Sims auto update

[leon]

Afternoon all, this isn't actually a post on how to do it. I've managed to sort that with this very enlightening thread:

 

http://www.edugeek.net/index.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=2606

 

So thanks to the posters there. This is fast becoming my favourite place on the net...

 

What I'm wondering now is what are the consequences of a user logging into SIMS from a shortcut to pulsar.exe (local), if their machine hasn't ran the startup/update script. Say for example from misapplied policy.

 

You might ask why would the script not run if it's applied via a gpo. And there you'd probably have a very good point! Call me paranoid...

 

Many thanks.

 

Leon.

[Ric_]

IIRC, SIMS won't run if the client software is out of date... you receive some very cryptic message.

 

The GPO distributed software might not have been installed if the machine hasn't been rebooted or if you don't run the GPOs synchronously by the way.

[leon]

Nice one Ric, that's what I needed to hear. I'm pretty certain our machines don't run GPOs synchronously.

 

*one quick Google later*

 

Am I right in thinking I can turn on synchronous processing with:

 

Computer Configuration/Administrative Templates/System/Logon/Always wait for the network at computer startup and logon

 

...? Guess it would be best to enable that on our admin machines?

 

Cheers.

[MkII]

The latest update from v7.88 to v7.90 (Feb'07) doesn't bring up any errors if the clients don't update I have just discovered today. The May update, however, looks like a major change so that may be a different story.

[leon]

Seconded, the client seems to run ok if it doesn't get the update script -I've also just applied the Feb update.

 

On the bright side, now I've got the GPOs applying synchronously (what? Of course I'd heard of that before now! :oops:) I won't have to run around like a blue arsed fly updating machines.

 

Me 1 SIMS 0.

 

[Ric_]

Perhaps it's just when there is a change to the database that the client won't run (it prob checks the database version on start).

[leon]

Good stuff, everyones logged in this morning and the update has applied.

 

@ Mark -are you worried about clients that have missed the update changing live data?

 

Thanks Gents.

[the.damon]

I'm fairly sure there isn't a DB check on launch. Fairly often you'll find that the wrong clients can still connect to the database. The issue will only make itself apparent when the user attempts to use a function that has been modified in the newer release. I think it is only if there is a change to the login process that you will receive an error on launch so it is very important to ensure that simsload is run prior to the pulsar exe.

[PhilNeal]

I have certainly been told that the client always checks the DB version number so let me know if you have an example of that not being true.

[meastaugh1]

In my experience, when running an out of date .net client installation, it will usually load up fine. I think FMS does the DB version check though, because I've seen that report it's out of date in the past.

[the.damon]

As above, FMS always checks but Sims .net doesn't or didn't in the past.

 

Perhaps the most recent clients do but an 'Incompatible Database version' message is not displayed by any means. I would have thought that if a check was in place then a similar message to FMS would appear. During my time at capita the most common cause for saving issues was an incorrect client version.