Self Administration

At FHI, the so-called "image" method has previously been used for installing workstations. In practice, this method proves to be inflexible and time-consuming in our environment, since each hard disk image is bound to a specific computer model or hardware platform. Not only must it be installed and configured individually, but software maintenance (updates) for both applications and the system must also be carried out for each image! The actual advantage of cloning an image to multiple systems of the same hardware is therefore no longer given.

In contrast, with the so-called "unattended installation", the complete setup of the operating system and all applications is processed based on scripts. All settings required by the system and the applications are defined beforehand. Another advantage is the central repository of all operating systems, applications, and their corresponding updates and patches. This integration of applications and updates at a central location enables the creation of current installations on almost any PC hardware, which is made possible by a correspondingly organized driver base. Further maintenance and updating of the systems is also simplified and made more effective.

System Components

A basic requirement is a network environment with running DHCP and DNS servers. The actual "unattended server" is a SUN V210 with Solaris 2.1, running the following server components: SAMBA, Apache, and PHP + PEAR, connected to a MySQL database. The Samba component represents the distribution point in the network. Management via the web console is implemented using Apache, PHP, and a corresponding database connection. The database stores the client data and their configurations, information on the software packages used, and the required installation scripts. The database server is: reload, the database name is: zak.

Management Console

The management console is accessible at http://uranos/index.php. Logging in for management is possible with various accounts. Through this, new clients and software packages are created, and clients and "software distributions" are assigned. Each department uses different software packages and licenses, which are grouped into corresponding "department distributions".

Samba Share

A Samba share is required for the unattended installation! The installation packages for the unattended installation as well as all updates, patches, and scripts are stored there.

Share:

\\ntinstall\install User: guest Password: guest

On the client on which a software package is to be installed, the share must be mapped to drive letter Z:! This is realized via corresponding batch files.

Software Distribution

Software distribution is possible on all Windows XP and Windows 7 systems that have been entered in the database via the management console. This means that older systems that were not completely unattended installed can also participate in software distribution. To do this, a remote schedule or a direct remote install must currently still be set or started manually via a Windows computer for the target client. However, this requires that some batch files have previously been copied to the system folder of the client.

Remote Install

Scheduling

If the file c:\\windows\\system32\\za.bat exists on the target system, a task for a scheduled installation can be set regardless of whether a user is logged in or out:

schtasks /create /tn "taskname" /tr c:\\windows\\system32\\za.bat /sc once /st 15:39:00 /sd 19/01/2007 /s gx620 /ru administrator /rp password

Remote Install with psexec (PsTools)

Open a command window with administrator privileges beforehand:

runas /user:administrator "cmd"

Then execute:

psexec -e -s \\\\cpxx c:\\windows\\system32\\za.bat (on XP systems)

psexec -e -s \\\\cpxx za.bat (on Win 7 systems)

The file za.bat connects to the share on Lukara \\\\ntinstall\\install and calls wemerge.cmd there, which in turn uses wget to fetch any existing installation scripts, which are then started!

Depending on the status of the client, installations can also fail; as a rule, they then do not start at all. Reasons for this include: e.g., a running Sophos update preventing another installation process, certain applications being open that are actually supposed to be updated or replaced, user-mapped drives Z: preventing access to the Samba share, or specific application processes that simply block the installation. Typically, it also happens that Windows PCs find themselves in an undefined state and cause errors in general... reboot. :-)

Client Hardware

The drivers for the client hardware are partly extracted from the manufacturer setups and must then be integrated into the driver base. Therefore, only the following DELL computer models are set up with a Windows 7 unattended new installation:

Optiplex Desktop systems: GX745, GX755, GX760, GX780, GX790, GX7010.
"Department distributions" are currently available for the AC, CP, MP, and PC departments (all in English only). "Department distributions" for the Archive, ELAB, and Administration (VW) are available in German.

The distribution of applications should work on almost any hardware. A list of the currently approx. 40 applications that can be distributed over the network at FHI can be found here: Applications.

Acknowledgments

First of all, I would like to thank all participating developers and helpers of the unattended project. My special thanks for personal support during the setup of the system goes to Mario Gzuk from the Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemie in Jena, as well as his colleagues.