Organizing software installs into groups without having to maintain duplicate jobs
If the title made no sense I apologize :) I'll explain what my current situation is like, and hopefully I'm just completely missing something and there will be an easier way to handle this.
I have a long list of all of the install jobs. I then I have folders categorized for a certain group of computers. For example, a folder with software jobs for Group A, and another folder with software jobs for Group B, and another for Group C and so on. All of those jobs are already in the long list, as well as being in these folders, as well as being duplicated in each folder. Like, Group A will need Office, Adobe, and Firefox, while Group B will only need Firefox and Adobe, and Group C will need just Office.
So with just 3 groups, I have the same job duplicated 3 times, and if I need to make a change to that job, I have to go into every folder to find that same job to make that same change. IS there a way I can have one job, and have other jobs that reference that job, so a change to that master job is replicated to the others?
Maybe it's too basic, but you
Maybe it's too basic, but you can copy the job instead of changing the other jobs. As far as updating the jobs automatically, I don't think that functionality exists in DS.
Your best bet would be using software policies if you own CMS. Set up different Groups with different policies and they'll get the software they need based on the policy.
Call master jobs from placeholder jobs
I can't find the article from altirigos.com, but I remember someone just calling jobs from placeholders. Put all your Master Software jobs in a software folder. This is the only place you will edit. Now for your Group folders put jobs with empty Run scripts with just a REM do nothing statement. For the Success code on those jobs in the group folders, change it from 'Continue' to call the master job instead. Then you only edit jobs in one place. It will have two pieces of history for the PC this way....
Java Link for Group A
Java Runtime Installation
Adobe Standard Link for Group A
Adobe Standard Installation
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UPDATE: I found the link: http://www.altirigos.com/vbulletin/ds-console-web-console/7742-chaining-ds-jobs.html
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After thinking about it again just make a job called "Deploy Software for Group A". Add multiple REM Do nothing run scripts to this, one for each piece of desired software. For each run script call the real job. For the computer history then you will see something like this...
Deploy Software for Group A (this will have all the various job calls within it)
Java Runtime Installation
Adobe Standard Installation
etc....
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