White Paper: Enterprise Software Distribution for Windows Applications

Transcription

1 White Paper: Enterprise Software Distribution for Windows Applications

2 Table of contents Introduction... 1 Keeping Users Productive in Real-world Environments... 2 To Roam or Not to Roam... 2 The Limitations of Other Solutions... 3 The NetInstall Solution... 3 Centralizing Software Management Eliminating the Roaming Admin... 3 Local Security Handling... 4 The NetInstall Project... 4 Local Security Handling in Action... 5 Remote Workstation Customization and Maintenance... 5 Customization and Scripting... 6 Support for the Traveling User... 7 Traveling User Support... 7 Software on Demand... 8 The Traveling User in Action Workstation Replacement... 8 SMS Integration... 8 NetInstall in Action... 9 Implementation Summaries... 9 Siemens... 9 Dunlop... 9 Mercedes-Benz Lease Finance Conclusion... 10

3 Introduction Installed on 95% of all desktop computers and workstations in the world, Microsoft Windows continues to gain dominance as the most flexible and cost-effective enterprise network platform. Despite this, Windows includes minimal capabilities for actually managing software deployment throughout the enterprise. Because of this, most administrators waste far too much valuable time roaming to workstations to install and upgrade software, and fix software configuration problems. At the same time, software users are less productive because they must wait in line for overtaxed administrators to perform these installations, upgrades, and fixes. Traveling users (those, such as on-site consultants, who may need to work any of several available workstations) are often paralyzed when their programs and configuration settings are not available and administrators cannot respond to their needs. Many software distribution products exist. Cross-platform distribution products attempt to be all things for all situations, but offer only generic features for all platforms and few specific features for Windows. Even Windows-based products merely automate software installation. These products are focused on the machines attached to the network, not on real administrators and users. Only NetInstall by InstallShield offers a complete software deployment management solution that: Is specifically designed and tailored for the Windows NT enterprise Is completely focused on the needs of real administrators and real Win 95/98/NT Workstation users Includes complete remote workstation customization NetInstall s additions and enhancements to Windows NT s limited software management capabilities make both administrators and software users more efficient and more productive. Only NetInstall offers: A centralized security management solution that completely eliminates the need for administrators to roam to workstations to perform software installs and upgrades, and allows software users to access the software they need when they need it. A complete set of tools that allow administrators to remotely customize, maintain, and protect the software environments of workstations or groups of workstations, including local users and groups, NT security, network and local printer installations, and NT service installations. An advanced drag-and-drop scripting environment for customizing installs and upgrades to the specific needs of a company without the need to learn a scripting language. Support for traveling users who need their fully configured software available at multiple workstations within a corporation. Page 1 of 13

4 NetInstall even integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS), adding complete software deployment management and support for traveling users to the basic SMS distribution capabilities. For InstallShield Software, NetInstall represents a natural extension of its installation expertise into enterprise-wide software deployment management. Since 1987, InstallShield has helped software vendors distribute Microsoft Windows-based software that is easy to install and configure. By understanding both the intricacies of the Windows operating system and the demand for simplicity by end users, InstallShield has established itself as the industry standard installation solution for Windows based applications, with approximately 70% market share. With NetInstall, InstallShield has applied the same understanding of technology and users to software deployment within the enterprise, giving system administrators the tools they need to make installing, upgrading, and maintaining software environments easy, while allowing users more efficient access to the software they need. In fact, InstallShield plans to leverage the ubiquity of the InstallShield Pro development tool to enable completely new software deployment capabilities within future versions of NetInstall. Keeping Users Productive in Real-world Environments To Roam or Not to Roam For InstallShield, a system administrator s job is more than keeping the network running. It is also vital to keep users productive. To do this, an administrator must be empowered to do two things: Automate and centralize the deployment of both packaged and home-grown software in order to eliminate the need to roam to workstations, which wastes valuable time while potentially making the administrator inaccessible during an emergency Make software available to users when and where they need it, especially on multiple workstations on the network. Unfortunately, the Windows NT environment comes with few tools to help system administrators accomplish these goals. When an administrator locks down workstations, that is, implements NT s most stringent security measures to prevent users from taking actions that might cause conflicts or otherwise be in violation of company policy, then the administrator must visit each desktop for all installations, upgrades, and maintenance. If, in order to avoid roaming, the administrator implements less stringent security measures to allow users to install software and customize their environments, the result is often a new set of problems errors, conflicts, and abuses that still require a visit from the administrator. NT also has no built-in provision for empowering administrators to make configured software available to users when and where they really need it. What happens when a system crashes and a user suddenly needs to use another system? Even if the needed applications happen to be installed on the new machine, the user s settings, such as templates, macros, and scheduled events are not available. On-site consultants, who may Page 2 of 13

5 use any number of workstations, often face a similar dilemma. As they move from station to station, even if the applications they need are installed, their user settings are missing. This inability of users to take their software with them from machine to machine results in lost productivity as well as additional visits from the system administrator. The more time an administrator spends on individual workstations, the greater the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for the network. In fact, one way to reduce TCO is to maintain maximum control of workstations by locking them down but without then requiring administrators to roam to each station for installation, upgrades, and maintenance. Such a capability is not available in Windows NT. In fact, it is not available in any NT add-on product on the market today except InstallShield s NetInstall. The Limitations of Other Solutions No other software distribution system on the market today, whether cross platform or Windows-based, so completely anticipates the needs of the system administrators and users of Windows software. They simply don t understand or don t confront many central issues of real software deployment. No other solution: Centralizes workstation security so that administrators can lock down workstations without then needing to visit the workstation for installs, upgrades, and maintenance Offers a complete set of tools that allow administrators to remotely customize, maintain, and protect the software environments of workstations and groups of workstations Supports traveling users who need their fully configured software available at multiple workstations within a corporation Includes a drag-and-drop scripting environment for customizing installs and upgrades to the specific needs of a company without the need to learn a scripting language Without NetInstall, the only way to accomplish these tasks is with costly custom programming that must then be tested, maintained, and upgraded, resulting in an endless resource drain. The NetInstall Solution Centralizing Software Management Eliminating the Roaming Admin NT s workstation security features give system administrators the ability to control a workstation by locking it down and preventing users from taking actions, including installing and uninstalling of software, that may cause software conflicts or may otherwise be against company policy. While these controls are essential, the way they are designed in NT requires the system administrator to go to the workstation and physically log into it to perform installations and upgrades. This requires wasteful travel time as well as logging out the user and logging in the administrator (or temporarily giving the user administrator rights). If a user needs a particular software package to complete a Page 3 of 13

6 specific task, but the administrator is unavailable, productivity can plummet to zero and deadlines may be missed. NetInstall s Local Security Handling takes a completely different approach. Without compromising security or administrator control, NetInstall allows users to install approved software and upgrades without requiring the presence or even the intervention of an administrator. Local Security Handling Software deployment to NT Workstations on an NT network is difficult because of the distinction between user rights and administrator rights. A user can t install some software without administrator rights. If the administrator gives the user administrator rights, then security is compromised. If the administrator installs the software, then, in addition to the administrator having to roam to accomplish this, the user cannot input personal information and choose configuration settings during the install. The icons and registry entries are not set up for the user s profile. The solution is to allow a logged-in user to install specifically approved software, but automatically and securely approve any action during the install that would normally require administrator rights. In NetInstall, this is accomplished using the Local Security Handling and the NetInstall Service. To understand how this works, it is useful to see how a software installation project is created in NetInstall. The NetInstall Project First, as part of the initial NetInstall installation, the NetInstall Service is installed on selected NT Workstations on the network. During deployment of software applications, the NetInstall Service automatically executes those commands that require administrator approval. The NetInstall Service is installed using the Service Distribution Manager (SDM). SDM queries the network and reports all the NT Workstations to the network. The administrator can then select some or all machines, and SDM then automatically installs and runs the NetInstall Service on each selected machine. To deploy a software application, the administrator creates a NetInstall project by installing the software on a test machine. During this installation, the NetInstall SPY takes a snapshot of the process. During this process, NetInstall automatically distinguishes between instructions that require only user rights and those that require administrator rights. No other product offers this level of sophisticated, automatic analysis, which otherwise must be painstakingly done manually. In fact, other products require the administrator to split the project into an administrator portion and a user portion. This is often a time-consuming and difficult procedure. With NetInstall, the process is completely automatic, although, the administrator can easily change the assignment of rights (as well as customize the project in many other ways) if necessary. The administrators can then choose which workstations will be able to install the application. The project is then made available to users. There are three ways to install: Page 4 of 13

7 Auto Install once a user logs into the network, assigned software is installed automatically Interactive Install the user gets a dialog box listing the software projects available to the user No User Login software is installed automatically by the NetInstall Service when no user is logged in; the next time a user logs in, the user portion of the install is started automatically During Auto Install and Interactive Install, Local Security Handling allows for execution of the NetInstall project and installation of the software regardless of the security settings of the individual workstation. Installations are started under the normal user logon, and each instruction for which administrator rights is required is automatically submitted to NetInstall Service. This service executes the instruction and returns control to the user level. Security is never compromised because only the user is logged in, and the user never obtains administrator rights. Local Security Handling in Action A useful example of the power of Local Security Handling is the installation of virus protection software throughout an enterprise. Such software usually includes NT Services, which require administrator rights, and user portions, such as the placement of icons, scheduling of scans, updating virus definitions, and rebooting the machine after the installation. Using the NetInstall SPY, the administrator creates one NetInstall project. NetInstall automatically classifies the installation instructions as user or administrator. The administrator also configures the project so that the virus software will be installed automatically on each workstation the next time a user logs in. Then, with the click of a mouse, the administrator deploys the software through the NetInstall Service. The next time a user logs into a workstation, the Virus software installation runs automatically. The user simply follows the on-screen instructions and does not need the assistance or intervention of the administrator. All administrator installation instructions are automatically executed. Remote Workstation Customization and Maintenance A complete management solution for software deployment throughout an enterprise must do far more than simply automate installation. It must allow the system administrator to remotely configure and maintain the complete software environment on the workstation. NetInstall offers several tools that allow the system administrator to set up, control, and protect each workstation on the network without needing to touch the hardware. NetInstall s scripting tool (described below) also allows administrators to create customization projects that can make perform these customizations on some or all workstations at one time. Page 5 of 13

8 Local Users and Groups Windows NT allows any workstation to create local users and groups. This is an extremely useful feature for very common situations, such as a traveling executive who wants to enable an assistant to access certain files, or a team of employees all working on the same project. Unfortunately, Windows NT has no mechanism for maintaining all local user databases from one central location. Instead, administrators must either give users the right to create these along with instructions on how to do it, something many administrators refuse to do - or the administrator must visit the workstation. NetInstall, however, includes commands for user management, allowing the administrator to create, modify, and delete users and groups, as well as manage the passwords and properties of users. NT security An extremely useful tool for system administrators is the ability to centrally set permissions on the file system and to lock-down workstations. NT s standard implementation for this allows the administrator to manipulate only one workstation at a time. NetInstall provides special commands for centrally changing authorizations in the registry and the NTFS file system, and for controlling monitoring settings at the file and directory levels, for all or groups of workstations. These commands offer the maximum protection for local hard disks against unauthorized access and improve the stability of the system. With NetInstall, the access rights on all NT Workstations can be easily be standardized, significantly improving overall security. Network Printer Installation Another very useful capability missing from Windows NT is the ability to remotely install local and network printers. Using NetInstall, however, an administrator can remotely install printers on individual workstations or create a project that automatically installs or updates network printer drivers on some or all workstations. Remote NT Service Installation When software installations require the installation of an NT Service, NetInstall provides all the necessary commands for installing, configuring, starting, exiting, and uninstalling. NetInstall SPY automatically creates these commands during the initial project analysis. The ability to install NT Services makes it easy to install system-oriented programs, such as virus scanners. Customization and Scripting Easy and flexible customization of software installations is an extremely important feature of a complete deployment management solution. For example, when a large company deploys Microsoft Office throughout an enterprise, management often requires Page 6 of 13

9 the consistent use of Word and PowerPoint templates and custom dictionaries. There may also be specific requirements, such as saving all documents to a server instead of local hard disks. With NetInstall, this basic level of customization is extremely easy to implement and requires no special knowledge. The administrator simply creates a standard NetInstall project by installing the software on clean workstation running NetInstall SPY. Next, the administrator configures the installed software adding or modifying templates, creating or adding dictionaries, setting file locations then runs NetInstall SPY a second time. NetInstall automatically detects the different settings, applies them to the project, and creates a script. At this point, the administrator can apply security and install properties, such as which users can install the application and whether it supports Traveling Users and Software on Demand. For more complex installations, or to create a workstation maintenance project, such as a printer driver installation, NetInstall offers a powerful scripting language that includes almost 100 functions. Scripts are created with an easy-to-use, point-and-click GUI, which means that administrators do not need to study a new programming language in order to create scripts. Support for the Traveling User An increasingly common characteristic of the enterprise network is for one machine to be used by multiple traveling workers. As the practice of home offices continues to grow, network administrators often find themselves reserving several workstations for any one of a number of home-based employees to use upon their visits to the office. Also, when systems crash, users with important tasks or deadlines often need immediately to work on another user s system. However, because NT stores user and configuration information on the local workstation, this information is not portable, which means that even if the needed software is available on the new workstation, productivity will still suffer. Unfortunately, administrators usually find that the more they give in to the needs of users scrambling to be productive, the more difficult it is to maintain control over the network. Fortunately, NetInstall makes it possible for users to take their software with them from machine to machine while leaving the administrator in complete control of network security and the health of the workstations. NetInstall does this through a combination of Traveling User Support, which expands on NT s rudimentary, machine-based server-based profiles by adding the missing support for user software configurations, and Software on Demand, which makes software available to users based on their user profiles. Traveling User Support Traveling User Support allows administrators to make sure that applications and user specific settings correctly follow users as they move to different workstations across a network. Whenever a traveling user logs into a different workstation, NetInstall recreates the user s software environment, including the icons for all the programs on the user s workstation that support Traveling Users. If the needed software is already Page 7 of 13

10 installed, the user can run the software and all configuration settings and templates are applied. If the needed software is not already installed, then it is made available through Software on Demand. Software on Demand To support Traveling Users, it is necessary to make software readily available on multiple workstations. One option, to load all programs on all workstations, wastes time and a tremendous amount of disk space, and for many companies would violate or exceed the software licensing agreements. To avoid this, NetInstall makes only necessary software available on demand. When a traveling user logs into a workstation that does not already have the user s applications, NetInstall still presents the user with all the icons for those applications. (This assumes that the applications have been installed as NetInstall projects with Traveling User Support, and are approved for Software on Demand.) If the user clicks on an icon or on a data file associated with the application, NetInstall automatically installs the application. Using this process, installations are only executed when needed, and unnecessary network loads are avoided. The Traveling User in Action Workstation Replacement A marketing manager has just a few hours left to finish a PowerPoint presentation for an important sales meeting the next day when her computer crashes. Rebooting doesn t help. She calls the system administrator. Although he is out sick, he has anticipated such a contingency and has posted on the intranet a list of available workstations. Because the marketing manager has always been in the habit of saving data files to server, her presentation is available and she has not lost any data. The marketing manager logs into one of the available workstations. Although Microsoft Office has not been installed on this computer, the marketing managers sees the icon for her presentation on the desktop just as if she were sitting at her own workstation. She double clicks on the icon, and the Microsoft Office installation begins. As soon as it is complete, her presentation loads automatically and she begins working. About an hour later, she realizes that one of the slides needs a new drawing, which requires Visio and a custom engineering template that was created specifically for her presentation projects. Although Visio also had never been installed on this workstation, the marketing manager clicks on the Visio icon and the software is automatically installed and the custom template is available right where it should be. She creates the drawing and finishes her presentation, all by 5:00 PM. SMS Integration NetInstall can be effectively integrated with Microsoft s Systems Management Server (SMS). While SMS supplies a strategic platform for overall network management, and includes a basic capability for creating installation scripts, it is focused more on the machine than on the needs of administrators and users. NetInstall can significantly enhance the capabilities of SMS through additional flexibility and functionality and a total focus on the needs of administrators and users. Page 8 of 13

11 NetInstall can add the following to SMS: Local Security Handling, which allows software installation by the user despite the lack of administrator rights Administration and maintenance of workstation user databases from a central location Configuration of local monitoring settings from a central location Administration of authorizations in the Registry and on NTFS partitions Enhanced and easier-to-use scripting Installation of printers Support for traveling users Support for Software-on-Demand NetInstall in Action Implementation Summaries Siemens Siemens is a global company specializing in electrical engineering and electronics. With more than 400,000 employees in 190 countries, Siemens develops and manufactures leading-edge products and designs and installs complex systems and projects. NetInstall is used by the IT departments of the Power Transmission and Distribution (EV) and Power Generation (KWU) divisions of Siemens in Germany. These divisions account for a total of 6,000 desktops in Germany, all running Windows NT 4.0. Using NetInstall for all application management and deployment, system administrators for EV/KWU, working out of Mannheim, Germany, are able to deploy approximately 80 applications, which include both large commercial applications, such as Microsoft Office 97 and Microsoft Outlook, and custom applications and tools developed specifically by Siemens. The EV/KWU divisions have been using NetInstall for about two years and have greatly simplified their deployment processes. Currently, two people manage all 1,200 desktops in the southern Germany region, and two others manage all the desktops for the rest of Siemens Germany. Only one person is required to develop and distribute all the necessary NetInstall application scripts for use throughout Siemens Germany. Dunlop A division of Sumitomo Rubber, Dunlop Tire Corporation is a full line tire supplier dedicated to the manufacturing and marketing of technologically advanced passenger, performance, light truck, medium truck, and motorcycle tires worldwide. The IT departments of the Administration and Production divisions of Dunlop, located in Hanau, Germany, use NetInstall. These departments service and maintain a total of 550 desktops, all running Windows NT 4.0. With 60 to 70 commercial applications to deploy Page 9 of 13

12 to end users, these divisions employ only two people to handle and manage NetInstall. Applications include Microsoft Office 95, Microsoft Exchange, and Corel products. Starting in the summer of 1997, Dunlop switched all of its computers to Windows NT 4.0 and adopted NetInstall as its application deployment solution. Dunlop now deploys twice as many applications as before, while employing the same number of system administrators. Before using NetInstall, deploying one application department-wide would take one person an entire day. With NetInstall, the same task can now be accomplished in anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the complexity of the application. Mercedes-Benz Lease Finance Mercedes-Benz Lease Finance, a division of DaimlerChrysler, specializes in providing financial services to customers of Mercedes-Benz. Headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, the division has 35 branches throughout Germany and a total of 800 employees. The IT department of Mercedes-Benz Lease Finance is charged with maintaining 1,200 desktops. Each branch has its own server architecture with a Wide Area Network connecting all the branches and the central server residing in Stuttgart. In addition to managing a total of 90 end-user applications, ranging from Microsoft Office 97 to network tools, the IT department is set to complete the task of switching completely to Windows NT 4.0 by the end of May, Two people are charged with utilizing NetInstall on a day-to-day basis. The department handles the deployment of new PCs by using Symantec s Norton Ghost to set up an initial configuration and then uses NetInstall to install the necessary user or machinespecific applications. In addition, the IT department uses Microsoft SMS together with NetInstall. SMS is used to replicate the servers, both within and between branches, while NetInstall is used to deploy applications to individual workstations, and update and manage both the workstations and the servers. Conclusion NetInstall is the first complete software deployment management solution that is specifically designed and tailored for the Windows NT enterprise. NetInstall focuses on the needs of real administrators and real Win 95/98/NT Workstation users, and delivers key capabilities and benefits that no other product delivers: User installation of software without any intervention by the system administrator Elimination of the roaming system administrator Remote customization and maintenance of software environments A complete, easy-to-use customization and scripting environment Support for traveling users Integration with Microsoft SMS Page 10 of 13

13 In the increasingly complex technical world of enterprise computing, InstallShield NetInstall stands out as a product that truly makes the system administrator s life much easier. Page 11 of 13