ENTERPRISE

System Center Configuration Manager 2007 : Creating a Package (part 2) - OpsMgr Client - Configuring the Installation Program

12/10/2013 3:01:40 AM
1.2 Configuring the Installation Program

You will want to make several changes to the program’s configuration on the General tab for the OpsMgr agent installation. First, add a comment explaining what the program will do. Next, change the properties on the Per-system attended command line, as follows:

MSIEXEC.exe /i MOMAgent.msi /qn /l*v MOMinstall.log /m MSIHATJB USE_MANUALLY_SPECIFIED_SETTINGS=0


This syntax will install the MOMAgent.msi in quiet mode, save the MSI log file to a log named MOMinstall.log, and provide no configuration information to the client (because the agent configuration is discovered from Active Directory). Run the program as hidden, keep the After Running setting of No action required, and specify a Category setting of OpsMgr. Figure 9 displays these settings.

Figure 9. Configuration changes on the General tab of the OpsMgr agent installation program


Now, move to the Requirements tab for the program. Figure 10 shows the default configuration for the OpsMgr program previously created using the package definition file.

Figure 10. Requirements tab for the Per-system unattended installation program


The Requirements tab tells Configuration Manager the requirements for running the program:

  • Estimated disk space— The estimated disk space required to run the program.

  • Maximum allowed run time (minutes)— The amount of time the program is permitted to run.

  • This program can run only on specified client platforms— If the program can only run on specified platforms, select the allowed platforms.

  • Additional requirements— This is an optional field for specifying additional requirement information for users (up to 127 characters). Text will appear on client computers in Control Panel -> Run Advertised Programs.

The Estimated disk space setting defaults to 86MB when the package definition file for the OpsMgr agent is used. Although the actual amount of disk space may vary from the amount defined with the package definition file, the default can provide a good starting point. As an example, installations of the OpsMgr agent can require at least 154MB of disk space based on the management packs monitored on the agent system, so the setting here will be 200MB. Although there is a large difference between an 86MB estimate and a 200MB estimate, it is better to overestimate the required disk space ConfigMgr will check for—so when applications are distributed they do not fill the remainder of the disk space on the system. The Estimated disk space setting can be in KB, MB, or GB, and it defaults to Unknown for program installations.

The Maximum allowed run time (minutes) setting defines how long the program is expected to run. There can be considerable variation in how a program will run; this depends on the speed of the system ConfigMgr is installing it on, the size of the program, and the network connectivity between the system and the source files used for the installation. In this example, the setting defaulted to Unknown. However, based on previous installations of the OpsMgr agent, it should complete within 10 minutes. This option has direct impacts to configurations on both the Environment tab and the MOM Maintenance Mode tab (discussed later in this section) due to the addition of maintenance windows within ConfigMgr 2007. This is used to determine whether a package has the time to install before the maintenance window closes.

Two options are available for platforms on which ConfigMgr can run the program:

  • This program can run on any platform— This is the default configuration and works well for programs that are not platform specific.

  • This program can run only on specified client platforms— This type of installation is for client-specific platforms. As an example, the OpsMgr client actually has three different installation files based on the client platform (amd64, i386, ia64). In this situation, you would separately package each of the different program types and use this option to allow each program to run only on a specific client platform.

Note: Available Platforms to Run a Program On

The list of available platforms may not be up to date with current OS releases. An easy workaround for this is to create a collection of just the operating systems you want and target that collection.

Specifying that a program can run only on certain client platforms is only beneficial when a collection contains systems with multiple platforms. If an advertisement is targeted to a collection with only one platform and the program is restricted to only run on a specific client platform, this setting will be redundant.


For the OpsMgr agent, change the properties on the Requirements tab to set the estimated disk space to 200MB and the maximum allowed run time (in minutes) to 10. Also, specify that this program can only run on specified client platforms (that is, the x86 platforms this agent runs on), as shown in Figure 11.

Figure 11. Configuration changes on the Requirements tab of the OpsMgr agent installation program


The Environment tab for this program identifies when a program can run. Here are the options:

  • Whether or not a user is logged on— This is the default configuration, and it works for the majority of installations.

  • Only when a user is logged on— This installation type is used when the program ConfigMgr is installing needs to have the user logged in to install.

  • Only when no user is logged on— The installation type will not install until the user logs out of the system.

The conditions under which a program can run directly tie into the Run mode options:

  • Run with user’s rights— This is only available if the option “Only when a user is logged on” is chosen for when the program can be run.

  • Run with administrative rights— This is the default option and is available in any of the three configurations that determine when a program can run. If you choose this option, a check box is available to allow users to interact with the program (Allow users to interact with this program). This setting causes advertisements to execute under the Local System account context.

Tip: Running Advertisements with Administrative Rights

At first glance, running an advertisement with administrative rights seems like a nobrainer. Using this approach, you can install the software regardless of what level of permissions are available to the user logged in to the system. However, this can cause some difficulties when installing a program that writes data to the Registry, or if the package tries to access files the account does not have rights to access. If this situation occurs, try running with the user’s rights instead. If that does not work, create two different programs—one that runs under the user access and allows access to the Registry, and a second that runs with administrative rights. Next, link the programs together with a Run this program first option. Sometimes this will require repackaging the application to determine the portion of the application that requires administrator rights to install. Another option involves using the task sequencing engine to deploy packages that need to perform Registry edits or run something in the user’s context. This can be done by running a command line with a run as statement (this functionality is only available in ConfigMgr 2007 R2).


Use the Allow users to interact with this program option in those situations where the user needs to interact with the program. The option Allow users to interact with the program is also an excellent troubleshooting method to use when packages are not installing correctly. With this option selected, the user interface is visible to the user logged in to the system, and the user can interact with the program. As an example, you will choose this option if the program requires the user to make a selection or click a button. If a program runs without this option selected and the program requires user intervention, it waits for the user interaction (which will never occur) and will eventually time out when the maximum allowed runtime has occurred (defined on the Requirements tab of the program; if undefined, the program times out after 12 hours).

The Drive mode that the program runs under includes the following configurations:

  • Runs with UNC name— This is the default setting, which runs the program using the UNC (Universal Naming Convention) name. As an example, \\<smsserver>\smspkge$\DAL00004 would be the distribution point when you create a package for the DAL site and store it on the E: drive of the system. 

  • Requires drive letter— The program requires a mapped drive to install, but allows ConfigMgr to use any available drive letter.

  • Requires specific drive letter (example: Z):— The program requires mapping a specific drive letter for installation (if you choose this option, an additional box is provided for specifying the letter to be mapped). If the drive letter is not available on the client system, the program will not run.

  • Reconnect to distribution point at logon— This last setting specifies that the client will reconnect to the ConfigMgr distribution point when logging in to the system. This option is only available if the program runs only when a user is logged on, with the user’s rights, and requires either a drive letter, or a specific drive letter (as an example, the drive letter Z).

For the OpsMgr agent, take the defaults, as displayed in Figure 12.

Figure 12. Environment tab for the Per-system unattended installation program


The Advanced tab for the program, shown in Figure 13, specifies a variety of configurations, such as whether other programs run prior to this one, whether this program is run once for the computer or for each user, where program notifications are suppressed, how disabled programs are handled on clients, and how the program integrates with install software task sequences.

Figure 13. Advanced tab for the Per-system unattended installation program


  • Run another program first— This is the first option available on the Advanced tab. These are program dependencies, and specifying this option causes another program to be run before this program runs. By default, the check box is cleared. As an example, there’s a software package that has several separate programs requiring installation before the package can be installed. This program has five levels of dependency—our original program will not run unless program #2 has run, and program #2 will not run unless program #3 has run, and so on.

    If you choose this option, you must specify a package and a program. The option “Allow this program to be installed from the Install Software task sequence without being advertised” is relevant when discussing task sequences within ConfigMgr. Task sequences are a list of customizable tasks or steps sequentially performed. A task sequence can be advertised to a collection; as an example, a program can be advertised to a collection. Task sequences provide a more elegant solution for many situations, including those where multiple dependencies exist for a single program.

    If you specify the option to run another program first, the Always run this program first option is also available (defaults as unchecked). If this option is checked, the program it is dependent on will run regardless of whether it previously ran on the same system.

  • When this program is assigned to a computer— This is a dropdown with two choices:

    • Run once for the computer— This is the default setting.

    • Run once for every user who logs in— This option causes the program to run for each user who logs in to the computer.

  • Suppress program notifications— This option is a check box that is cleared by default. When checked, the option causes any notification area icons, messages, and countdown notifications to not display for the program. This is useful for programs that may be running when someone is using the system, if there is no requirement for notification that the program is running.

  • Disable this program on computers where it is advertised— This check box determines how ConfigMgr will handle the program. The option defaults to unchecked, but if checked, it specifies that advertisements containing this program are disabled. When checked, this option also removes the program from the list of available programs that the user can run, and the program will not run on the systems where it is assigned.

    This approach is useful when there is a need to temporarily halt a deployment because the change applies to all advertisements of the program, and the program is disabled when policies are retrieved by the client.

  • Allow this program to be installed from the Install Software task sequence without being advertised— The final check box on the Advanced tab determines how the Install Software task sequence in OSD handles the program. The option is unchecked by default. You should check this option for any programs used within an OSD task sequence.

For the OpsMgr agent, accept the default configurations, shown in Figure 13.

The Windows Installer tab for the program provides installation source management. If the program requires repair or reinstallation, the MSI file automatically accesses the package files on a distribution point to reinstall or repair the program. This screen defaults to cleared, as displayed in Figure 14 for the OpsMgr package.

Figure 14. Windows Installer tab for the Per-system unattended installation program


The available fields on the screen shown in Figure 14 are the Windows Installer product code and the Windows Installer file. You can define these by clicking the Import button and specifying the MSI file used for the program. Choosing the MSI file populates both of these fields.

For the OpsMgr agent, accept the default configurations as displayed in Figure 14.

The final tab determines the MOM maintenance mode configurations for the program. Two options are available on this tab, as displayed in Figure 15:

  • Disable Operations Manager alerts while this program runs— Selecting this option places the computer in OpsMgr maintenance mode while the program is running. The duration of the maintenance mode is defined by the Maximum allowed run time (minutes) setting defined on the Requirements tab (refer to Figure 10). Unfortunately, this option does not actually perform the steps required to truly disable Operations Manager alerts while the program is running. The option pauses the OpsMgr health service, but it does not put everything into maintenance mode, meaning heartbeat alerts are still generated. This option defaults to unchecked.

  • Generate Operations Manager alert if this program fails— If this option is checked, it creates an event in the application log containing the package name, program name, advertisement ID, advertisement comment, and failure code or Management Information Format (MIF) failure description. You can configure the application event to create an alert in MOM/Operations Manager that will alert on the situation. A good example of when to use this feature is for critical software deployments such as service pack (SP) packages. This option defaults to unchecked.

Figure 15. MOM Maintenance Mode tab for the Per-system unattended installation program

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