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Need advice here please..
i am trying to deploy 21st Century Science
1/ Make a UNC share on server where MSI is
2/ Move PC to Container where the PC's that are to get the software
3/ Add GPO to Container
4/ In GPO select > Computer > Software > Software Installation > New
5/ Find and Assign Package..
Yet is doesn't seem to want to deploy and install..
Am I doing anything wrong ?
Have you tried restarting the workstations, then doing gpupdate /force?
Some of my workstations require up to 3 restarts prior to starting application install.
Hope this helps.
I had this problem with GPO and Sysvol replication between our two DCs. I fixed that problem (don't have the link now), but it led to me deciding to not use AD for deployments. I set a GPO to use a Kixscript "computer_on.kix" file that every computer will read at startup.
In that file I set the deployments (which are just CMD batch files) as a 'shell' command and make it so if a computer is in a certain group, it gets the command.
This way I don't have to mess with GPOs to deploy anything and hope computers "sync up". I just edit the kix file and save it and I know the computers will definitely get whatever changes I want them to have at the next bootup.
You should get info in the event log on the workstation to tell you what's happening.
As the machine starts up do you see "installing software xx"? If so, then check the event log - it should tell you what's going on. Commonest problem I've seen is forgetting to give "domain computers" read access to the server share.
to avoid the multi-restart thing you need to make sure that GPs get deployed immediately - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/305293 gives details of how to make this happen and
http://www.gpoguy.com/FAQs/Foreground-Background.htm gives more info about what it actually means :-)
Scripting the install is fine (I do it for some things) but the benefit of using an MSI deployed with group policy is that it can be more manageable (easy to upgrade, self healing packages etc)
I try to keep my GPO installs al in one share (imaginatively) called "deploy", partly 'cause I had issues with stuff not installing properly.
In the end it was due to security permissions, I have since changed the security on this share (and the sub folders within), to be be read access for "domain users" and "domain computers", although I suspect that just the "domain computers" should be enough, stuff didn't always install properly until I did this.
I usually only require two restarts to install an MSI, but we have scripts that do this for us.
They'll always be some software that comes with an .EXE, or has something that requires additional scripting.
Although you only need domain computers to read the MSI for initial install, you'll often need access to the files for the user config part of the install (not all MSIs do this but many do; it's a lot easier to give domain users access to all the folders rather than try and work out which ones might need it!)
If your distributing MSI's the Share should be Everyone = Full Control and the NTFS permissions should be Authenticated Users = Read.
Grommit: You don't need to install 21st century to every workstation. Just install using the network install from the wizard into a mapped drive that everyone has access to and you will see that it creates a folder within called content look in here and you create a shortcut which points to the start-t.htm for the teachers and start-s.htm for the students.
You can install all the addons into the same folder as well ok.
have a look at attached pic for clarity.