InstallAware

I'm testing the new Direct Deploy functionality in IA 18 and I can't get it to work properly when I use the /ddq switch to be able to select which computers I want to do the remote installation on. No computers are listed in the "Not found on systems" listbox except the local computer.

In the first step of the wizard it says you must enter the credentials of the domain administrator account. Is this a requirement for everything to work? I don't have access to the domain administrator account but are using a different one with domain administrator rights. Could this be the culprit? I get the same result regardless of which user I enter and there doesnt seem to be any validation if the user has the proper rights or if it even exists.

I looked in the help file in IA, but there are very little dokumentation about direct deploy there. Is there more detailed documentation anywhere?

Dear Marcusi,

yes, you must always use the domain administrator credentials.

Regards

I've looked at the directdeploy script which got included in the project and it seems like the user credentials you enter is only used when the installation is run on the remote computers, not when the list of computers is gathered and displayed. If this is true, then something is wrong and I still wonder why no computers are listed in the "Not found on systems" listbox. Any thoughts on this?

Dear Marcusi,

for what I know the login dialog should be displayed before any other Direct Deploy action.
Did you find this not true?

Regards

Yes, thats true, but that's not what i'm talking about. The logic behind the scenes (in the script) doesn't seem to use the credentials until the actual installation is executed, so why isn't any computers listed as available for installation?

Has anyone tried the Direct Deploy feature using the /ddq switch successfully?

Yes, I use it in 4 installers right out of the box, and I have 3 Installers that have it heavily modified.

Your problem is you are not understanding what Francesco is telling you, the user credentials MUST come first whether or not you can see if they are used.
I know for a fact that anytime you connect to AD (Active Directory), as is the case with the "Find All Computers" command, you must supply credentials.

Okay then. I don't know why you say I dont understand what Francesco is telling me though. I was trying to get an explanation for things I saw in the direct deploy script, i.e. that it seems like the credentials aren't used until the installation is run on the remote computers, but if you say they are used before that and it works for you then maybe you are right. Or it could be that you start the installation program as the administrator (before you enter credentials). That's what im trying to find out since I dont have access to the administrator account (only administrator rights). Francesco didn't tell me anything except that the login dialog should come first (which it does).

Administrator Rights are not always the same same being a Domain Administrator.

Users that are domain administrators may have certain Security Restrictions as well that prevent them from listing, viewing, etc. Active Directory objects.
This is not an issue with IA, I would check with your System Administrator(s) and explain to them what issue you are having.

Okay, and just to confirm, you are running the installation program with the domain Administrator account?

And to be clear, I simplified things when I said i have administrator rights in the last post, I'm actually a member of the Domain Admins Group. Seems strange that this is not sufficient, but I'll see if I can try it with the Administrator account.

Dear Marcusi,

if you are logged on as domain administrator, you should be able to see direct deploy working correctly.

This is also reported with the "directdeploy_progress" dialog; ... "You may need to logon, or run this setup as, a domain administrator".

Hope this clarifies your doubt.

Regards

For everyone's information, I have tried DD with the domain Administrator account now, but it still doesn't work. Maybe something is wrong with our domain or something. We'll see if we can try running a test on a customers network.

Just to keep "everyone" informed, that works fine when executed under a domain administrator account.



Regards