Setting Up Software Installation and Maintenance

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Software Installation and Maintenance is actually fairly simple to set up and configure. Basically, you create a network share, copy the applications into it, and then add the installation packages to the appropriate group policy. The sections that follow tell all.

Creating a Software Distribution Point

To deploy applications on a large scale, first create a file share on the server you want to use as a software distribution point, as follows:

  1. Log on to the server you want to use as the application server, using an administrator account.
  2. Create a file share for the applications, giving it the following permissions:
    • Everyone (or Authenticated Users) = Read
    • Administrators = Full Control, Change, Read

  3. Create any additional folders for the application categories and applications, and then copy the Windows Installer packages, .ZAP files, and application files into the appropriate folders.

TIP
Consider using the Distributed file system (Dfs) of Windows 2000 to manage the software distribution point. Dfs allows you to use load balancing, fault tolerance, and file replication on these folders, increasing the availability of your applications for users.

Opening the Software Installation Snap-in

Before you can add or administer deployed applications, you need to open the Software Installation snap-in. Follow these steps:

  1. Open the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in or the Active Directory Sites and Services snap-in, depending on whether you want to apply policy to groups or computers.
  2. Right-click the site, domain, or organizational unit (OU) that you want to create a group policy for, and choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
  3. Click the Group Policy tab, select the Group Policy object you want to modify, and click Edit, as shown in Figure 24-1.
  4. Figure 24-1. The Group Policy tab of a domain's Properties window.

  5. Double-click the Software Settings folder under either the Computer Configuration or User Configuration heading (depending on whether you want to assign or publish applications to users or to computers), and then expand the Software Installation icon underneath it, as shown in Figure 24-2.
  6. click to view at full size.

    Figure 24-2. The Group Policy console.



Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administrator's Companion, Vol. 1
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server Administrators Companion (IT-Administrators Companion)
ISBN: 1572318198
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2000
Pages: 366

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