Managed Installs

This page details the recommended steps to distribute the application in a managed environment. The instructions below assume a working knowledge of your preferred distribution method (Group Policy Software Installation, Systems Management Server, etc.) and therefore do not provide specifics regarding those environments.

Three steps are required in order to push out our desktop and/or mobile desktop installs: configure a customization .ini file, retrieve the latest odbc.ini from your shared configuration folder and apply a transform.

Step 1 - Create customization .ini file

The .ini file should be named "LucityCustom.ini" and contain a single section name of "[Custom]" followed by two or more values (example below):

[Custom]

LUCITY_CONFIGDIR=\\myserver\apps\Lucity\config\

LUCITY_DBTYPE=SQL Server

LUCITY_MSNGRAUTOSTART=ENABLED

Currently, LUCITY_CONFIGDIR must be a UNC path during a managed install. The primary reason is that installations are often pushed out while a system is booting (prior to a user logging on and mapping drives). We may allow mapped drive specifications in the future, but currently anything but a UNC path will cause a managed install to fail. Note: This is a required parameter.

LUCITY_DBTYPE simply let's the installer know what db platform you are using for Lucity. Valid values are SQL Server and Oracle. Note: This is a required parameter.

LUCITY_MSNGRAUTOSTART determines whether or not the Lucity Messenger application will be added to the computer's startup menu and is only applicable for a desktop install. The application will always be installed - this just determines whether or not you want the messenger application to automatically start every time the computer boots. This is an optional parameter. If you omit this parameter or specify a value of anything other than "ENABLED", the messenger application will not be set to auto-start.

LUCITY_ORADRVRNAME is an optional value for Oracle customers and should only be used under specific circumstances – in most cases you will NOT need to specify this value. Oracle allows its client to be multi-homed (i.e. – you can have several clients independently installed on the same host). Multi-homing also extends to Oracle ODBC drivers. By default, the installers will use the first Oracle ODBC Driver found in the registry when creating Oracle DSNs. If you only have one Oracle ODBC driver installed, this is not an issue. However, if multiple Oracle ODBC drivers are present and the driver you wish to use is listed alphabetically after other Oracle ODBC drivers on the system, that driver will not be chosen. To specify an explicit Oracle ODBC Driver name, you would add the following value to your LucityCustom.ini file:

LUCITY_ORADRVRNAME=MyOracleODBCDriverName

where “MyOracleODBCDriverName” is the name listed in the ODBC Data Source Administrator utility for the driver you wish to use (e.g. – Oracle in OraClient10g_home1). You do not need to place quotes around the driver name even if it contains spaces. Please note that for this value to work properly, all of your clients would have to be using identical Oracle ODBC Driver names.

Once you have created the LucityCustom.ini file, place it in the same directory where you will be distributing the .msi from on your network.

Step 2 - Copy latest ODBC.ini file from Config

After you have upgraded your server (i.e. - shared configuration files) to the latest version but before you begin to deploy the desktop or mobile desktop installs, copy the "ODBC.ini" file from your config directory to the same directory where you will be distributing the .msi from on your network. This step should be repeated any time that you upgrade to a new release or if you add additional databases mid-release. The ODBC.ini file contains the information that the desktop and mobile desktop installers need in order to generate DSNs.

Step 3 - Apply transform to base .msi

As part of the managed installation process, you will also need to apply a transform to the base .msi so that the installer knows this is a managed installation. This transform (LUCITY_MANAGED.mst) has already been created for you and is located on the CD under the ...\MSI\Transforms\ directory. Copy this file to the same directory where you will be distributing the .msi(s) from on your network. Finally, be sure to apply this transform at installation time by using the appropriate syntax/methodology for your deployment solution.

Notes

• The LucityDesktop.msi and LucityMobileDesktop.msi installers can share the same set of customization files (i.e. - LucityCustom.ini, odbc.ini and LUCITY_MANAGED.mst) as long as they are both deployed from the same directory.
• Two prerequisites are required: .NET 4.5 and Windows Installer 3.1. When you run the desktop or mobile desktop install via setup.exe, these prerequisites are automatically installed if they are not found on the target system. However, if you run the installation directly from the .msi file, either interactively or managed, these prerequisites will not be installed if they are not found. Subsequently, the installer will log which prerequisite is missing to the Application Event Log as a terminating event and the installer will exit gracefully.
• Currently, the Lucity Desktop and Lucity Mobile Desktop installers only support per-machine installations (per-user installations may be supported in the future).
• Desktop Only - During a managed install, you do not have the option to install the WebEx Player (you do during an interactive install). This player is used to view online tutorial movies referenced in our installed help file. While the application is not actually installed during a managed installation, we do copy the WebEx Player installer (it's only about 2MB in size) to each user's workstation during our main install and create a shortcut within our Start Menu group. This allows a user to install the player on demand (installation requires local administrative privileges).
• Desktop Only - The default desktop installation directory is %ProgramFiles%\Lucity. This location cannot be changed through the customization .ini file. While we don't recommend modifying this location, the value can be changed via a transform by adding the "INSTALLDIR" property to the Property table and setting it to the non-default directory you would like to use (e.g. – C:\Lucity\). Make sure to add the trailing backslash to the value you specify. Do not modify the supplied LUCITY_MANAGED.mst transform – you will need to create your own transform and apply it to the desktop .msi during deployment (in addition to the LUCITY_MANAGED.mst transform).
• All managed installation testing to date has been performed using Software Installation Group Policy. However, other .msi deployment technologies should work equally well. If the recommended steps above do not work within your deployment solution, please contact us. There are other methods that can be used to achieve the same results (just not as flexible as the method outlined in this document).
• You cannot use these instructions to perform a Managed Install for a Lucity Service Pack (ex. sp1 to sp2) until you have performed a Managed Install for a full Lucity upgrade (ex. 7.40 to 7.50).

Useful Links

Windows Installer Command-Line Options

Complete Windows Installer Documentation

How To Patch a Software Installation Stored on a Network Server That Is Deployed Using Windows Installer

How Group Policy Software Installation Extension Works