Preparing for ZENworks Configuration Management Distribution

AdminStudio 2021 R2 | 22.0 | Package Distribution Wizard

Microfocus ZENworks Configuration Management 10 and 11 customers can use the Distribution Wizard for ZENworks Configuration Management to distribute a Windows Installer package (.msi)—including any associated transforms—to ZENworks Configuration Management.

To prepare your package for ZENworks Configuration Management distribution, perform the following steps.

To prepare your package for ZENworks Configuration Management distribution:

1. Launch the Distribution Wizard for ZENworks Configuration Management by performing the following steps:
a. Launch the Package Distribution Wizard.
b. On the Welcome panel, click Next. The Distribution Type panel opens.
c. Select ZENworks Configuration Management Distribution and click Next.

The Welcome panel of the Distribution Wizard for ZENworks Configuration Management opens.

Edition:If you have AdminStudio ZENworks Limited Edition, you can use a shortcut under AdminStudio Tools to automatically launch the Distribution Wizard for ZENworks Configuration Management.

Note:If you do not want the Welcome panel to be displayed each time you open this wizard, select the Do not show the Welcome panel again option. If this option is selected, the Login panel will be the first panel opened for this wizard.

2. Click Next to continue. The Login panel opens.
3. On the Login panel, enter the following login information for the ZENworks Configuration Management server that you are connecting to:

Property

Description

User Name / Password

Enter a valid User Name and Password for the ZENworks Configuration Management server you are connecting to.

Server URL

Enter the server URL, machine name, or IP address of the ZENworks Configuration Management server using the following format:

http://www.servername.com or http://111.22.333.44

If you need to specify a specific port number, append the port number to the end of the URL, such as:

http://www.servername.com:123

If you are using SSL and you want a secure connection, change the http prefix to https. For example:

https://www.servername.com

4. Click Login. The Windows Installer Package Information panel opens.
5. Click Browse next to the Windows Installer Package File (.msi) field and select the Windows Installer package that will be referenced by this ZENworks Configuration Management bundle.

Important:All of the files in the selected Windows Installer file’s directory and all of its subdirectories will be uploaded to the ZENworks Configuration Management Server.

After you make your selection, if there are any transform files (.mst) in the same directory, they are listed in the Windows Installer Transform Files (.mst) area.

Note:All of the .mst files that are in the same directory as the selected Windows Installer package are automatically listed in the Windows Installer Transform Files (.mst) list, even if they are not applicable to the selected package. To prevent the inclusion of non-applicable transform files, delete those transforms from the list.

6. To include transforms with the Windows Installer package:
Click the New button () in the Windows Installer Transform Files (.mst) area and select a transform file. If the package requires multiple transforms, you can repeat the procedure as necessary.
Select a transform and click the Delete button () to delete a transform from the list.
7. If you want to customize how this package is installed, enter parameters in the Install Parameters field. Any actions that you enter will be performed whenever this bundle is installed.
The root parameter, which should not be edited or deleted, is /i packagename.msi.
These parameters are applied to msiexec.exe to perform the desired action.
By default, the /qn parameter is added to indicate that you want to perform this operation silently (with no user interface). This is the common operating behavior for installing software with ZENworks. Running an operation silently implies that it does not require any user input.

If this operation requires user input, either remove the /qn parameter, or create a response transform to preconfigure all user input. For more information, see Using Response Transforms.

For additional parameters that can be added, see Additional Install, Uninstall, and Repair Parameters.
8. If you want to customize how this package is uninstalled, enter parameters in the Uninstall Parameters field. Any actions that you enter will be performed whenever this bundle is uninstalled.
The root parameter, which should not be edited or deleted, is /x packagename.msi.
By default, the /qn parameter is added to indicate that you want to perform this operation silently (with no user interface). This is the common operating behavior for installing software with ZENworks. Running an operation silently implies that it does not require any user input.

If this operation requires user input, either remove the /qn parameter, or create a response transform to preconfigure all user input. For more information, see Using Response Transforms.

For additional parameters that can be added, see Additional Install, Uninstall, and Repair Parameters.
9. If you want to customize how this package is repaired, enter parameters in the Repair Parameters field. Bundles are repaired by reinstalling missing or corrupted files.
The root parameter, which should not be edited or deleted, is /f packagename.msi.
By default, the /qn parameter is added to indicate that you want to perform this operation silently (with no user interface). This is the common operating behavior for installing software with ZENworks. Running an operation silently implies that it does not require any user input.

If this operation requires user input, either remove the /qn parameter, or create a response transform to preconfigure all user input. For more information, see Using Response Transforms.

You can apply any of the following additional Repair parameters after the package name:

Parameter

Description

p

Reinstalls a file if it is missing

o

Reinstalls a file if it is missing or if an older version of the file is present on the user's system

e

Reinstalls a file if it is missing or if an equivalent or older version of the file is present on the user's system

c

Reinstalls a file if it is missing or if the stored checksum of the installed file does not match the new file's value

a

Forces a reinstall of all files

u or m

Rewrite all required user registry entries

s

Overwrites any existing shortcuts

v

Runs your application from the source and re-caches the local installation package

For additional parameters that can be added, see Additional Install, Uninstall, and Repair Parameters.
10. Click Next. The Bundle Creation Options panel opens.
11. Specify whether to update an existing bundle or create a new one by selecting one of the following options:
a. Create a new bundle from these Windows Installer package files—To create a new bundle to reference this Windows Installer package, select this option.
b. Update an existing bundle using these Windows Installer package files—If you want to overwrite an existing bundle to contain this Windows Installer package, select this option, and then select an existing bundle from the tree:
Recommended Bundles—This group lists the bundles that contain the same Windows Installer package as the one you selected on the Windows Installer Package Information Panel.
All Other Bundles—This group lists the rest of the existing bundles on the server.
12. After making your selection, click Next to proceed. The Bundle Information panel opens.
13. Enter information to specify attributes for this bundle on ZENworks Configuration Management:

Property

Properties

Bundle Name

Enter the bundle’s name as you want it to appears in ZENworks Control Center (ZCC) and the ZENworks Application Launcher (on managed devices).

Version Number

Enter the bundle’s version number. If you are overwriting an existing bundle, and you enter a higher version number than the bundle’s original version number, the bundle will be redeployed.

Icon

Click Browse and select a shortcut icon graphic (in .ico, .gif, .jpg, .png, .bmp, or .exe format) that ZENworks Application Launcher will display on managed devices. If you do not select an icon file, the standard ZENworks bundle icon will be used.

Folder

From the Folder list, select the folder path that will be used by ZENworks Application Launcher when displaying the bundle on either the device’s desktop or Start menu. All of the folders defined on the ZENworks server are listed. For example:

Start Menu—If you specify Applications\Accounting as the path and choose to display the bundle on the Start menu, ZENworks Application Launcher creates an Application\Accounting folder on the root of the Start menu and adds the bundle to it.
Desktop—If you specify Applications\Accounting as the path and choose to display the bundle on the desktop, ZENworks Application Launcher creates an Applications\ Accounting folder on the desktop and adds the bundle to it.

You can place multiple bundles in a single folder by specifying the same folder path for each of the bundles.

Description

Enter a description of the bundle. This description will be displayed in ZENworks Control Center and the ZENworks Application Launcher (on managed devices).

14. After you have entered bundle information, click Next. The Summary panel opens, displaying the options you have selected for distributing this Windows Installer package on ZENworks Configuration Management.
15. Click Publish to complete the distribution process. The Publishing Process panel opens, listing the progress messages while the bundle is being published on ZENworks Configuration Management.
ZENworks error messages—Any error messages with a numeric prefix that appear on this panel are generated by ZENworks Configuration Management. To resolve these errors, contact your ZENworks Configuration Management System Administrator.
Canceling publication—If you want to cancel the publication of the bundle on ZENworks Configuration Management, click Cancel.
16. When processing is complete, the Finish button becomes enabled. Click Finish to exit this wizard.

See Also