Automating Deployment By Location

In this scenario, you are automating the deployment by a location assigned to the target computer by the default gateway of the target computer. The location can be any name that you associate with a location in your organization. In addition, you can associate a default gateway with more than one location, allowing you to logically group locations within locations. For example, Woodgrove Bank defined a location for each building containing all the default gateway IP addresses within each building. Then the company defined a location for each floor within each building that contains all the default gateway IP addresses within each floor. Thus, each default gateway IP address is defined within a location for the floor and for the building.

Although you can configure the location database queries directly in the CustomSettings.ini file, the recommended method is to perform the customization by using Deployment Workbench. Doing so helps eliminate configuration errors and reduce the effort required to maintain the configuration.

To automate your deployment by using locations

1. Identify the locations in your organization.

2. Create the locations and locations’ settings by using Deployment Workbench.

3. Configure CustomSettings.ini to perform the appropriate database queries by using Deployment Workbench.

On This Page

Identifying the Locations
Creating the Location and Location Settings
Configuring CustomSettings.ini

Identifying the Locations

First, identify the locations in your organization and how you will use them to apply configuration settings to the target computers. The locations are based on the default gateway IP addresses of the target computers.

After you create a location, specify configuration settings for properties for the computers that reside within the location. These configuration settings are stored in the database and are retrieved by ZTIGather.wsf.

In addition to querying the locations directly by the location name or by default gateway IP address, you can associate a location with:

• A specific computer by using the AssetTag, UUID, SerialNumber, or MACAddress properties associated with the computer. To do so, configure the Locations tab in the properties sheet of a computer in the Computers node in Deployment Workbench.

• A group of computers that perform a specific role by using the Role properties associated with the role within each location. To do so, configure the Roles tab in the properties sheet of a location in the Locations node in Deployment Workbench.

After you identify the locations, you must also identify the configuration settings you want to associate with each location. Deployment Workbench allows you to associate the following with a location (based on the tabs in the UI):

• Details. Configure specific properties to target computers within the location.

• Applications. Configure the applications (defined in Deployment Workbench) to be deployed to the target computers within the location.

• Packages. Configure the packages (defined in Deployment Workbench) to be deployed to the target computers within the location.

• Roles. Configure the roles (defined in Deployment Workbench) to be associated with the target computers within the location.

• Administrators. Configure the user accounts to be made members of the local Administrators group on the target computers within the location.

Creating the Location and Location Settings

After you identify the roles and configuration settings for each role, you can create the roles and role settings by using Deployment Workbench.

Perform the following steps for each role you identified in the previous section:

1. Start Deployment Workbench.

2. In the console tree, expand Deploy, expand Database, and then click Locations.

3. In the console tree, right-click Locations and then click New.

4. In the Properties dialog box, on the Identity tab, in the Location box, type location_name (where location_name is the name of the location).

5. In the Properties dialog box, on the Identity tab, in the Default gateways box, add the IP addresses for all default gateways that exist within the location.

6. Click the Details tab and then configure the appropriate property values that you identified earlier in the process.

7. Click the Applications tab and then configure the applications to install and the order of the application installations.

8. Click the Packages tab and then configure the packages to install and the order of the package installations.

9. Click the Roles tab and then configure the roles that you wish to associate with the location.

10. Click the Administrators tab, configure the accounts to be made members of the local Administrators group on the target computers within the location, and then click OK.

Configuring CustomSettings.ini

Next, configure CustomSettings.ini to perform the appropriate database queries and set the properties that you configured for each location.

Perform the following steps for each deployment point that you want to configure:

1. Start Deployment Workbench.

2. In the console tree, expand Deploy and click Deployment Points.

3. In the details pane, right-click deployment_point and then click Configure DB (where deployment_point is the name of the deployment point you wish to configure).

   The Configure DB Wizard starts.

4. Complete the Configure DB Wizard by using the information in Table 9.

   Table 9. Completing the Configure DB Wizard for Locations Only

   On this wizard page	Purpose
   Select computer query options.	If you defined any computer-related settings for the target computers, select or clear the appropriate check boxes as appropriate. If you are not using computer-related queries, clear all the check boxes.
   Select role query options.	If you defined any role-related settings for the target computers, select or clear the appropriate check boxes. If you are not using role-related queries, clear all the check boxes.
   Select location query options.	If you want to query for location names by using the DefaultGateway property, select the Query for location names based on default gateways check box. If you want to query for the settings you configured for each location earlier in the process, select the Query for location-specific settings check box. If you want to query for role-related settings that are associated with the location, select the Query for roles assigned for this location check box. If you want to query for applications to be deployed to the target computers within the location, select the Query for applications to be installed for this location check box. If you want to query for SMS packages to be deployed to the target computers within the location, select the Query for SMS packages to be installed for this location check box. If you want to query for accounts to be made members of the local Administrators group on the target computers within the location, select the Query for administrators to be assigned for this location check box. Select or clear other check boxes as appropriate. If you are not using other computer query options, clear the other check boxes.
   Select make and model query options.	If you defined make and model–related settings for the target computers, select or clear the appropriate check boxes. If you are not using make and model–related queries, clear all the check boxes.

   Note   Each query check box that you select results in the ZTIGather.wsf script performing a corresponding database query and logging. Selecting unnecessary check boxes can increase the time required to deploy to a target computer.

Listing 8 illustrates the CustomSettings.ini file after completing the Configure DB Wizard and selecting only the options specified in Table 9.

Listing 8. CustomSettings.ini file After Completing the Configure DB Wizard

Note Some parts of the following code snippet have been displayed in multiple lines only for better readability. These should be entered in a single line.

[Settings]
Priority=Locations, LocationSettings, LocationPackages, LocationApplications,
LocationAdministrators, LocationRoles, ComputerSettings, Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty
[Default]
OSInstall=Y
ScanStateArgs=/v:5 /o /c
LoadStateArgs=/v:5 /c /lac
[Locations]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=Locations
Parameters=DefaultGateway
[LocationSettings]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=LocationSettings
Parameters=DefaultGateway
[LocationPackages]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=LocationPackages
Parameters=DefaultGateway
Order=Sequence
[LocationApplications]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=LocationApplications
Parameters=DefaultGateway
Order=Sequence
[LocationAdministrators]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=LocationAdministrators
Parameters=DefaultGateway
[LocationRoles]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=LocationRoles
Parameters=DefaultGateway

Note   The [Default] section should typically be at the end of the list of sections in the Priority property.

The Configure DB Wizard configures the Priority property and creates the corresponding section in CustomSettings.ini. Table 10 lists the sections created and a brief description of purpose for each section.

Table 10. Sections Listed in Listing 8 and their Purpose

Locations

LocationSettings

LocationPackages

LocationApplications

LocationAdministrators

LocationRoles

ComputerSettings

For more information on the view and tables in the database managed by Deployment Workbench, see “Tables and Views in the Deployment Workbench Database” in Configuration Reference.

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