Software Distribution with SMS

Using Systems Management Server (SMS) to automate an enterprisewide upgrade to Windows NT or Windows 95 will save you time, resources, and money. And the time gained with automation gives you more time to look after exceptional cases. But the success of your upgrade clearly depends on one key step: planning. Too many times, system administrators cite lack of time and resources as reasons for skipping this step. But the complexity of SMS makes planning mandatory. For a successful deployment, you must have a clear picture of the end result and the steps to get there.

Successful deployment depends on knowing how SMS works, in addition to becoming familiar with the Win95 and NT operating system setup programs. SMS provides the delivery mechanism, and it drives the standard operating system installation routines. To automate an upgrade, you must supply the appropriate setup answer files. For Win95, those files are msbatch.inf, netdet.ini, apps.inf, wrkgrp.ini, automate.inf, custom.inf, and setuplog.txt. For NT, the file is nt4.txt.

Preliminary Considerations
Before you begin, you need to know which operating systems SMS lets you upgrade: MS-DOS 5.0 or later, Windows 3.1x, and Windows for Workgroups (WFW) 3.1x to either Win95 or NT. SMS does not allow an automatic upgrade from OS/2, and you cannot upgrade Win95 to NT 4.0. In these cases, you must perform a manual installation.

Networked Windows installations also require special handling. If you have a networked Windows version and want to use SMS to upgrade, consider rolling back to MS-DOS before you upgrade.

If your environment has any dual-boot computers, you must choose the operating system under which you want to install the SMS client, and make that OS your primary one. SMS client functionality will not be available under the secondary operating system.

To ensure successful automation of your new OS rollout, you must plan it carefully. The following five steps are crucial in any SMS upgrade plan. (For more information on planning an upgrade using SMS, see, " References for Planning an Upgrade.")

STEP 1
Identify Client Configurations
Both Win95 and NT allow for multiple configurations. To begin planning an upgrade, you must identify the configurations in your existing environment and identify your clients' optimal configurations. You will use this information for testing and for automating or customizing the setup. Here is a checklist of items to consider:

Setup. Decide the extent to which you let users set up and configure their environments during initial installation. For example, do you want users setting up the Microsoft Exchange mailbox using the Exchange wizard, or do you want to fully automate the setup?

Networking Options. Determine the default protocol (e.g., TCP/IP, IPX). Determine what redirector you will install (e.g., Microsoft Client for Windows Networks, Microsoft Client for NetWare Clients, Novell Client 32). Decide which Services you need to install (e.g., Simple Network Management Protocol--SNMP--Agent, Remote Access Service--RAS, NetWare Client Services).

Security. Note which users have access to their hard disk. (Locked-down workstations will require special consideration, and you may need to upgrade them manually.)

Policies. Integrate current and future policies into your test plan.

Profiles. Establish any user or hardware profiles. (For information on user profiles, see Drew Heywood, "Windows NT User Profiles," September 1997. For information on hardware profiles, see Mike Reilly, "Configuring Hardware Profiles," September 1997.)

Applications. Identify which applications are local and which are remote. What applications run locally on all desktops? What applications run from the server? Do you have applications that require open database connectivity (ODBC)?

After you have considered all these points, use them to create a specification for each operating system and configuration. The specifications need to match your current environment or become a plan for your ideal environment.

STEP 2
Identify Target Computers and Software
An accurate and complete list of target computers (those you want to upgrade) in the SMS database is essential for a successful upgrade. Take the following steps to compile an accurate list of target computers:

* Verify the integrity of the SMS database. Before you query the SMS database for target computers, make sure you have an up-to-date computer inventory. Increase hardware inventory collection frequency to once daily. Use logon scripts to collect inventory at logon or when the user runs runsms.bat. Drop outdated computers from the database. Tip: If the database contains questionable information, you need to delete the site history files (*.hms). You can find these files in sms\site.srv\inventry.box\history. When you delete site history files, you do not compromise the database's integrity; instead, you ensure that complete Management Information Format (MIF) files are passed to the database. (For details about MIF files, see Mark Eddins, "Customizing Systems Management Server," January 1997.)

* Verify hardware compatibility. You can use the SMS query function to list computers that meet the new operating system's minimum hardware requirements and those that do not. At a minimum, your query must identify processor name, amount of RAM, available hard disk, display type, and network card. Also check for client computers that are not on Microsoft's Hardware Compatibility List (HCL). You may want to exclude these computers to avoid potential problems.