Configuring the Software Distribution SMS Feature

Configuring Software Distribution

The process for distributing packages can be broken into a number of steps:

Specify the CAPs for the package.
Specify the distribution points for the package.
Create the necessary collections.
Collect the necessary source files, installation scripts etc.
Create the SMS package.
Define one program for the package. This is the minimum requirement. You can define multiple programs for a package.
Advertise the programs to one or multiple collections.
Distribute the package to the specified distribution points.
Run the program being advertised on the client.

With SMS 2.0, the Definition Wizard and Distribute Software Wizard contain the PDFs. The Distribute Software Wizard is used to provide the information on distributing the software. When executing the Distribute Software Wizard, you have to select which package should be distributed. This involves selecting the Create new package from a definition option and then specifying the PDF that should be imported. Configuring the Software Distribution SMS Feature

The Definition Wizard is used to create the package and program. Using the Create Package from Definition Wizard involves the steps listed here:

Create the package source files.
Create a package for the application by using the PDF and the Create Package from Definition Wizard.
Define the distribution points for the package.
Advertise the program(s) of the package to clients.

The configuration which has to be performed on the site server is summarized here:

You have to create the package using the Packages node of the SMS Administrator console. When creating the package, the following information needs to be specified:
- Programs which should be included in the package.
- Security settings of the package.
- Site systems which are to be configured as distribution points.
You have to create the advertisement using the Advertisementsnode of the SMS Administrator console When creating the advertisement, the following information needs to be specified:
- Collection target
- Package
- Program(s) in the package.

How to create a direct membership collection

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Locate the Collections node.
Right-click the Collections node, and select New, and then select Collection from the shortcut menu.
The Collection Properties dialog box opens.
In the Name textbox, on the General tab, provide a name for the new collection.
In the Comment textbox, provide a meaningful description for the new collection.
Click the Membership Rules tab.
Click the Direct Membership collection type.
The Create Direct Membership Rule Wizard starts.
Click Next on the Welcome to the Create Direct Membership Rule Wizard.
On the Search For Resources page, specify the resource class for the resource which should be added to the collection in the Resource Class list. Options include:

- IP Network Resource
- System Resource
- User Group Resource
- User Resource

In the Attribute name box, specify the appropriate resource attribute. Options here include Resource name, Resource ID, IP information and domain information, among others.
In the Value box, provide the attribute value to search for when defining members for this specific group. Click Next.
On the Collection Limiting page, you can define an existing collection which should be used to search for the resources in the Search in this collection textbox. If you want to search the entire SMS database, leave the Search in this collection textbox blank. Click Next.
On the Select Resources page, choose the resources which should be part of this collection.
The Completing The Create Direct Membership Rule Wizard page is displayed.
Click Finish.
All resources which you have specified to be included in the collection are listed on the Collection Properties dialog box, on the Membership Rules tab.
Enable the Update This Collection On A Schedule checkbox.
Click the Schedule button to configure the collections update schedule.
Click OK.
The collection is created and added to the Collections node in the SMS Administrator console.

How to create a query-based collection

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Locate the Collections node.
Right-click the Collections node, and select New, and then select Collection from the shortcut menu.
The Collection Properties dialog box opens.
In the Name textbox, on the General tab, provide a name for the new collection.
In the Comment textbox, provide a meaningful description for the new collection.
Click the Membership Rules tab.
Click Query Rules.
The Query Rule Properties dialog box opens.
In the Name box, provide a name for the query. If you want to select an existing SMS query, click the browse button to locate the query.
Specify the resource class for the resource which should be added to the collection in the Resource Class list. Options include:

- IP Network Resource
- System Resource
- User Group Resource
- User Resource

In the Collection Limiting area of the Query Rule Properties dialog box, select either of the following options:

- Not Collection Limited
- Limit To Collection

Click the Click Edit Query Statement button.
The Client Query Statement Properties dialog box opens.
On the General tab, you can change the Query Results window.
Click the Criteria tab. This is where you specify the method for populating the collection.
Clicking the New button displays the Criterion Properties dialog box.
Choose the appropriate criterion type in the Criterion type box:

- Simple Value
- Null Value
- Attribute Reference
- Subselected Values
- List of Values.

Click the Select button to specify the attribute class and attribute for the query.
Click the Value button to choose from the values in the SMS database. Click OK
Click OK to move back to the Query Rule Properties dialog box.
Click OK to move back to the Collection Properties dialog box.
Switch to the Membership Rules tab.
Enable the Update This Collection On A Schedule checkbox.
Click the Schedule button to configure the collections update schedule.
Click OK.
The collection is created and added to the Collections node in the SMS Administrator console.

How to create a subcollection

A subcollection refers to the process whereby one collection is linked to another collection.

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Collections node.
Right-click the collection which you want to include with the subcollection and select New, and then select Link To Collection from the shortcut menu.
The Browse Collection dialog box opens, displaying all existing collections.
Choose the collection for the subcollection.
Click OK.

How to update a collection

Open he SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Collections node.
Right-click the collection which you want to update and select All Tasks, and then select Update Collection Membership from the shortcut menu.
A message dialog is displayed, allowing you to specify whether all associated subcollections should be updated as well. Click the Update Subcollection Membership checkbox to do this, and then click OK.
To refresh the SMS Administrator console, right-click the collection which was updated and then select Refresh from the shortcut menu.
The collection will now show its updated membership in the SMS Administrator console.

How to update all collections

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Collections node.
Right-click the Collections node and select All Tasks, and then select Update Collection Membership from the shortcut menu.
A message dialog box is displayed. To verify that the update should proceed, click OK.
To refresh the SMS Administrator console, right-click the Collections node and then select Refresh from the shortcut menu.
The collections will now show the updated membership information in the SMS Administrator console.

How to unlink a subcollection

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Collections node.
Right-click the specific subcollection which you want to unlink and select Delete from the shortcut menu.
The Delete Collection Wizard initiates.
After verifying that the proper subcollection name is displayed, click Next on the Welcome to the Delete Collection Wizard screen.
Click Yes to verify that you want to delete this particular instance of the collection
Click Next and then click Finish.

How to delete a collection

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Collections node.
Right-click the specific collection which you want to delete and select Delete from the shortcut menu.
The Delete Collection Wizard initiates.
After verifying that the proper collection name is displayed, click Next on the Welcome to the Delete Collection Wizard screen.
On the Effects Of Deleting This Collection page, choose either of the following options:

- Yes; to display and examine additional information on the effects of deleting this particular collection.
- No; to simply continue with deleting the collection.

If you have selected the Yes option, then the Subcollections page is displayed, indicating all the subcollections of the collection. If you delete the collection, then any associated subcollection will be deleted as well. Click Next.
On the Advertisements page, any advertisements which are targeted to this collection are indicated. The advertisement will be deleted if this is the only collection which it is targeted to. Click Next.
On the Collection Membership Rules page, you can view all other collections that have membership rules limited to this particular collection. Click Next.
The Administrators page shows all administrators that currently have permissions to view resources in the collection. Click Next.
On the Choose Whether To Delete This Collection page, select Yes to proceed with deleting the collection. Click Next.
The Completing The Delete Collection Wizard page is displayed.
Click Finish.

How to create a package manually (with no definition file)

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Locate the Packages node.
Right-click the Packages node and select New and then Package from the shortcut menu.
The Package Properties dialog box opens.
On the General tab, in the Name textbo, provide a name for the new package.
Set the version in the Version textbox.
Specify the publisher in the Publisher textbox.
Specify the language in the Language textbox.
In the Comment textbox, provide a meaningful description for the new package.
Click the Change Icon button located at the top of the General tab.
Proceed to enter or browse for an icon file or Setup.exe file to show the proper icon for the new package.
Click the Data Source tab.
Enable the This Package Contains Source Files checkbox when the package will contain a source file(s).
Click the Set button to specify the location of the source files.
The Set Source Directory dialog box opens.
Specify the source files location or click the Browse button to search for the directory. Click OK to display the Package Properties dialog box again.
Select the Use A Compressed Copy Of The Source Directory option on the Data Source tab if you want SMS to both create and store a compressed version of the source files on the SMS site server.
Select the Always Obtain Files From Source Directory option if the source files are going to be modified at some time.
Select the Update Distribution Points On A Schedule checkbox if you want the distribution points to be updated when the source files changes.
Click the Data Access tab. This is where you specify the method by which SMS stores the package source files on the distribution points.
The default option selected is the Access Distribution Folder Through Common SMS Package Share. Here, SMS defines a share point on the distribution points and then locates the source files in the folder in the particular share.
You can however create access shares. To do this, click the Share Distribution Folder option and specify the UNC path to the share.
Click the Disconnect Users From Windows NT Distribution Points checkbox if you want users to be disconnected from the package folder when the files are being updated/refreshed. When this setting is specified, SMS will inform users that they are going to be disconnected from the particular package folder.
Specify the appropriate setting in for the Number Of Retries Before Disconnecting Users.
In the User Grace Period textbox, set the time duration after which users are disconnected.
Click the Distribution Settings tab.
In the Sending Priority box, specify the sending priority.
In the Preferred Sender box, enter the preferred sender for sending the package.
Click the Reporting tab.
If you want to use values provided on the General tab to identify status MIF files created during installation, select the Use Package Properties For Status MIF Matching option.
If you want to set other values, select the Use These Fields For Status MIF Matching option and then specify the values you want to use.
Click the Security tab to configure class and instance security for the package.
Click OK.
The new package is created and is displayed under the Packages node in the SMS Administrator console
The remainder of the tasks that you need to perform are:

- Define access accounts to the source files.
- Define distribution points
- Define programs for installing/running the source files.

How to create an access account

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Packages node.
Locate the package that you want to work with, and then expand the package.
Right-click Access Accounts and select New and then select the type of access account which you want to create.
The Access Account Properties dialog box opens.
Click the Set button.
Specify the user account or group account details in the User name textboxand then select the User option or the Group option.
Click OK.
In the Permission list, select the level of permission.
Click OK.

How to define distribution points for a package

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Packages node.
Locate the package that you want to work with, and then expand the package.
Right-click Distribution Points and select New and then select Distribution Points from the shortcut menu.
The New Distribution Points Wizard starts.
Click Next on the Welcome to the New Distribution Points Wizard page.
On the Copy Package page, all existing distribution points are displayed. Select the distribution points from the Distribution points list.
Click the Select Group button.
The Browse Distribution Point Group dialog box opens.
Select the distribution point group which you want to use and then click OK.
Click Finish.
The distribution points you have selected are added for the package.

How to define a distribution point group

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Move to the Site Settings folder.
Expand the Site Settings folder.
Right-click a site system that is configured as a distribution point, and then click Properties on the shortcut menu.
The Site System Properties dialog box opens.
Click the Distribution Point tab.
In the Group Membership area of the Distribution Point tab, click New.
The Distribution Point Group Properties dialog box opens.
Provide a name for new distribution point group.
Enable the Include This Site System In This Distribution Point Group checkbox to include this site system in the distribution point group.
Click OK
Click OK in the Site System Properties dialog box.

How to remove a distribution point from a package

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Locate the distribution point which you want to remove from the package.
Right-click the distribution point, and then select Delete from the shortcut menu.
The distribution point is removed from the package and the package source directory on the particular distribution point is removed as well.

How to create a program for a package

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Packages node.
Locate the package that you want to work with, and then expand the package.
Right-click Programs and select New and then select Program from the shortcut menu.
The Program Properties dialog box opens.
In the Name textbox, on the General tab, provide a name for the program.
In the Comment textbox, provide a meaningful description for the program
In the Command Line textbox, specify the command which should be run at the SMS client.
In the Start In textbox, provide the directory name and directory path where the program should be started.
In the Run list, select how the user will perceive the program:

- Normal
- Minimized
- Maximized
- Hidden

In the After Running list, select what will occur once the program has executed:

- No Action Required
- SMS Restarts Computer
- Program Restarts Computer
- SMS Logs User Off

Click the Requirements tab. This is where you specify a number of settings:

- Estimated size of the program
- Estimated run time
- Operating systems which the program can be initiated on.
- Any additional requirements.

Click the Environment tab to configure the following settings:

- When the program can run.
- Whether user intervention is required.

Click the Advanced tab.
Enable the Run Another Program First checkbox if another program has to run before this particular program.
Next, provide the name of the package and program.
Select the Remove Software When It Is No Longer Advertised checkbox if you want the application removed and uninstalled from the client when it is no longer being advertised. This happens automatically. In the Uninstall Registry Key textbox, provide the name of the key which the program writes.
If you need to temporarily disable the program from being started and run, then click the Disable This Program On Clients Where It Is Advertised checkbox.
Click OK.

How to create a package from a package definition file (PDF)

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Locate the Packages node.
Right-click the Packages node and select New and then select Package From Definition from the shortcut menu.
The Create Package From Definition Wizard initiates.
Click Next on the Welcome to the Create Package From Definition Wizard.
On the Package Definition page, from the Package Definition list, you can choose a definition provided by SMS 2.0. Click the Browse button to find a SMS 2.0 compatible .SMS or .PDF file. Click Next.
On the Source Files page, you need to specify how SMS should manage source files, by selecting either of the following options:

- This package does not contain any files.
- Always obtain files from a source directory.
- Create a compressed version of the source.

Click Next.

On the Source Directory page, specify the location of the source files. Click Next.
The Completing The Create Package From Definition Wizard page is displayed.
Click Finish.

How to run the Distribute Software Wizard

You can run the Distribute Software Wizard to perform all the tasks listed below:

Create or specify a package and program.
Define the distribution point.
Create or specify the collection to a target.
Create the advertisement

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Right-click on a collection, resource, package, program, or advertisement and select All Tasks and the select Distribute Software from the shortcut menu.
The Distribute Software Wizard starts.
Click Next on the Welcome to the Distribute Software Wizard.
The screens displayed by the Distribute Software Wizard are determined by the component which you initially selected.

How to create an advertisement

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Find the Advertisements node.
Right-click the Advertisements node, and select New and then select Advertisement from the shortcut menu.
The Advertisement Properties dialog box opens.
In the Name field on the General tab, provide a name of the advertisement.
In the Comment field, provide a meaningful description for the advertisement.
In the Package list box, specify the package which should be advertised.
In the Program list box, specify the program which should be advertised.
Enable the Include Members Of Subcollections checkbox if you want to include any subcollections of the collection.
Click the Schedules tab.
In the Advertisement start time boxes, specify when the advertisement should start, by entering the start time and date values. The default configuration is that the advertisement is available in all time zones at the exact same time. Check the Greenwich Mean Time checkbox if the advertisement should be available at a specific hour in each particular time zone.
Select the Will Expire checkbox if this advertisement should be available for a set period of time only. Proceed to specify the time and date when the advertisement will expire. Here, depending on your requirements, you can also enable the Greenwich Mean Time checkbox.
In the Priority list box, set the sending priority for the advertisement, for when it is passed to child sites.
In the Mandatory Assignments area of the Schedule tab you can configure the run time (date and time) for the advertisement.
Click the New button.
The Assignment Schedule dialog box opens. You can choose either of the following options:

- Assign To The Following Schedule option; click the Schedule button to open the Schedule dialog box. Using the Schedule dialog box, set when the program being advertised should be run. The Schedule dialog box also enables you to specify a recurrence interval for the advertisement.
- Assign Immediately After This Event option; includes options which you can select, for when the program being advertised should be run:

- - As soon as possible
  - At log off
  - At log on

Click OK in the Assignment Schedule dialog box.

On the Schedule tab, two additional configuration options become available when you select Mandatory Assignments:

- If you do not want a program to be run when the network is being used extensively, enable the Assignments Are Not Mandatory Over Slow Links checkbox.
- If you want your users to be able to prevent a mandatory advertisement from running at the scheduled time, select the Allow Users To Run The Program Independently Of Assignments checkbox.

Click OK.

How to enable the Advertised Programs Client Agent on SMS clients

Open the SMS Administrator console.
Expand the Site Settings node.
Expand the Client Agents node.
Right-click Advertised Programs Client Agent and then select Properties from the shortcut menu.
The Advertised Programs Client Agent Properties dialog box opens.
Check the Enable Software Distribution To Clients checkbox.
The default configuration is that the Advertised Programs Client Agent checks the client access point at 60 minute intervals for new programs.
To change this, specify the appropriate time value in the Check for new programs every X minutes box.
Enable the Clients Cannot Change Agent Settings checkbox if you do not want the settings configured for the Advertised Programs Client Agent to be modified.
Click the Notification tab.
Specify the appropriate settings with regard to new programs becoming available and new programs being ready to run.
Click OK.

How to run the Advertised Programs Wizard

You can use the Advertised Programs Wizard to perform the following tasks:

Display available advertisements
Specify advertisements to be run.
Run advertisements

The Advertised Programs Wizard makes the Advertised Programs Client Agent check whether there are any new advertisements on the client access point. Then, when there is a new advertisement on the client access point, a notification is displayed.

To initiate the Advertised Programs Wizard,

Open Control Panel.
Click the Advertised Programs Wizard applet.
The Advertised Programs Wizard starts.
Click Next on the Welcome to the Advertised Programs Wizard page.
On the Select Programs To Run page, all programs being advertised are listed in the Advertised programs box.
Select the program which you want to run.
Click the Properties button to view any additional properties information on a specific program.
Click Next.
The Run Programs Now Or Later page is displayed.
The default setting enabled is the Run The Selected Program Now option.
The other option available for selection is the Schedule This Program To Run On option. After selecting this option, you have to specify the date and time when the program should be run. Click Next.
The Completing The Advertised Programs Wizard page is displayed.
Click Finish.