This section describes how to
add applications to distribution points you build with BDD, and then
inject those applications into disk images or install them when
deploying the disk image.
When planning
application deployment, you choose between three deployment strategies:
thick image, thin image, and hybrid image. If you’re using a thin image strategy, you won’t be
injecting applications into disk images. Instead, you’ll use a
systems-management infrastructure such as SMS to deploy applications
after installing the thin disk image. If you’re using a thick image
strategy, you will install applications when you create the disk image.
In other words, you will add the application installations to the BDD
build that you use to create the disk image. If you’re using a hybrid
image strategy, you will install applications during deployment. In this
case, you will add the application installations to the BDD build that
you’re deploying to destination computers.
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One
question I hear repeatedly around the deployment space is about the
amount of infrastructure required. Even with a moderately large (thick)
image, customers still need to deploy additional applications. I
typically suggest dynamic application distribution—applications that the
user had before are dynamically reinstalled on the new configuration
before the user logs on to the computer.
However, this requires a
stable infrastructure. On average, three applications will need to be
added for each machine—three applications not already included in the
thick image. On average, 4,805 files will be migrated by using User
State Migration Tool (USMT) per computer and 900 megabytes will be
transferred. Therefore, a 1,000-computer deployment would require the
following infrastructure:
Computers: 1,000.00 Applications: 2,952 Files: 4,805,594 Gigabytes: 977.60
Doug Davis, Lead Architect
Management Operations & Deployment, Microsoft Consulting Services
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Adding Applications
When you add an
application to a distribution share, you’re simply describing for BDD
how to install the application by using the (command line) and
optionally copying the application source files to the distribution
share. If you don’t copy the application source files to the
distribution share, BDD installs the application from the source
location you specify, such as a network share.
To add an application to a distribution share
1. | In
the BDD Workbench console tree, right-click Applications, and then
click New to begin the New Application Wizard. Applications is under
Distribution Share.
| 2. | On the Specify The Type Of Application To Add page, do one of the following, and then click Next:
- Click the Application With Source Files option. Choosing
this option copies the application source files to the distribution
share. During deployment, BDD installs the application from source files
it copied to the distribution share.
- Click the Application Without Source Files Or
Elsewhere On The Network option. Choosing this option does not copy the
application source files to the distribution share. During deployment,
BDD installs the application from another location on the network. You
also choose this option to run a command that requires no application
source files.
| 3. | On
the Specify The Details For This Application page, provide the
following information about the application, and then click Next:
In the Publisher box, type the name of the application’s publisher. In the Application Name box, type the name of the application. In the Version box, type a version label for the application. In the Languages box, type the languages supported by the application (optional). In the Platforms list, choose the platforms supported by the application.
| 4. | On
the Select The Location Of The Application Files page, type the path of
the folder containing the application you want to add, and then click
Next. If you’ve chosen to copy the application source files to the
distribution share, BDD Workbench copies everything in this folder to
the distribution share; otherwise, it adds this path to the
application’s metadata as the application’s installation path.
Note If
you select the Move The Files To The Distribution Share Instead Of
Copying Them check box, the New Application Wizard will move the source
files instead of copying them. Use this option if you want to stage
applications on the local hard disk before moving them into the
distribution share. |
| 5. | On
the Specify The Destination page, type the name of the folder to create
for the application within the distribution share, and then click Next.
The default value is the publisher, application name, and version label
concatenated.
| 6. | On
the Specify Installation Details page, type the command to use to
install the application silently, and then click Add. For example, type msiexec /qb /i program.msi. The command is relative to the working directory specified in the Working Directory box.
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After adding an
application to the distribution share, you see it in the Applications
details pane. You also see it in the distribution share in Applications\subfolder, where subfolder is the destination you specified when adding the application.
Creating Dependencies
Often, an
application has dependencies. For example, application A is dependent on
application B if you must install application B before installing
application A. BDD allows you to specify application dependencies for
each application you add to the distribution point. You can only make an
application dependent on other applications that you’ve added to the
distribution share.
To add dependencies to an application
1. | In the BDD Workbench console tree, click Applications.
| 2. | In the details pane, right-click the application that has a dependency on another application, and then click Properties.
| 3. | On the Dependencies tab, do the following:
- To add an application to the dependencies list, click
Add and then select an application. BDD Workbench only displays
applications in this list that you’ve already added to the distribution
share.
- To remove an application from the dependencies list, select an application in the dependencies list, and then click Remove.
- To reorder the applications in the dependencies list,
select an application in the dependencies list, and then click Up or
click Down. BDD installs the dependent applications in the order
specified by the dependencies list.
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Installing Applications
In BDD, the task
sequence specifies the tasks that run during deployment and their order.
You install applications by adding a step to the task sequence that
installs the application at the appropriate time.
Without creating
additional groups in the task sequence, the best place to add
application installs is to the Custom Tasks group, which BDD creates in
each build’s default task sequence. The instructions in this section show you how to install an application as a step under this group.
Note If
you add an application to the distribution share without installing it
via the task sequence, the BDD Deployment Wizard will allow the user to
optionally install the application during deployment. Also, you can
choose applications to install automatically during a zero-touch
deployment by configuring the SMS 203 OSD deployment point to install
the application automatically. |
To add an application installation to a build’s task sequence
1. | In the BDD Workbench console tree, click Builds.
| 2. | In the details pane, right-click the build in which you want to install an application, and then click Properties.
| 3. | On
the Task Sequence tab, click Custom Tasks in the task sequence, and
then click Add, click Application, and then click Application Name to
install the application in the build.
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Note In
BDD, the task sequence is very flexible. For example, you can install
applications at almost any point during the State Restore phase. You can
filter application installation tasks on a variety of variables. |
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