Here's the situation: I just started a brand new job (I really like it, in case you were wondering). Right after I started we had a little hiccup with our Deployment Solution server. Basically, we had to rebuild the server, including MSSQL 2005 (where our database sits). I have never done a complete install by myself. I wasn't sure what to do...

Installing Altiris software is actually really easy, so I was not very worried about that. The thing that was nagging me was getting MSSQL 2005 installed. After a little research I decided to just forge ahead and see what happened. Luckily everything worked out! I decided that I would share the process that I went through with the Juice gang. So here we go!

In this article, I am going to walk you through what it takes to start from scratch. We will start with nothing, and end up with a working Deployment Solution server.

Getting the License Files

To get Altiris products to last longer than a week (there is a seven-day trial on a lot of Altiris products), you have to have a valid license file. I had no idea where to find our license files, so I made a call.

I called our Altiris sales representative. They were very helpful. The sales representative pointed me to Altiris License Management Portal and created an account for me on the portal.

This site is very useful and intuitive. I really like the site because it lists all of the software that you own by name and version number. You can also download the license files you need for the software you want to install.

So, once I got onto the site, I found the Deployment Solution for Clients 6.8 license file, and downloaded it to a place that I can easily find it in the future.

Download the Install Files

The next step is to download the install files. They can be easily found on the Altiris Download site. Make sure to enter your email address, and then you can select the software that you want to install. In this case, we are going to choose "Deployment Solution for Clients 6.8 SP1."

Make sure to save the files in a place that you can easily find. You will have to unzip the files. Once you have done that, you are good to go!

Install IIS

At this point, I am assuming that you have Windows Server installed. You probably ran a standard install of Windows Server. The standard install does not include IIS (which you need to get the web side of Deployment Solution to work). This is what you need to do to get IIS installed:

1. Go to Start >> Control Panel
2. Once you are in the Control Panel, double click on the "Add or Remove Programs" icon
3. Now, click on "Add/Remove Windows Components"
4. The following window will appear:
   

   Click to view.

   Check the box next to "Application Server"
5. Make sure that "Application Server" is highlighted, and click on the details button.
6. Click the box next to (and highlight) "Internet Information Services (IIS)" like the picture below:
   

   Click to view.

   Note: If you want the Deployment Solution web portion to work you need to check the box next to ASP.NET on this screen.
7. Click on Details, and the following window will appear:
   

   Click to view.

8. I want FTP on my server, so I selected the check box next to "File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Service"
9. Now click "OK", click "OK", and click "Next" - doing this will bring you to the following window:
   

   Click to view.

10. Click on browse to point Windows to the Windows Server 2003 CD. Click "OK" when you are ready for IIS (and any other component you selected). The following window will appear when the installation happens:
    

    Click to view.

Create a Services Account (see page 18)

We need to create a local user that Deployment Solution can use to do its thing. Here is how:

1. Right click on My Computer
2. Go to Manage
3. Go to Users
4. Right click in the empty space and create a new user
5. Enter a user name (I used the information in the example)
6. Enter a description (I used the information in the example)
7. Set the password
8. Uncheck "User must change password at next login"
9. Check "Password never expires"
10. Click "Create"
11. Click "Close"
12. Double Click on the user you just created
13. Go to the "Member Of" tab
14. Click on "Add"
15. Under "Enter the object names to select" type in "Administrators" (without the quotes)
16. Click OK

Install MSSQL 2005

Now, we are ready to do the part that I was worried about. After you insert the MSSQL 2005 DVD into the drive and run the setup program you are ready to go. Here are the steps:

1. Accept EULA
   

   Click to view.

2. Click on "Install"
   

   Click to view.

3. Once the files are installed, click "Next"
   

   Click to view.

4. SQL Server setup is scanning your computer's configuration (this will take a few minutes)
   

   Click to view.

5. When the Welcome to the Microsoft SQL Server Install Wizard appears, click "Next"
   

   Click to view.

6. Fill out your registration information
   

   Click to view.

7. I have no idea what needs to be installed, so I told it to install everything:
   

   Click to view.

8. On the Instance Name screen, I did not change anything so, if click "Next" you should be fine
   

   Click to view.

9. On the Service Account screen, I choose to "Use the built-in System Account" (the drop down was set to "Local System")
   

   Click to view.

   Click "Next" when you are all done.
10. In the Authentication Mode Window, I selected "Mixed Mode" just in case. Enter in the SA login password
    

    Click to view.

11. Collation Settings -- I have no idea what any of this stuff means, I am going to leave it alone
    

    Click to view.

12. I left all of the check boxes "unchecked" in the Error and Usage Report Settings window because I don't want Microsoft snooping around
    

    Click to view.

13. On the Ready to Install screen, click "Install"
    

    Click to view.

14. Your components will install now (this is sort of fun to watch because it jumps around a lot)
    

    Click to view.

15. When it is all done, click "Next"
    

    Click to view.

16. You are all done, click "Finish"
    

    Click to view.

That was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. I was pretty happy about that.

Give the Service Account Access to Create a MSSQL 2005 Database

This is probably the most important step. We are going to give the "service account" that we created earlier access to the MSSQL database. If you would like to see how to do this for MSSQL 2000, please refer to the Deployment and Migration Guide (pgs 19-21). Here is how to do it in MSSQL 2005:

1. Go to Start >> All Programs >> Microsoft SQL Server 2005 >> SQL Server Management Studio. The window below will appear:
   

   Click to view.

2. Go to Security >> Logins. It will look like the picture below:
   

   Click to view.

3. Right Click in an empty space
4. A menu will appear, click on "New Login"
5. A new window named "Login -- New" will appear
6. To the right of Login name, (past the text box) click on Search. We are going to search for the login that we created earlier
7. A new window named "Select User or Group" will appear. In the text box named "Enter the object name to select" type in the user account we created earlier. An example is below:
   

   Click to view.

8. On the top right, select "Server Roles" from the "Select a page" list
9. Click the box next to "dbcreator" -- this allows the user we selected to create a database.
   

   Click to view.

10. Click "OK." The account will be given the specified rights
11. Close the Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio

So, now the service account that we created earlier has become the go between for Deployment Solution and the database.

Install .NET and MDAC

On page 22 of the manual it says we need .NET 1.1 and MDAC v 2.7 SP1 (Microsoft's site lists MDAC v2.8).

Click here to get .NET 1.1

Click here to get MDAC v2.8

Make Sure That IIS is Runing

If you want the Deployment Solution Web component to be installed make sure that IIS is up and running (see page 22 for more information).

Install Deployment Solution

Now all the prep-work is done we can install the Deployment Solution. So, open up Windows Explorer and find the file that we downloaded earlier.

1. Double click on the executable
2. Extract and execute the application
3. Select the radio button next to "Simple Install Helper" and click the "Install" button. This will check and make sure you have all of the third party software on your system
   

   Click to view.

4. Now, I want a simple install with PXE, so I am going to select the radio button next to "Simple Install," and I am going to check "Include PXE Server"
5. Click "Install"
   

   Click to view.

6. Agree to the EULA
7. In the Deployment Share Information window, I changed the following:
8. I changed the server path to my secondary (larger) hard drive
9. I pointed the installer to my license file
10. In the Service user name field, I put in the name of the account we created earlier
11. In the service password field, I put in the correct password Here is an example:
    

    Click to view.

12. Click "Next"
13. On the "Pre-boot Operating System" screen, I selected "None." I decided to take care of the PXE setup later. Click "Next"
14. Click "Install" the following screen will appear:
    

    Click to view.

15. Once everything is installed another screen appears with the following options:
    • Remotely install the Deployment Agent
    • Configure Sysprep
    • Download Adobe Reader for documentation
    I did not want to do any of those things, so I hit "OK" or "Finish" without taking a picture
16. Deployment server should be up and running...

Conclusion

Now we have a working Deployment Solution server set up and working. It was not as hard as I thought it was going to be. Now you don't have to worry about doing something wrong. If I can install this stuff with no help, you will be able to install it with ease (if you use this article of course). Good luck!