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Deployment Console, Part 2: Installing Deployment Solution 6.9 on Our Home Site and on Other Sites. 

Nov 26, 2008 12:59 PM

In this second article we are going to install the first and the second Deployment Solution server. Follow all the steps below to get it working.

Server 1 in the Head Office

Install and configure a Windows 2003 server and install the latest service packs and patches on it.

In this first step we are going to install Microsoft SQL express 2005.

The server is named DVSSVR01 and uses the IP address 192.168.238.134.

Step 1: Installing SQL express

Click to view.

Accept the license agreement and click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Click Install.

Microsoft SQL Express will now configure your server to prepare it for the install. Click Next when it is finished, and proceed to the next phase.

Click to view.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

You now see that everything is preinstalled and configured. Make sure there are no red marks in this screen. If anything is red please check what the error is and try installing the component again. You will not be able to click Next if anything is not installed or configured correctly.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Give it your name and if applicable your company name and uncheck the button Hide Advanced Configuration Options. This will help you later in the process.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Install the components as listed above. The replication part is not needed in my demo environment. If you want the database to replicate to other servers, install it. There are no additional configuration parts so I will not explain it further in this tutorial.

You always can install the other parts later or click on them now to install them. For our environment we do not need them.

Click next to continue.

Click to view.

In the screen above you can use the Default instance or create a Named instance. I create a new Named instance and name it DSexpress.

NOTE: There are no spaces or additional characters allowed in the name of the instance.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Check mark the box for the SQL browser to use the same service account. You may create your own accounts for this. I use the default one.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

I always use my SQL in mixed mode. Especially for Deployment Solution it helps me to have a SA account. Several other software solutions have big difficulties when there is no SA password. Because I use this server for some other tasks also I create it.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Do not change anything.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Check the Add user to the SQL Server Administration Role, and click Next to continue.

Click to view.

I'm usually not sending information to Microsoft, so I leave them blank. You may check one or both of the buttons if you'd like. It will not affect the server, configuration or performance. Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Now you finally are ready to get everything installed. Click Install to start the installation.

The installation will take up to 20 minutes, so you have to be very patient.

Click Next and then Finish.

The installation does not need a reboot, but I always reboot after an installation of SQL. After the reboot you will be notified when something went wrong and the services are not activated correctly. You also will notice a small mark in the left showing you green when everything is OK, or red when a service is not started.

Step 2: Installing Deployment Solution 6.9

Start the downloaded file, and give a path to extract it to. Now you can start setup.exe and installing your software.

Click to view.

We have to do a Custom install, because Altiris will not detect the SQL Express 2005 server. When you do a Custom install, in one of the screens you will be able to select the Express 2005 database server.

Click Install to continue.

Accept the license agreement by clicking Yes.

Click to view.

You can use the built in 7 day license or select your license file Altiris provided. It is always possible to install new or more licenses later with the license configurator.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Give it the password and click Next.

Now the installation will search for the SQL Express server.

Click to view.

It now sees all the SQL servers in your network. Select the SQL server you want. In my case I select the DVSSVR01\DSEXPRESS server to install the database on.

Click to view.

Select to use the SQL authentication and give it the password you choose.

Click Next to continue.

The SQL server will now be validated.

Click to view.

When you have downloaded the WIN PE preboot environment, the installation will detect it in your installation directory. I also provide a Windows 98 boot disk. This will enable me to choose an MS DOS pre boot environment also.

The Win PE boot environment is about 150 MB, were the MS DOS pre boot is only 2.2 MB.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Select to install the PXE server on the local server, and select the pre boot environment you would like to use default.

Click Next to continue.

Now you will get a message telling that DHCP should be available in your network. It is only a message and not telling that it did not find the DHCP, so just click next.

Click to view.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

We like to install the Deployment Console on this computer so we install it local. Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Select were you would like to install the web console. You can install it on a web server or on the local computer. If you install it on the local computer, you have to make sure that IIS is installed and configured. I install it on my domain controller that contains all my websites.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Click install and be patient for about 30 minutes.

In the mean while, make sure your server in the remote site is up and running and that you have access to it. You can install all software from within your lazy chair.

Step 3: Building and configuring the remote server on a site.

In step 3 we are going to install the second server. It is important for us that the server does the job fully controlled from within the server in the head office.

To do so, we do not install all the software on this server but we let the head server do the job for us.

On the head server we start the installation again.

Click to view.

Now we select Component install. Click Install to continue.

Accept the license agreement, and click Next.

Click to view.

We install it in the same path we used for the first server.

Click to view.

Now we select the options we want.

First we need an additional Deployment console.

Second we need an additional PXE server and last but not least we need an additional Deployment Agent.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Give in the name or the IP address of the second server in the remote site. Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

Fill in a name and password of an account that has sufficient permissions.

Click Next to continue.

The installation will check if it has enough permissions.

Click to view.

Give it the servername or the IP address of the remote server.

Again the username and password will be checked. Now you can click next to start the installation.

Please remember that at this moment about 200 MB of data is copied to the remote server and installed over there.

Click to view.

The installation now asks for a username and a password that will be used to install the agent on the client.

If you use different accounts and passwords on different clients you may set this option to "Let me specify for a username and a password for each machine."

I use the same full admin account on all sites, so I check the second option and give in the correct password.

Click to view.

Now I select the Aclient instead of the Dagent.

You may change the client settings at will.

Click Next to continue.

Click to view.

I let all clients appear in the default group, but you are now also able to let the clients of the second server appear in a separate group like the site name or another good to remember group.

Click Next to continue.

Now you get the option to deploy the agent to all computers that you like.

I select cancel to prevent the computers from streaming the agent over the internet.

This task will be done in a later setting.

Now you have configured one server in the head office and one in a site office.

For every site you can configure a additional Deployment Server.

All server will use the same SQL database so every computer in all offices will be managed through one database.

It does not matter in what office you are working. You will be able to deploy software, images or configuration tasks to every computer.

In the next article we are going to configure PXE, build some standard tasks, and then we are going to configure the synchronization between the servers with Microsoft DFS.

Also we configure a task that enables you to manually synchronize between all the servers for quick deployment actions.

Deployment Console, Part 1: The Way You Should Implement It

Deployment Console, Part 3: Configure Your Multisite PXE Environment
 

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Comments

Migration User
Dec 27, 2011 10:37 AM

This is an amazing article! Thank you so much!! Much appreciated :)

Migration User
May 06, 2009 02:13 PM

To BWilkerson:  I believe that this is correct.  The database, which is the heart of the back-end functionality of the DS solution is what each console and workstation agent (AClient or DAgent) need to connect to.  ErikW's solution installs PXE locally on the remote sites servers so that each client will connect to a local PXE server, and a console is installed in case someone at the server needs to run the console (just like if you wanted to run the console at your workstation - the console would still need to connect to the SQL database on the primary server).

The deployment of software and images needs to be structured to pull from the local server for each site.  For instance, you can utilize the %SITE% token and populate it for each workstation with the name of its local DS server.  That way you could substitute the server name in a deployment package with %SITE% (\\%SITE%\eXpress\Software\PackageX.msi).  When the job runs for the workstation it will replace the %SITE% value with the correct server name for that workstation.

Additionally, you can create a PXE pre-boot image that's unique to each site and use redirection - or possibly again make use of the %SITE% token in the pre-boot's drive mapping logic.

This is my interpretation of ErikW's approach (which I'm very grateful that he shared).  Hopefully I have it right - I based it on my own testing and lab setup.

Michael Long
ONE Solution, LLC

Migration User
Apr 30, 2009 09:55 AM

Thank you for your reply but I feel that I may have done something wrong then. When I launch the console on the secondary server it shows at the top above the file menu that is is connected to the primary server. Is that normal? When I went to push out an Aclient to a workstation at the remote site it took the settings of the primary server. I am thinking of starting over so can I just use Add/Remove programs to uninstall the Deployment Console and the PXE Server?

It almost seems like it was set up just as a console and not doing any independent operation.   

Migration User
Apr 30, 2009 07:03 AM

If I am reading this right this should allow me to set up a DS server (and PXE) at each of my 3 remote sites. I just have a few things that I want cleared up if I could impose.
Answer: Yes, you have to install one ds server with PXE on the mainsite and then build two site servers.

1. Will each site have their own individual express shares for images and other installation packages. The goal here being to have these items deployed using the local LAN instead of from the primary server over our Wireless WAN that connects the remote sites to the main office.
Answer: You have to setup Microsoft DFS to do the synchronisation over the WIFI lan at night when there is less traffic. Each DS can be installed so that the clients retrive the software from the local DS.

2. If the above is true I assume that each site will have its own Automation Packages and Aclient/DAgent installs that reflect the settings of the local server. The only thing that will be shared is the database.
Answer: Yes completely correct

3. Will there be three separate management consoles or will there be only one and we can manage all the systems, images, tasks from the main console. Then the computer will go about its tasks based on the settings of the Aclient that is installed and the Automation Partition Settings and PXE Settings of the local server.
Answer: There can be hundreds of management consoles. Not the management console but the location of the client determines where the packages are retrieved from

Our sites are connected via 100Mbs Wireless Wan so I do not think sharing the database will be an issue and from a management standpoint I think that will be best in the long run. However, I would much rather the images, installation packages, and other items be delivered over the local gigabit LAN.
Answer: You need to synchronise the packages/images ad of time hours when there is less traffic.

I hope this is what the instructions above is trying to outline.
Answer: Correct

Migration User
Apr 28, 2009 12:35 PM

If I am reading this right this should allow me to set up a DS server (and PXE) at each of my 3 remote sites.   I just have a few things that I want cleared up if I could impose.

1.  Will each site have their own individual express shares for images and other installation packages.   The goal here being to have these items deployed using the local LAN instead of from the primary server over our Wireless WAN that connects the remote sites to the main office.

2.  If the above is true I assume that each site will have its own Automation Packages and Aclient/DAgent installs that reflect the settings of the local server.   The only thing that will be shared is the database.

3.  Will there be three separate management consoles or will there be only one and we can manage all the systems, images, tasks from the main console.   Then the computer will go about its tasks based on the settings of the Aclient that is installed and the Automation Partition Settings and PXE Settings of the local server.


Our sites are connected via 100Mbs Wireless Wan so I do not think sharing the database will be an issue and from a management standpoint I think that will be best in the long run.   However,  I would much rather the images, installation packages, and other items be delivered over the local gigabit LAN.  

I hope this is what the instructions above is trying to outline.

Migration User
Mar 04, 2009 07:30 AM

Is ther anyway to do this but use a different SQL server for the second DS?  That way if something happens to the first DS the second DS could be used as a primary...??

Migration User
Jan 20, 2009 11:12 AM

You can find some of the Pre Boot Enviroments at the following web address. You do need to have an account to access them, but I believe your Juice account should work for this.
https://www4.symantec.com/Vrt/vrtcontroller

Migration User
Jan 20, 2009 09:30 AM

Call me stupid but whrer can i find the pre boot environments that you talk about (downloaded)?
Thanks,

Pascal KOTTE
Dec 12, 2008 06:26 PM

I forgot to say you can come back in French or other language regional after installing. No problem! ~~~PaKo

Pascal KOTTE
Dec 12, 2008 06:23 PM

Well, don't care your OS language, but DO install your DS 6.9 (all the same SP1) using regional in ENGLISH only. If you install in "french" (and probably others languages), you can get strange Aclient or Dagent machine coming without any serials or UUID, only MAC. They can come in "yellow" in DS console, going "blue" when clicking on it without logged in user (all the same you logged in). It will be probably Dell or HP machine under temporary 30 days licenses. Just reinstall your DS server in English regional settings & it'll magically coming back normal with a true "temporary" license icon display in DS console & all serials OK. Don't ask me why ;-) ~~~PaKo

Migration User
Dec 12, 2008 01:47 PM

Go to the remote server, and click start run.
give the command appwiz.cpl
select Altiris PXE server and uninstall it.
The server can then be deleted .
Regards
Erik
www.DinamiQs.com

Migration User
Dec 12, 2008 01:27 PM

I setup a remote server with for another location and now I want to delete that remote server. How should I go about deleting the remote server that was setup as a component install. I hope that will delete the PXE configuration as well.

Migration User
Dec 12, 2008 01:24 PM

Im about to install an additional PXE server for my organization is it best practice to use another SQL database or will the first database be ok to use again.

Migration User
Dec 10, 2008 09:08 AM

Hey Erik,
Great series so far. Appreciate your help to the community! Just wanted to swing a question your way to see if you could help me out. I have been having extensive problems trying to implement DS in an environment where the DS Server is behind a firewall. The problem lies with the Remote Control and Chat function which flat out refuse to work but work fine if I have a test machine behind the firewall. Other functions work, such as the application delivery and file copy but not Remote Control. I investigated with Wireshark and it appears the DS is telling the clients to talk back to the internal private address! Any suggestions?

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