastructure such as System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to
deploy applications after installing the thin disk image. If you're
using a thick-image strategy, you will install applications when you
create the disk image. In other words, you will add the application
installations to the MDT 2010 task sequence that you use to create the
disk image. This method should be a last resort, as it's more difficult
to maintain and slower to deploy. If you're using a hybrid image
strategy, you will install applications during deployment. In this case,
you will add the application installations to the MDT 2010 task
sequence that you're deploying to destination computers, or you will add
application installations to the MDT 2010 database.
When
you add an application to a deployment share, you're simply describing
for MDT 2010 how to install the application by using the command line
and optionally copying the application source files to the deployment
share. If you don't copy the application source files to the deployment
share, MDT 2010 installs the application from the source location you
specify, such as a network share. To add an application to a deployment share, perform the following steps: In
the Deployment Workbench console tree, right-click Applications and
then select New Application to begin the New Application Wizard. The
Applications option is under Deployment Share. In MDT 2010, you must
create a deployment share before adding applications to it. On the Application Type page, do one of the following and then click Next: Click
the Application With Source Files option. Choosing this option copies
the application source files to the deployment share. During deployment,
MDT 2010 installs the application from source files it copied to the
deployment share. Click the
Application Without Source Files Or Elsewhere On The Network option.
Choosing this option does not copy the application source files to the
deployment share. During deployment, MDT 2010 installs the application
from another location on the network. You also choose this option to run
a command that requires no application source files. Click
the Application Bundle option. This option creates essentially a dummy
application with which you can associate other applications
(dependencies). If you select the Application Bundle option during
deployment, MDT 2010 will install all of its dependencies.
On the Details page, provide the following information about the application and then click Next: In the Publisher box, type the name of the application's publisher (optional). In the Application Name box, type the name of the application. In the Version box, type a version label for the application (optional). In the Languages box, type the languages supported by the application (optional).
On the Source page, type the path of the folder containing the application you want to
add and then click Next. If you've chosen to copy the application
source files to the deployment share, Deployment Workbench copies
everything in this folder to the deployment share; otherwise, it adds
this path to the application's metadata as the application's
installation path. NoteIf
you select the Move The Files To The Deployment Share Instead Of
Copying Them check box, the New Application Wizard will move the source
files instead of copying them. Use this option if you want to stage
applications on the local hard disk before moving them into the deployment share. On
the Destination page, type the name of the folder to create for the
application within the deployment share and then click Next. The default
value is the publisher, application name, and version label
concatenated. On the Command
Details page, type the command to use to install the application
silently, and then click Next. For example, type msiexec /qb /i program.msi. The command is relative to the working directory specified in the Working Directory box. On the Summary page, review the application details and then click Next. On the Confirmation page, click Finish.
After adding
an application to the deployment share, you see it in the Applications
details pane. You also see it in the deployment share in Applications\subfolder, where subfolder is the destination you specified when adding the application. Often,
an application has dependencies. For example, application A is
dependent on application B if you must install application B before
installing application A. MDT 2010 allows you to specify application
dependencies for each application you add to the deployment share. You
can make an application dependent only on other applications that you've
added to the deployment share. To add dependencies to an application, perform the following steps: In the Deployment Workbench console tree, click Applications. In the details pane, right-click the application that has a dependency on another application and then click Properties. On the Dependencies tab, shown on the following page, do the following: To
add an application to the dependencies list, click Add, select an
application, and then click OK. Deployment Workbench only displays
applications in this list that you've already added to the deployment
share. To remove an application from the dependencies list, select an application in the dependencies list and then click Remove. To reorder the applications in the dependencies
list, select an application in the dependencies list and then click Up
or click Down. MDT 2010 installs the dependent applications in the order
specified by the dependencies list.
In
MDT 2010, the task sequence specifies the tasks that run during
deployment and their order. You can install applications during the
imaging process by adding a step to the task sequence that installs the
application at the appropriate time. For more information about
customizing the task sequence. Although this approach is useful for injecting
applications into a disk image, using the MDT 2010 database or
CustomSettings.ini is more appropriate during deployment in production. Without
creating additional groups in the task sequence, the best place to add
application installs is to the Custom Tasks group, which MDT 2010
creates in each task sequence's default task sequence. The instructions
in this section show you how to install an application as a step under
this group. NoteIf
you add an application to the deployment share without installing it
via the task sequence, the Windows Deployment Wizard will allow the user
to install the application optionally during deployment. Also, you can
choose applications to install automatically during a Zero Touch
Installation by configuring the deployment share to install the
application automatically. To add an application installation to a task sequence, perform the following steps: In
the Deployment Workbench console tree, click Task Sequences, which is
located under Deployment Share. In MDT 2010, you must create a
deployment share before adding applications to it. In the details pane, right-click the task sequence in which you want to install an application and then click Properties. On
the Task Sequence tab, shown here, click Custom Tasks in the task
sequence and then click Add, click General, and then click Install
Application. Click
the Install Application task that you just added to the task sequence,
select the Install A Single Application option, click Browse, choose an
application, and then click OK, as shown here.
NoteIn MDT 2010, the task sequence is very flexible. For example, you can install applications
at almost any point during the State Restore phase. You can filter
application installation tasks on a variety of variables. 6. Repackaging Legacy ApplicationsSome
legacy installers don't support silent installations, and some that do
support silent installations don't provide a way to script settings. No
legacy installers provide the management capabilities that Windows
Installer provides. If
you have an application that is not designed for Windows Installer and
does not support another automated installation technique, you can
repackage it into the Windows Installer setup database so that you can
use the features of Windows Installer to distribute and manage the
application. A repackaged application combines the entire feature set of
the application into a single feature. After repackaging
an application, you use Windows Installer to install it. However,
repackaged applications lack the flexibility to customize the
application installation efficiently. WarningDo
not repackage Microsoft Office. The Office package files include logic
that customizes the installation for the destination computer and user.
Repackaging the package file loses this logic, potentially preventing
the package from installing correctly in some configurations. Windows
Installer provides no functionality for repackaging applications.
However, numerous vendors sell repackaging products for Windows
Installer. Repackaging
is not new. Organizations have historically repackaged applications to
customize their installation and configuration. However, Windows
Installer transforms eliminate the need to repackage Windows
Installer–based applications just to customize them. In fact,
repackaging applications that already install from a Windows Installer
setup database is bad practice and is not supported. Repackaging
an application is a process that compares snapshots to determine the
contents of the new package. The following steps provide an overview of
the repackaging process: Take a snapshot of the computer's current configuration. Install the application. Take a second snapshot of the computer's new configuration. Create
a package that contains the differences between the two snapshots. The
repackaging tool detects all of the differences between the two
snapshots, including all changes to the registry and file system.
Because numerous processes are running in Windows 7 at any time, the
package file will likely contain settings and files related to processes
outside of the application. Clean the package to remove noise (unnecessary files and settings).
WarningDon't
let the simplicity of these five steps trick you into believing that
repackaging is easy. Application repackaging is very often the most
expensive part of any deployment project. When you undertake the
repackaging of an organization's applications, you can count on a labor-
and resource-intensive effort, particularly in organizations with
thousands of applications, many of which the organization must
repackage. Budget, plan, and schedule accordingly. You
must use tools that are not included with Windows Installer to create
Windows Installer packages. The following list includes some of the
variety of tools available: AdminStudio
Available in multiple versions, including a free download, AdminStudio
is a powerful and flexible repackaging tool. The following versions are
available: AdminStudio Configuration Manager Edition
This free download from Microsoft integrates with System Center
Configuration Manager 2007 to simplify repackaging. AdminStudio
Configuration Manager Edition prepares legacy
Setup.exe packages for deployment by converting them to Windows
Installer .msi packages. To download AdminStudio Configuration Manager
Edition, see http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/configmgr/bb932316.aspx. AdminStudio Professional Edition
This full version of AdminStudio is a complete solution for packaging,
customizing, testing, and distributing applications. The full version
includes all the features included with AdminStudio Configuration
Manager Edition, plus additional features. To download a trial version
of AdminStudio, see the AdminStudio software overview page at http://www.acresso.com/products/as/adminstudio-overview.htm.
Wise Package Studio Wise offers products for repackaging, testing, and configuring the deployment of applications. See http://www.symantec.com/business/package-studio for more information.
|
