MSI installation overview in AutoIT

[MK-2]

I currently have a program I created that will remotely install MSI files to a PC. At the moment it only accepts one machine name per install, but what I'd like would be an overview pulled in from AD computers where you can select multiple machines.

Would anyone be able to help me research and work on this part? I wouldn't know where to start with that.

Basically something that will pull in all computer objects in AD, list them alphabetically and give a box next to each to select. you select the ones you want and when you click install it carries on with the script I have to remotely install them

 

future plans would be to have a database of all machines which it writes to when successfully installed so it can later reference that and show previously installed products.

 

PM me if you want any greater detail on the vision for this

Thanks

 

Mike

[Little-Miss]

Now, im not critiscing in the slightest. Fair play for even be able to get that far! lol

 

But just wondering..isnt this what GPO does? Why is it any better? I imagine there is a situation im unaware of.

 

Again just wondering....

[MK-2]

no you're right,sorry, forgot to add that it installs using BITS, so is able to send out on the fly and using only available bandwidth without having to have a machine restarted

[Little-Miss]

ooooooohhhh nice...

[MK-2]

it works for one pc at the moment. so you enter the msi and the remote pc and it will pack it, send it, unpack it and install it silently, but now i want to expand it so you can select multiple pc's from a GUI (if anyone has ever used RM CC4 you'll get the idea of what i mean)

[MK-2]

as an update (to anyone interested) i have added a few things to it which should see it nearly ready to be available to anyone who wants to test.

 

- authentication on running - if not correct username and password and not in domain admins security group it quits

- scans AD for all computers and allows you to select multiple computers to send to

- automatically zips up the folder with the msi and sends via BITS to whichever PC's were chosen, before unzipping and remotely running the msi silently (testing with 5MB MSI to 4 machines took 1:30secs to zip/send/unzip/install to all)

- doesn't require restart of machine to start the install as AD GPO does

- cleans up remote folder of zip file and temp files, cleans up host machine of zip file and temp files

 

TO DO:

- add some proper error handling

- add better progress dialogs (rather than just SENDING MSI while it sends to x amount of pc's, etc)

- look into creating database of machines and MSIs sent so that MSIs aren't sent multiple times to same PC

- using database to give a graphical overview of what machines have what installed

- ability to remotely uninstall packages too

 

anyone interested in giving it a try, please PM me.

this has been tested on our live network and worked fine, though i accept no responsibility if anything were to happen if used on your live network.

 

 

 

Mike

[strawberry]

Would like to try, I have written something similar but at the moment it uses text files so would love to look at yours.

[MK-2]

strawberry: pm me your email and ill send a copy over, its only 1mb

[MK-2]

ADDED :

 

- MST transform files can be used now, providing the mst is in the same folder as the msi file (which it generally is)