Selecting Distribution Points
For the package you created to be accessible to clients, you
must copy it to at least one distribution point. The computer on
which you have SCCM installed is a distribution point by default,
and you can add the package to any other distribution points you
have added using the New Site System Server Wizard.
To add a package to distribution points, use the following
procedure:
-
In Configuration Manager, browse to the Computer
Management\Software Distribution\Packages folder and expand
the package you want to distribute.
-
Right-click the Distribution Points heading and select
New Distribution Points from the context menu. The New
Distribution Points Wizard appears.
-
Click Next to bypass the Welcome page. The Copy Package
page appears, as shown in Figure 11.
-
Select the check boxes for the distribution
points you want to use to deploy the package and click Next.
The Wizard Completed page appears.
-
Click Close.
In SCCM 2007, a program contains the command that the target
computers execute to install the application in a package. You
must create at least one program for every package. You can create
multiple programs to support different installation options. For
example, if an application’s setup program provides you with
installation options such as Typical, Complete, and Custom to
choose from, you must create three separate programs to support
all of those options.
To create a program, use the following procedure:
-
In Configuration Manager, browse to the Computer
Management\Software Distribution\Packages folder and expand
the package you want to distribute.
-
Right-click the Programs heading and select New |
Program from the context menu. The New Program Wizard appears,
displaying the General page, as shown in Figure 12.
-
In the Name text box, type a descriptive for the
program.
-
In the Command Line text box, type the command line to
execute on the target computers, including any required
parameters.
Caution
CONFIGURING COMMAND LINE
PARAMETERS
SCCM 2007 has no way of checking whether the command
line you specify in a program is correctly formatted or
includes the proper parameters. The only way to know for
sure is to execute the command on a target computer.
-
You can specify in the Start In text box the folder in
which you want the command line to execute. The default is the
folder in which the source files are stored.
-
In the Run drop-down list, specify whether you want the
program to be visible as it runs.
-
In the After Running drop-down list, specify whether the
client system should restart after the installation is
completed.
-
Click Next. The Requirements page appears, as shown in
Figure 13.
-
Configure any properties a client must meet before it is
permitted to run the program. Then click Next. The Environment
page appears, as shown in Figure 14.
-
Configure the environment in which the client will run
the program. Then click Next. The Advanced page appears, as
shown in Figure 15.
-
Configure any special requirements the application
requires and click Next. The Windows Installer page
appears.
-
Click Next. The MOM Maintenance Mode page
appears.
-
Click Next. The Summary page appears, as shown in Figure 16.
-
Click Next. The Wizard Completed page appears.
-
Click Close.
After you have created the package and all of its
constituent parts, you are ready to create an advertisement that
notifies the clients of the package’s existence. Using SCCM’s
scheduling capabilities, you can control when the advertisement is
available to clients, thus regulating the amount of network
traffic generated by the application deployment process.
Practice: Deploying Packages with Group Policy Software
Installation
In this practice, you create a Group Policy Object (GPO) and
configure it to distribute a software package, but to avoid
accidental distribution, you do not link the GPO to an AD DS
object.
EXERCISE 1 Creating a Group Policy
Object
To distribute software by using Group Policy, the best
approach is to create a new GPO specifically for that
purpose.
-
Click Start. Then click Administrative Tools | Group
Policy Management. The Group Policy Management console
appears.
-
Expand your forest and your domain.
-
Under your domain, right-click the Group Policy Objects
heading and select New from the context menu. The New GPO dialog
box appears.
-
In the Name text box, type Software Distribution Test and click
OK. The Software Distribution Test GPO appears in the
console.
EXERCISE 2 Configuring Software
Installation Policies
To create Software Installation policies, you must open the
GPO you created in the Group Policy Management Editor.
-
In the Group Policy Management console, right-click the
Software Distribution Test GPO you created and select Edit from
the context menu. The Group Policy Management Editor console
appears and loads the GPO.
-
Under User Configuration, browse to the Policies\Software
Settings\Software Installation folder.
-
Right-click the Software Installation folder and select
New | Package from the context menu. An Open combo box
appears.
-
Browse to the location of the
MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit2010_x64.msi or
MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit2010_x86.msi file, select the file,
and click Open. The Deploy Software dialog box appears.
-
Select the Advanced option and click OK. The Microsoft
Deployment Toolkit 2010 Properties sheet appears.
-
Click the Deployment tab.
-
Leave the Published option selected and clear the
Auto-Install This Application By File Extension Activation check
box.
-
Click OK. The policy appears in the Software Installation
folder.
