Automating Deployment By Role

In this scenario, you are automating the deployment by a role assigned to the target computer. The role can be any name that you associate with a role in your organization. For example, Woodgrove Bank assigned a role of Tellers to the bank tellers who work there. Woodgrove uses this role to identify the supplemental applications that need to be installed for bank tellers after the operating system and core applications are deployed.

Although you can configure the role 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 roles

  1. Identify the roles in your organization.

  2. Create the roles and role settings by using Deployment Workbench.

  3. Associate the roles with specific computers, specific locations, or specific makes and models of computers by using Deployment Workbench.

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

On This Page

Identifying the Roles Identifying the Roles
Creating the Role and Role Settings Creating the Role and Role Settings
Associating the Roles Associating the Roles
Configuring CustomSettings.ini Configuring CustomSettings.ini

Identifying the Roles

First, identify the roles in your organization and how you will use them to apply configuration settings to the target computers. The roles can be based on the users or the actual target computers themselves.

After you create a role, you can specify configuration settings for properties for users or computers that perform that role. These configuration settings are stored in the database and are retrieved by ZTIGather.wsf.

In addition to querying the roles directly by the role name, you can associate a role with:

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

  • A group of computers within a location by using the Location or DefaultGateway properties associated with the location. To do so, configure the Roles tab in the properties sheet of a location in the Locations node in Deployment Workbench.

  • A group of computers that are a specific make and model by using the Make and Model properties associated with the computers. To do so, configure the Roles tab in the properties sheet of a make and model in the Make and Model node in Deployment Workbench.

After you identify the roles, identify the configuration settings you want to associate with them. Deployment Workbench allows you to associate the following properties with a role (based on the tabs in the user interface):

  • Details. Configure specific properties to target computers that perform the role.

  • Applications. Configure the applications (defined in Deployment Workbench) to be deployed to the target computers that perform the role.

  • Packages. Configure the packages (defined in Deployment Workbench) to be deployed to the target computers that perform the role.

  • Administrators. Configure the user accounts to be made members of the local Administrators group on the target computers that perform the role.

Creating the Role and Role Settings

After you identify the roles and configuration settings for each role, 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 Roles.

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

  4. In the Properties dialog box, on the Identity tab, in the Role name box, type role_name (where role_name is the name of the role).

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

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

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

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

Associating the Roles

After you have created the roles and the role settings, you can optionally associate the role with a computer, a location, or with a specific make and model of computer.

Perform the following steps for each association you want to make:

  1. Start Deployment Workbench.

  2. In the console tree, expand Deploy, expand Database, and then click node (where node is the Computers, Locations, or Make and Model nodes).

  3. In the details pane, right-click item and then click Properties (where item is the Computer, Location, or Make and Model that you want to specifically associate the role with).

  4. On the item Properties dialog box, click the Roles tab, add the appropriate roles to the list box, 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 role.

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 want to configure).

    The Configure DB Wizard starts.

  4. Complete the Configure DB Wizard by using the information in Table 7.

    Table 7. Completing the Configure DB Wizard for Roles Only

    On this wizard page

    Purpose

    Select computer query options.

    If you associated the role with a specific computer, select the Query for roles assigned to this computer 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 role query options.

    If you configured role-specific settings, select the Query for role-specific settings check box.

    If you configured applications for this role, select the Query for applications to be installed for this role check box.

    If you configured packages for this role, select the Query for SMS packages to be installed for this role check box.

    If you configured accounts to be made members of the local Administrators group on the target computers of this role, select the Query for administrators to be assigned for this role check box.

    Ensure that you clear any check boxes that you are not using.

    Select location query options.

    If you associated roles with a specific location, select the Query for roles 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 associated roles with a specific make and model, select the Query for roles assigned to computers with this make and model check box.

    Select or clear other check boxes as appropriate. If you are not using other computer query options, clear the other 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 7 illustrates the CustomSettings.ini file after completing the Configure DB Wizard and selecting only the options specified in Table 7.

Listing 7. 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=ComputerRoles, RoleSettings, RolePackages, RoleApplications,
RoleAdministrators, LocationRoles, MakeModelRoles, Default
Properties=MyCustomProperty
[Default]
SkipCapture=NO
SkipAppsOnUpgrade=NO
UserDataLocation=AUTO
DeployRoot=\\W2K3-SP1\Distribution11$
OSInstall=Y
ScanStateArgs=/v:15 /o /c
LoadStateArgs=/v:7 /c
[ComputerRoles]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=ComputerRoles
Parameters=UUID, AssetTag, SerialNumber, MacAddress
ParameterCondition=OR
[RoleSettings]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=RoleSettings
Parameters=Role
[RolePackages]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=RolePackages
Parameters=Role
Order=Sequence
[RoleApplications]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=RoleApplications
Parameters=Role
Order=Sequence
[RoleAdministrators]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=RoleAdministrators
Parameters=Role
[LocationRoles]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=LocationRoles
Parameters=DefaultGateway
[MakeModelRoles]
SQLServer=W2K3-SP1
Instance=
Database=DWDB
Netlib=DBNMPNTW
SQLShare=
Table=MakeModelRoles
Parameters=Make, Model

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 8 lists the sections created and a brief description of purpose for each section.

Table 8. Sections Listed in Listing 7 and their Purpose

Section

Purpose

ComputerRoles

Queries the ComputerRoles view to identify the roles that are associated with a computer based on any combination of the UUID, AssetTag, SerialNumber, or MacAddress properties

RoleSettings

Queries the RoleSettings view to return all the property values associated with a role

RolePackages

Queries the RolePackages view to return all the packages that are associated with a role

RoleApplications

Queries the RoleApplications view to return all the applications that are associated with a role

RoleAdministrators

Queries the RoleAdministrators view to return all the user accounts that are to be made members of the local Administrators group on the target computers that are associated with a role

LocationRoles

Queries the LocationRoles view to return all the roles that are associated with a location

MakeModelRoles

Queries the LocationRoles view to return all the roles that are associated with a specific make and model

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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