You can install the client by using a Windows 2000/2003 Active Directory Group Policy Object. The procedures for installing client software with Active Directory Group Policy Object assume that you have installed this software and use Windows 2003 Active Directory.

The installation software requires that client computers contain and can run Windows Installer 3.1 or later. Computers meet this requirement if they run Windows XP with Service Pack 2 and higher, Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 and higher, and Windows Vista. If client computers do not meet this requirement, all other installation methods automatically install Windows Installer 3.1 by bootstrapping it from the installation files.

For security reasons, Windows Group Policy Object does not permit bootstrapping to the executable file WindowsInstaller*.exe from the installation files. Therefore, before you install Symantec client software, you must run this file on the computers that do not contain and run Windows Installer 3.1. You can run this file with a computer startup script. If you use a GPO as an installation method, you must decide how to update the client computers that do not run Windows Installer 3.1.

The Symantec client installation uses standard Windows Installer .msi files. As a result, you can customize the client installation with .msi properties.

See About configuring msi command strings.

Finally, confirm that your DNS server is set up correctly. The correct setup is required because Active Directory relies on your DNS server for computer communication. To test the setup, you can ping the Windows Active Directory computer, and then ping in the opposite direction. Use the fully qualified domain name. The use of the computer name alone does not call for a new DNS lookup. Use the following format:

ping computername.fullyqualifieddomainname.com

See Uninstalling client software with Active Directory Group Policy Object.