Customer Perspectives

Solution Essentials - Software Distribution

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  Vector's Classic Software Distribution uses a combination of push and pull techniques. Definitions of software installations (Package Definitions in Vector jargon) are transmitted (pushed) to the Client Software Distribution agent service. The agent collects (pulls) the Package Definition and executes it in a privileged environment.
• The Software Distribution agent service runs with sufficient privilege to handle any installation, including OS Service Packs and patches, and including installs requiring reboots. One simple methodology meets all requirements; urgent roll-outs - such as security patches - can be executed without the delay of generating and testing a complex script.
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  Installations can range from totally silent, to fully interactive, and desktop users can be offered a number of opportunities to defer the installation, after which the installation may become mandatory. An administrator can choose whatever level of desktop user involvement they feel appropriate, on a case-by-case basis.
• The agent can execute anything it is told to execute. Although Vector favour the use of software vendors' standard installation setups (as follows below), the Client could equally execute any self contained script or batch file.
• It is our experience that vendors are usually best placed to understand the sensitivity of their software to the target platform, including other software already installed; the vendor's own installation script is usually the safest and most reliable basis for rolling out the software. Where it can take hours or days to independently develop and test a proprietary script, it will normally take only minutes to record a standard installation response file and add it into the vendor's software kit to prepare for silent installation. (For users developing and deploying in-house applications, we would recommend using a product such as Installshield ™, or Windows Installer, as the foundation for a standardized software installation methodology.)
• Pre- and post- operations can be executed before and after the main installation process. Administrators can use this for a variety of purposes, such as generating special conditions for the installation, or running a tutorial once the software has been installed.
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  If an organization has deployed Vector's foundation Asset Discovery solution (see Complementary Solutions below), there will be a rich set of characteristics on which groups of PCs can be based - such as Department, CPU, OS version, and detail of installed applications. These 'Dynamic Groups', which many administrators use heavily, are re-evaluated every time they are used. So administrators can be confident that PCs that have just been added to a Department, for example, will automatically be targeted for an application update for that Department.
• For many organizations, a Software Distribution audit trail is needed for reporting under a Service Level Agreement, and the Client Software Distribution service generates progress information, tracking every major stage of the installation process. This information is collected and presented through the Software Distribution Monitor. Overall status is presented for all known Distribution Jobs, and each Job can be expanded into a summary of the stage that each Client last reported. Selecting a particular Client then drills down to a list view of every stage completed and its timestamp.

To explore Vector's Classic Software Distribution Solution, Download a Free 30-Day Trial

 

Solution Essentials - Application Jukebox Application Streaming

• Vector is privileged to be authorized to supply the Application Jukebox on-demand application streaming technology from Endeavors Technologies Inc.
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  Application Jukebox enables organizations to centralize the delivery, installation, and management of software applications and updates.
• Application Jukebox supports multiple software licensing models, including unlimited, named, concurrent and timed access. As applications are streamed to client PCs it is impossible for users to copy and deploy them to additional devices. Through sophisticated license management and reporting, Application Jukebox provides the information organizations need to re-deploy unused licenses to those that need them, reducing the need for unnecessary expenditure.
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  Through one browser-based GUI, IT staff can build policies to permit or restrict user access to applications.
• Application Jukebox typically streams only the application functions that are required when they are needed - enabling the user to launch the application and begin to work with it in seconds - or can be configured to deliver the entire application while the user is already working with the streamed components.
• Application Jukebox leads the market in providing streamed applications that are fully able to interact on the target PC. Other streaming implementations contain each application to a degree that prevents such interactions.
• To summarize - Application Jukebox will -
  • Ensure all clients use the most current version of applications
  • Improve IT support and maintenance efficiency
  • Allow users to be more efficient
  • Provide off-line access to streamed applications
  • Reduce the cost of server hardware
  • Reduce the time and effort associated with deploying and upgrading applications
  • Gain control and address application conflicts
  • Reduce and simplify complex licensing models

To explore Vector's Application Jukebox Streaming Solution, ask for a product specialist on (800) 330-5035 or e-mail sales@vector-networks.com.

 

Complementary Solutions

Vector's Application Provisioning Solution is often deployed together with the continuous software usage monitoring and the Application Package Policy Manager (PPM) in the Software Inventory, Compliance and Optimization solution. This solution enables organizations to follow a process which Vector call Software Asset Optimization, and that process will reveal applications which could be prioritized for conversion to provision through streaming.

PPM enables you to estimate your application license requirements and then compares the ideal with the reality of your current deployed software.

Usage monitoring has two key benefits - identification of opportunities to redeploy unused applications, and identification of situations where applications would particularly benefit from a streamed provision.

To be able to target Software Distribution to groups of PCs selected in part on their hardware and OS details, Vector's Asset Discovery solution will provide the information needed.

The Asset Discovery and Software Inventory, Compliance and Optimization solutions are supplied fully integrated in Vector Asset Manager Pro.

For organizations requiring either a flexible Software Distribution method, or an Application Streaming solution, but not both at this time, contact solutions@vector-networks.com for pricing on the solution component you require.

Further Information and Resources

• Download a profile of Endeavors Technologies and the Application Jukebox streaming technology (PDF)
• For a no-obligation review of your business needs and Vector's solutions family, call now on +1 770-622-2850.