Installing a Server Software Package on the Target Server

After you create a .CPK file by compiling a defined .SPK package, you can place this .CPK file on a target server and request that the ZENworks for Servers 3 system install the package and perform the actions specified in the package.

You can get the .CPK file to your target servers a number of different ways: Copy the file to the server, place the file on external media and take it to the server, or send the .CPK file to the server with Tiered Electronic Distribution.

Sending the File with TED

One alternative is to send your packages through the Tiered Electronic Distribution services available through ZENworks for Servers 3. You can create a distribution that contains a Server Software Package and place this distribution into a channel. When the subscriber receives the software package through the channel, it automatically notifies the policy engine (at extraction schedule time) and begins processing the installation package. See Chapter 6, "Setting Up Tiered Electronic Distribution," for a more detailed description of how to do this.

Copying the File Manually

You can get the .CPK file to the server either by creating a movable media that you can then take to your target servers and mount or by copying the file through the file system to a volume on the target server. Be aware that the .CPK file can be extremely large, depending on the files included in it.

After the target server has access to the .CPK file from its local file system, you can request that ZENworks for Servers 3 process the .CPK file by entering the following command on the ZENworks for Servers 3 policy engine console:

 package process <full path to .CPK file> 

This spins off a thread that begins the unpacking and installation of the Server Software Package onto the server.