The basic process of deploying applications—or any
software—using SCCM 2007 is the same as that for an operating system:
you create a package containing the software and advertise it to a
collection of computers. The computers receive the advertisement,
through the SCCM client, and execute the instructions in the
package.
“Program” (in SCCM) is a technical term that refers to a
command that executes on the client computer. For example, if you have
a standard application with source files and a Setup.exe file that you
want to deploy using SCCM, you create a package that contains the
source files and a program that contains a command line executing
Setup.exe with appropriate parameters. When the designated clients
receive the advertisement indicating that the package is available,
they download the program and execute it, causing the installation to
commence.
SCCM is essentially a delivery service that provides software to
clients in a predetermined manner. It is up to the SCCM administrator
to create programs that can execute properly on the client computers.
If, for example, you create a program that contains an improperly
formatted Setup.exe command line, the client computers generate an
error, just as if you typed the command incorrectly in person.
Understanding the SCCM Software Deployment Process
The process of deploying an application using SCCM 2007
consists of the following basic steps:
-
Create distribution points
-
Create a collection
-
Create a package
-
Select distribution points
-
Create a program
-
Advertise the program to the collection
These steps are discussed in the following sections.
Creating Distribution Points
SCCM is a highly scalable product, designed to support the
largest enterprises. When deploying an application to clients at
multiple physical sites, you can create multiple distribution
points to prevent each client from having to access the source
files over a slow wide area network (WAN) connection. After
creating a package, you copy it to the distribution points so that
each client can then access it from a local server.
Creating distribution points is typically a part of the SCCM
2007 infrastructure design, so they should already be in place by
the time you are ready to create packages. To add a distribution
point in Configuration Manager, you browse to the Site
Management\<site>\Site Settings\Site Systems folder and
launch the New Site System Server Wizard, as shown in Figure 1.
After specifying the name of the server on your network you
want to add, the wizard displays the System Role Selection page,
as shown in Figure 2, which
enables you to choose Distribution Point as the SCCM role you want
that server to perform.
In SCCM, you use collections to specify which
computers or users are to receive deliveries from the SCCM
servers. This makes it easy to deploy applications to selected
computers with great precision. When you are deploying
applications to computers that already have the SCCM client
installed, you can use the Configuration Manager console to
discover clients and add them to collections as needed.
Creating a package in Configuration Manager is essentially a
matter of assembling the materials you need SCCM to deliver to the
target computers so that the computers can install your
application. To create a package using SCCM 2007, use the
following procedure:
-
On your SCCM site server, launch the Configuration
Manager console.
-
Browse to the Computer Management\Software
Distribution\Packages folder.
-
Right-click the Packages folder and select New | Package
from the context menu. The New Package Wizard appears,
displaying the General page, as shown in Figure 3.
-
Type a name for the package in the Name text box, as
well as other identifying information, if you want. Then click
Next. The Data Source page appears, as shown in Figure 4.
-
Select the check box for The Package Contains Source
Files and then the Use A Compressed Copy Of The Source
Directory option.
-
Click Set. The Set Source Directory dialog box appears,
as shown in Figure 5.
-
In the Source Directory text box, type or browse to the
location of the application source files. Then select the
appropriate Source Directory Location option, and click
OK.
-
Click Next. The Data Access page appears, as shown in
Figure 6.
-
Click Next to accept the default settings. The
Distribution Settings page appears, as shown in Figure 7.
-
Click Next to accept the default settings. The Reporting
page appears, as shown in Figure 8.
-
Click Next to accept the default settings. The Security
page appears, as shown in Figure 9.
-
Click Next to accept the default settings. The Summary
page appears, as shown in Figure 10.
-
Click Next. The wizard creates the
package.
-
Click Close.
When you expand the package you have just created, you
see the following four subheadings:
-
Access
Accounts. Specifies who can access the source files in the
package
-
Distribution
Points. Specifies which distribution points SCCM uses to
deploy the package
-
Programs. Enables you to create the programs that execute on
the target computers
-
Package
Status. Displays information about the package’s
activities
