The Best Damn Windows Server 2003 Book Period- P65

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The Best Damn Windows Server 2003 Book Period- P65:The latest incarnation of Microsoft’s server product,Windows Server 2003, brings many new features and improvements that make the network administrator’s job easier.This chapter will briefly summarize what’s new in 2003 and introduce you to the four members of the Windows Server 2003 family: the Web Edition, the Standard Edition, the Enterprise Edition, and the Datacenter Edition.

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606 Chapter 18 • Deploying Software via Group Policy Windows Installer Packages (.msi) In the early days of Windows computing, you could use a third-party installation and packaging tool to simplify software deployment (including Microsoft’s SMS). Beginning with Windows 2000, the new Windows Installer technology became available, this provides a native packaging and distribu- tion tool for Windows operating systems, and Group Policy provides a way to distribute software without buying a distribution product. The Installer technology is made up of the following components: I The Installer service, which is an operating system service that uses Windows Installer packages to perform software installation, modiﬁcation, and uninstallation. I The .msi ﬁle, which is a group of ﬁles compressed together along with the appropriate scripting to install and conﬁgure the software. It is essentially a relational database con- taining a number of tables that holds information about the application.The package can be conﬁgured to handle upgrades as well as new installations. I The application programming interface (API) by which applications interface with the Installer service. A big advantage of Windows Installer is its ability to “roll back” to the former state if problems occur during an installation.The Installer service can also monitor the state of installed “self- repairing” applications, and detect missing or corrupt program ﬁles.The service can then automati- cally restore the damaged or missing components so that the application will work properly again. The database design of the Installer package makes it fast to query and provides for smaller ﬁle sizes.The information in the tables includes data that will allow for different installation scenarios, so that there is a set of information about how to install the application clean for the ﬁrst time, how to install it over a previous version, and so forth. Because the Installer service tracks the installation of the application’s features and components, it makes it easier to remove the application completely, without leaving remnants that can cause problems later. Transforms (.mst) Packages provided by vendors with their applications are conﬁgured and ready to install.This means there isn’t much room for ﬂexibility if, for example, you want different installation options for com- puters in different departments.This is where transforms come into play.Transforms are also called modiﬁcations. That’s because a transform is a record of changes to the original package ﬁle that allows you to customize the installation by including or excluding particular features. A transform is appli- cable to a speciﬁc Windows Installer package. Transforms are especially important when you are doing silent or unattended installations.The ability to add or remove certain features or make Registry changes in applying your package makes conﬁguration easier for the administrator. Installing and conﬁguring applications via Group Policy cuts down on the time spent by the administrator in setting up, conﬁguring, and troubleshooting applications for users.
Deploying Software via Group Policy • Chapter 18 607 Transforms customize the installation features at the time you assign or publish the application. You can create transforms using the authoring and repackaging utilities we discussed earlier, or the utilities included with applications themselves. Ofﬁce 2000 included a Custom Installation Wizard to create transforms for making modiﬁcations to the application’s package when deploying it in your organization. It is often easier to apply a transform rather than repackage an application to make changes. You associate your transforms with the application when you conﬁgure software installation for the application. In the new package that you add via the GPO Editor, you need to select Advanced published or assigned in the Deploy software dialog box that begins the software deployment process. Patches and Updates (.msp) There are times when an application has to be updated because of ﬁxes or new features that are available through a service pack, patch, or other update software. An .msp ﬁle is a special type of modiﬁcation that is used to update an existing Windows Installer package with new information. This allows for easy updates of users’ workstations and application of important security patches and other ﬁxes. With an .msp ﬁle, only the updated information needs to be distributed to users.This cuts back on the time and effort required to deploy updates and patches, and cuts down on the amount of network trafﬁc generated by application updates. To deploy an .msp update, you generally should advertise the package again to those to whom the original application was assigned or published. Sometimes, the software vendor will provide an entire new .msi package if changes are extensive. In this case, you should just replace the old .msi ﬁle with the new one. Otherwise, use the .msp ﬁle to make the changes to the original .msi ﬁle, and then redeploy the application.This will automatically install the new version for those users and computers where the original was installed, and make it available instead of the old version for those users to whom the original was published, who haven’t yet installed the application. Note that .msp ﬁles are not able to make certain changes. For example, they cannot be used to remove Registry keys, or remove or change the names of shortcuts and ﬁles.They cannot be used to change product codes, and you can’t use them to remove features.These tasks require the use of an .mst transform or a new .msi package. Application Assignment Scripts (.aas) When you set up Group Policy Software Installation and publish or assign applications, an Application Assignment Script (with the ﬁle extension .aas) is generated automatically.The Application Assignment Script is stored in the GPO in Active Directory.The script contains infor- mation regarding the conﬁguration of the Software Installation. Advertisement information is also stored within the assignment script. Deploying Software to Users GPOs can be linked to a site, domain, or OU (or to a local computer). With that in mind, we will now discuss deployment of software to user objects in Active Directory. Because software installation
608 Chapter 18 • Deploying Software via Group Policy cannot be done through local group policies, we will be concerned with deploying software at the site, domain, or OU level.The easiest way to deploy software to a speciﬁc group of users is to use the OU that contains the user objects. A link can be made to an existing GPO, or you can create a new GPO for this purpose. Remember that when you deploy software to users, it might be installed soon after they log on. This is determined by whether you assign the software or publish it. If the software is assigned, the software will be installed when the user attempts to run the application from the shortcut or clicks on an associated ﬁle. Large installations might make users think that the workstation is locked or froze up, so you have to be careful about whether you assign, publish, or deploy to the workstation instead. If the application is published, the user can install the application from Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel.This makes it more likely that the user will know what’s going on, since he or she will have chosen to install the application. However, the published application will be installed via document invocation if ﬁle associations were set up within the package, which can result in the same problem of a user not realizing an installation is taking place and thinking there is a problem with the computer. Deploying Software to Computers Most of the same rules discussed in regard to deploying software to users also apply to deploying software to computer objects in Active Directory. However, you need to remember that you can only assign software to computers; there is no publishing to computer objects. Software installation policies can be applied like any group policy to sites, domains, or OUs. In Active Directory, by default each computer object is added to the Computers container in the root domain.You will most likely want to set up software deployment to computers by creating an OU, but this depends on your Active Directory design. When software is deployed to computer objects, the installation generally takes place when the computer boots, prior to the appearance of the Ctrl + Alt + Del screen.This means the user cannot log on until all of the software has been installed.This must be considered prior to designing or assigning software installation packages. Assigning too many applications at the same time can cause the workstation to take a long time to start up. Using Group Policy Software Installation to Deploy Applications Now that you know the basics of software installation, let’s look at the details and step-by-step pro- cedures involved in completing the process. We will look at the interface used to add software installation packages: the GPO Editor MMC snap-in. In this section, we will review the Microsoft Windows Installer technology and packages, in the context of how they are used in the process of software deployment. We will also look at how to create your own Windows Installer packages using Veritas WinINSTALL LE. Because the conﬁgura- tion of legacy applications is often an issue in real-world deployment scenarios, we will show you how to deploy software when you don’t have a Windows Installer package and do not want to create one. Finally, we will discuss how to set up distribution points.
Deploying Software via Group Policy • Chapter 18 609 Preparing for Group Policy Software Installation Determining which applications you plan to distribute with Group Policy Software Installation is an important ﬁrst step in the deployment process. Because the GPOs used to deploy software can be linked to a site, domain, or OU, some planning is required.You must take into consideration your Active Directory design and the application needs of your organization. Some departments will require a particular application, whereas there is no need for that appli- cation in other departments. For example, the Financial department may need accounting software that is not used elsewhere. In other cases, an application is required for all those in a particular job function. For example, all project managers may need a particular project management application, regardless of department.There are also times when an application must be distributed throughout the entire enterprise. For example, the software that is used to open and read personnel policies or security policies that apply to all employees will be needed by everyone, regardless of department or job function.Your Active Directory design and organizational needs will ultimately determine your plans for where you will conﬁgure Software Installation within Group Policy. Creating Windows Installer Packages Although Microsoft provides Installer packages with most of their software programs, the situation is not quite as simple when you have third-party software to install.Then, you may not have the con- venience of having a Windows Installer package available, but when this happens, you can use a utility to create an Installer package. One such tool that has been available since Windows 2000 is WinINSTALL.The original version of WinINSTALL LE (Limited Edition) was included on the Windows 2000 Server installation CD-ROM.The software is no longer included on the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM, but a free MSI repackager, WinINSTALL LE 2003, can be downloaded at no cost at the OnDemand Software Web site at www.ondemandsoftware.com/FREELE2003/. Alternatively, you can download a trial version of the full WinINSTALL product.The full product can be used in environments where deployment needs are more complex, and provides features such as hardware and software inventory, conﬂict assessment, MSI validation, and multicast replication— many of the same features offered by Microsoft’s SMS. Figure 18.2 shows the WinINSTALL LE interface. Figure 18.2 WinINSTALL LE 2003 Console
610 Chapter 18 • Deploying Software via Group Policy Before you begin to create your own packages, you should conﬁgure a freshly installed worksta- tion to use for this purpose.This will ensure that you have a clean Registry and standard conﬁgura- tion of the operating system. Using a workstation that has had software installed and removed and other changes made to it can cause problems with package deployment. If you cannot dedicate a workstation for creating .msi packages, you must use a computer that is as close as possible to the conﬁguration of the workstations that will receive the package.The work- station on which you create the packages should be running the same version of the operating system as the computers on which the packages will be deployed. As simple as package creation seems, if conﬁguration steps are not followed closely, you might spend more time troubleshooting problems than successfully deploying software. Using .zap Setup Files It is possible to publish applications that don’t have .msi packages by using the application’s Setup program. If you want to deploy software via Group Policy, do not have an .msi ﬁle, and do not want to create one, you can instead create a .zap ﬁle for the program.The key point to remember in using .zap ﬁles is that they can only be published to users; you cannot assign software to users or to computers by this method.This type of software deployment also has some additional limitations when compared to Windows Installer packages, including the following: I These installations cannot take advantage of elevated user privileges.This means that if the application requires an account with administrative privileges to be used to install it, users who don’t have administrative privileges won’t be able to install it even though it is pub- lished to them. I The programs cannot be installed on ﬁrst use by double-clicking a shortcut, as with Windows Installer packages. I The system does not automatically repair or remove an application, and you cannot roll back a failed deployment. I You cannot install features upon ﬁrst use of the feature, as you can with .msi packages. If these limitations don’t present a problem with the application you want to deploy, the ﬁrst step is to create a .zap ﬁle for the application being deployed.To create a .zap ﬁle, you must follow the format prescribed by Microsoft.The .zap ﬁle is a text ﬁle and can be created in any text editor (for example, Notepad). A sample is available to use as a guide in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q231747. Only two items are required to be completed for a working .zap ﬁle. As long as FriendlyName and SetupCommand are ﬁlled in with a Program Name and a string for executing the Setup pro- gram, the .zap ﬁle will work.The [Application] section is required, and you can also include an [Ext] section; the latter is the ﬁle extension section where the application is associated with a ﬁle extension in Active Directory.The [Ext] section is optional. The .zap ﬁle is created in a text editor such as Notepad.
Deploying Software via Group Policy • Chapter 18 611 After you create the .zap ﬁle, you have to add it to your Software Installation conﬁguration within Group Policy.The following example walks you through the steps of publishing an applica- tion with a .zap ﬁle. Publish Software Using a .ZAP File When publishing software with a .zap ﬁle, you ﬁrst need to determine which GPO you want to edit. After you determine whether to use a GPO that is applicable to a site, a domain, or an OU, open the appropriate GPO (see the section titled Working with the GPO Editor later in this chapter) and make the appropriate addition by following these steps: 1. In the GPO Editor’s left console pane, expand User Conﬁguration, and then expand Software Settings. 2. Right-click Software Installation, select New, and then select Package. 3. Change the Files of type ﬁeld to ZAW Down-level applications package (*.zap). 4. In the Open dialog box, navigate to the location of your .zap ﬁle or type the path in the File Name ﬁeld. 5. Click the .zap ﬁle you created and click the Open button. 6. Click Published as the deployment method in the Deploy Software dialog box, and click OK. Creating Distribution Points To distribute software, you must ensure that the users are able to access the needed ﬁles from the network. As a network administrator, you must create shared folders on the network known as distri- bution points, to hold the necessary ﬁles for installing the deployed applications. A distribution point can be part of a Distributed File System (Dfs) hierarchy or any share point that is available to all users who will need to install the software. Each share point needs to be conﬁgured with the appropriate NTFS permissions to allow access to those who will install the software.This will allow you to control the software that can be installed. If a user doesn’t have permissions to access the folder where a package is stored, the soft- ware cannot be deployed to that user. In most cases, it is preferable to control who is able to receive the software through their associ- ation and permissions to the GPO itself, but the NTFS permissions must be at least Read and Execute for the distribution point and its subfolders. Working with the GPO Editor For those who have worked with the Window NT 4.0 System Policy Editor, learning to use the Active Directory GPO Editor should be relatively easy. However, deploying applications via Group Policy can be a bit complex.There are many different options to conﬁgure when you are setting up a package for deployment.You can deploy software for fresh installations, manage the upgrade of previously installed packages, and remove software from workstations by forcibly uninstalling the software. Every tool is available for managing software within your organization.
612 Chapter 18 • Deploying Software via Group Policy In the following sections, we will show you how to use the GPO Editor to set installation options, assign and publish applications, upgrade applications, and remove managed applications. Opening or Creating a GPO for Software Deployment The ﬁrst step in deploying software via Group Policy is to create a new GPO or open an existing GPO that applies to the site, domain, or OU to which you want to deploy the software.You can open an existing domain policy by following these steps: 1. Click Start | All Programs | Administrative Tools | Active Directory Users and Computers. 2. In the left console pane of the ADUC tool, right-click the name of the domain and select Properties. 3. Click the Group Policy tab. 4. Select the policy you want to edit under Group Policy Object Links. Click the Edit button.This will open the policy in the GPO Editor. To deploy software at the OU level, follow the same steps except, in step 2, expand the node for the domain, right-click the name of the OU to which you want to deploy the software, and then click Properties. If you want to deploy software at the site level, follow these steps: 1. Click Start | All Programs | Administrative Tools | Active Directory Sites and Services. 2. In the left console pane, expand the Sites node. 3. In the right details pane, right-click the site to which you want to deploy the software, and click Properties. 4. Click the Group Policy tab. 5. Select the policy you want to edit under Group Policy Object Links. Click the Edit button.This will open the policy in the GPO Editor. Assigning and Publishing Applications Earlier we discussed the concepts of assigning versus publishing applications. Now we will look at the GPO Editor console’s interface to become more familiar with the step-by-step process. After you open the GPO Editor, right-click on Software Installation under either Computer Conﬁguration or User Conﬁguration (depending on whether you want to assign the software to computers or assign or publish it to users) and choose New Package from the right context menu as shown in Figure 18.3.
Deploying Software via Group Policy • Chapter 18 613 Figure 18.3 Conﬁguring a New Package A dialog box will open asking you for the package you want to use. Navigate to a network location where the .msi ﬁle for the software you want to deploy is located. Package ﬁles should be stored in a central location.This central location is your distribution point for your software pack- ages. Software packages can generally be downloaded from the manufacturer. Some organizations choose to create their own with other third-party software products. When you choose a new package, it should be located on a network share. Otherwise, you will receive a message informing you that clients will not be able to install the package, as shown in Figure 18.4. Figure 18.4 Error Message When Selecting Drive Letter Next, a prompt will ask you if you want to assign or publish the application, or use the Advanced method. If you choose Advanced, you will be presented with the Properties window for your new package. We discuss the options that you can conﬁgure in this Properties box in the sec- tion titled Conﬁguring Software Installation Properties later in this chapter. Assign Software to a Group This procedure will walk you through the steps of assigning software to an Active Directory group at the OU level.This gives more granularity to the conﬁguration, and this example will give you some good hands-on practice in using the interface.
614 Chapter 18 • Deploying Software via Group Policy 1. Ensure that you have a distribution point (a shared folder containing the .msi package) set up with the appropriate NTFS permissions assigned. 2. Log on as a Domain Administrator. 3. Open Active Directory Users and Computers from the Administrative Tools menu and right-click the OU to which you want to deploy the software. Select Properties. 4. Click the Group Policy tab and choose New to create a new GPO. 5. Select the new GPO in the list and type a distinguishing name for it. 6. Click Edit to make changes to the GPO. 7. In the GPO Editor, highlight Software Settings under User Conﬁguration. 8. Right-click, select New, and then select Package. 9. Navigate to the location of your .msi package.This is the distribution point that you shared earlier. Enter the UNC path so the workstations can ﬁnd the software. 10. Next, you are prompted to select whether to publish or assign the application or choose the Advanced option. Select Assigned. 11. Click OK.The software package name should show up in the right details pane of the GPO Editor. 12. Close the GPO Editor window. In the OU’s Properties dialog box, select the GPO under Group Policy Object Links and click the Properties button. 13. In the GPO’s Properties dialog box, click the Security tab. 14. Remove Authenticated Users on the Security tab and add the appropriate group that contains the users to whom you want to assign this application. 15. Click OK and the application should be ready for deployment. Conﬁguring Software Installation Properties When you ﬁrst open the GPO Editor, expand Computer Conﬁguration or User Conﬁguration (depending on whether you want to deploy the software to computers or users), and then expand Software Settings. Under Software Settings, right-click Software Installation and choose Properties. There are four tabs within the Properties of Software Installation. In the following sections, we will discuss the conﬁguration options that can be made with each of these tabs. The General Tab On the General tab, you can specify the default location of all packages. Under the New Packages section on that same tab, you can specify the default value for publishing or assigning.The default is to prompt the user to decide at the time of object creation.The last item to be conﬁgured on this tab is the User Interface options.This setting determines how much of the installation the user sees. The Basic option only shows minimal screen display during software deployment.The Maximum option shows all the installation screens as the installation happens.
Deploying Software via Group Policy • Chapter 18 615 The Advanced Tab The Advanced tab has options to be conﬁgured such as how to handle 64-bit machines as well as OLE information being published in Active Directory. Figure 18.5 shows the Advanced tab. Figure 18.5 Advanced Tab of Software Installation The ﬁrst option in this window is Uninstall applications when they fall out of the scope of management.This means that if a software program was installed with Group Policy and later the account was moved to a different OU, the software could be uninstalled automatically. You can also choose to have Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) information stored in Active Directory. OLE can be a key part of user interaction and collaboration. The File Extensions Tab The File Extensions tab is where you can associate documents and other ﬁle types to a speciﬁc application that is conﬁgured for deployment as shown in Figure 18.6. Figure 18.6 File Extensions Tab