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software deployment solutions?

cruwl

Can anyone out there recommend any software solutions for a small/medium sized business?

we have about 325 users total. about 220-240 users use a virtual machine. We use full clone desktops not linked clones.

I have been here about 3 months and we desperately need something to deploy software better. Our AD structure doesnt really support GPO installs and I am working to fix that. But we still need something to install things other then MSI files.

Example this last weekend we upgraded our VMware View server, and wanted to upgrade the view agents on all the 200+ virtual desktops. Well we had to manually log in and run the installer. It was a pain in the @. A more centrally managed solution is what I am looking for, and the company is willing to pay for it so it doesn't need to be open source or free.

Any ideas or solutions are welcome!

Thanks.

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Comments

TechZilla

We just bought a KACE 1100 and 2100. For just the software install the 1100 will do everything you want. It may be overkill if you don't plan to use any of the other features. The 2100 is used for imaging.

KACE K1000 Systems Management Appliance User Reviews - Dell KACE

ptilsen

SCCM. It can be quite a bit to setup, but it's a great tool.

Depending on what you want to put into this, I wouldn't necessarily give up on GPO. You can install more than MSIs using the right GPOs. Most executable installers will work when run silently in system context. These can be installed using task scheduler or startup (not logon) scripts. Some require an actual user context, which can still be done with task scheduler policies in 2008+. Only an unfortunate few will require interactive work. Those that do can often be made into MSIs using a utility like ORCA.

That being said, GPO is not an ideal solution and even if you get a good structure setup, it can slow down group policy processing and be more of a hassle than it's worth. SCCM is really the tool to use. There are similar third-party tools, of course. The only one I've used extensively is Labtech, and I would easily take SCCM over Labtech, even for a smaller organization. SCCM will also do many other things for you, potentially becoming a one-stop-shop for much of your workstation administration needs.

wes allen

SCCM is also good, but 2007 had a pretty solid learning curve before you could do much with it. I have heard 2012 is better though. KACE is also pretty cool, and seemed a lot easier to use.

ptilsen

wes allen wrote: »

SCCM is also good, but 2007 had a pretty solid learning curve before you could do much with it.

I've spent almost every business day since July working on it. I'm still learning things every day. To say it has a solid learning curve is the understatement of the year. Still, for what I'm doing in it, I wouldn't give it up. It is an extremely versatile tool.

I do think 2012 looks like a huge improvement on many fronts. I also think a lot of my own frustrations with SCCM go away when you're looking at a smaller set of workstations across fewer sites.

kj0

We use Kace K1000 at the moment, It's great, does everything we need it too plus more, we have a K2000 on the way for image deployment.

the K1000 has also a service desk, and scripting tools. A lot of scripts are already applied and readily available. We have only had one issue of it crashing and that was after multiple failed attempts at auto provisioning the client to a group of macs - but we have hammered it deploying CS6 and Autodesk to quite a few labs. we have over 2000 Client machines here.

The appliance is the better way to go, but kace may recommend deploying and storing images on the K1000, however, we have found that a NAS to store all your deployments seems to be a little bit more realiable performance wise.

sratakhin

We also have K1000. Still working on trying to push updates through it though.

wes allen

ptilsen wrote: »

To say it has a solid learning curve is the understatement of the year. Still, for what I'm doing in it, I wouldn't give it up. It is an extremely versatile tool.

Yeah, I spent a lot of time with it as well - it seemed a little tweaky at times to me. It is pretty powerful though, no doubt. I have heard 2012 is much easier to install - not as many pre-reqs to setup ahead of time.

CodeBlox

Not only installing it but figuring out how to use the damn system has a bit of a curve to it as well. I stepped into the shoes of a sysadmin that left for another job. SCCM 2012 is already setup but I am finding myself needing to dig through technet for some things. We use it for imaging workstations. I almost deployed Windows Server 2008 R2 to all workstations in the enterprise once -_-.

To get back to your question though - We use Kaseya for software deployment (Agent procedures are what they're called). We also use Kaseya for the helpdesk ticket system as well as a tool for remoting into the workstations. Pretty nice if you ask me.

cruwl

Thanks all for the ideas, I had looked at the KACE K1000 before i posted, it looks really nice, not sure if i can convince the higher ups we need an appliance yet or not. I saw they also have the Vk1000 which is virtual instead of a hardware appliance. Started looking at SCCM 2012 it looks more affordable but then again i can never figure out M$'s licensing, Not mention the learning curve.

Ill take a look at Kaseya as well.

Thanks again.

kj0

The K1000 and VK1000 are almost priced the same. For very little more you get an appliance, which I always find to be a little more reliable Performance wise for deployment. Great support from Kace as well.