Deployment Tools

The .NET Framework simplifies application deployment by making zero-impact installation and XCOPY / FTP deployment feasible . You can install a .NET application that uses only managed code and private assemblies by simply copying all the necessary files to the desired destination. No Registry entries need to be created, and no files need to be copied to the Windows system directory (thereby causing zero impact on the configuration of the target machine).

However, some installation tasks , such as those listed here, are difficult or impossible to achieve with XCOPY or FTP :

• Creating IIS sites or virtual directories

• Copying files to relative paths on the target machine that differ from the paths on the source machine

• Adding assemblies to the GAC

• Creating or configuring databases during the installation

• Adding custom event logs or performance counters to the target machine

• Checking whether the .NET Framework is installed on the target machine

• Allowing license key management and user registration

For these scenarios, the preferred alternative is to use a Microsoft Windows Installer-based installation program. Microsoft's Windows Installer is an installation and configuration service built in to the Windows operating system. It gives you complete control over the installation of an application, a component, or an update.