Difference between revisions of "Test Area"

Revision as of 18:03, 17 December 2012

Self Service advertisements in Microsoft's SCCM allow us to provide users on Microsoft Windows PCs with the ability to install software at their own convenience. In nearly all cases, these installs will be completely automated and so will require no user input or interaction aside from starting the software install. This guide is intended to walk a user through the steps of locating and utilizing Self Service advertisements on their machine.

NOTES:

Administrator access is not required to run Self Service advertised installs.
These installs will frequently be completely silent and provide no indication of progress, success or failure. If you are unsure if an install has succeeded, we suggest waiting until the maximum time has passed before attempting again or restarting your machine.
Advertised installs can be performed while off-campus. However, downloads and installs will be the most reliable when your machine is connected to the on-campus network.
If your machine does not have the Control Panel applets described on this page, or never lists or provides notifications of advertisements, there may be an issue with the SCCM client on your machine. Contact your department or college computer support department for assistance, and be sure to provide the name of your machine.
All screen images on this page are from Windows 7, but text and options should be the same for Windows XP. However, we cannot guarantee that all advertised programs will work properly with Windows XP.
At this time, Windows 7 and XP are the only versions of Windows supported for Self Service advertisements.

Receiving and Locating Self Service Advertisements

Whether or not a program is advertised to your machine is the decision of your college or department computer support. Some softwares may not be available due to licensing restrictions or other reasons. You should contact your support personnel if you have questions or a request for a particular software to be advertised.
Please also note that you are not required to install a software that is advertised to your machine. Just as some softwares may not be advertised for varying reasons, others may be advertised that you do not need.

Finding advertisements in Control Panel

To locate the list of software installs that have been advertised to your machine, navigate to Control Panel > Programs > Run Advertised Programs. That will open the window shown in Figure 2. From here you can select a program and choose to install it. It will also give details on the last time an install was run and whether it was considered successful.

Figure 2 - Run Advertised Programs

Please note, if this list is empty, most likely your machine has not yet updated and received its assignments. To resolve this, wait 10-15 minutes and then check again. If necessary, you can force an update manually. To do so, go to Control Panel > System and Security > Configuration Manager, click on the Actions Tab, and initiate the "Machine Policy Retrieval and Evaluation Cycle" action.

Understanding an Advertisement

Before you start any install, we strongly recommend that you review any details provided about the software install. It's important to understand how long an install may potentially take and the necessary free disk space required for the full installation. This is especially true considering many installs may be completely silent, and so you will not receive any indication that it has succeeded or failed.

To view the details of an install, highlight an advertised install in the list and click the Details button to view the window shown in Figure 3 and Figure 4.

Figure 3 - Details - General Tab

Figure 4 - Details - Advanced Tab

What to look for:
1. Package Name: All package names should include the software name, the manufacturer of the software, and the software version. Any other details are for internal use.
2. Comments: Important details regarding the package will be placed here. There is limited space in this section, but at the least we will try to include the maximum length of time a package should take to install, whether or not the package is completely silent, and if a restart is required before using the software.
3. Top Section
  - User Input required: If this is "No", then the install is completely silent. If it is "Yes", then you may see progress on the install, but you will not necessarily be prompted for any input.
  - Estimated disk space: The necessary free disk space required on your hard drive for the install. Please note, all software packages will install to your C drive.
4. Middle Section
  - After program runs: This can be ignored.
  - This program must run first: Some softwares may require small scripts or prerequisite installers to run first. These will almost always be silent.
5. Additional requirements: Any additional required information that cannot be fit in comments may go here. An example may be the name of a companion software that is required

Running an Advertised Install

Again, please note that you do not have to be an Administrator on the machine to run an advertised install. However, once installed, a software may require administrator privileges in order to use certain features.
Advertised installs can be performed from off-campus as well. However, additional testing is required to determine how being off-campus affects download and install times.
Select a software from the list and click Run. The window in Figure 5 will appear:

Figure 5 - Program Download

Clicking Properties here will bring up the package details. Again, we recommend you read all details on a package before installing.
The "Program size" listed here is the size of the download, not the size of the finished install.
The "Estimated time to download" will always be wrong because it is estimated for a 56K connection.
- For a rough estimate while on-campus, assume the value for hours is actually for minutes. For example, in Figure 5, you can assume the download will take ~7 minutes instead of 7 hours.
You should click the checkbox at the bottom to have the install begin as soon as the download is completed.

Once you are ready, click the Download button. Your computer will begin downloading the install media. Once it is finished, it will prompt you to begin the install, or will begin it automatically if you checked that option earlier.
Do not log out or restart your machine while a Self-Service install is running.
Again, please note that most installs may be completely silent. For those installs, you should allow the maximum allowed time to pass before attempting to use the software.

Additional details and troubleshooting

If a program fails to download or install, check the amount of free disk space on your C drive. It is good practice to keep at least 10% free disk space for Microsoft Windows.
If a silent install appears to have failed, restart your computer. If it is still missing, attempt the install one more time. If after that it still appears to have failed, notify your computer support for assistance.
If you receive an error message either from the install or during the download process, or a software appears to have installed properly but is missing features or licensing information, contact your department or college computer support for assistance.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 __NOTOC__
-'''Be a Responsible Print Steward!'''
+Self Service advertisements in Microsoft's SCCM allow us to provide users on Microsoft Windows PCs with the ability to install software at their own convenience.  In nearly all cases, these installs will be completely automated and so will require no user input or interaction aside from starting the software install.  This guide is intended to walk a user through the steps of locating and utilizing Self Service advertisements on their machine.
-We are not currently using print quotas but expect you to be conservative with your printing.
-* Print duplex whenever you can!
-* Use color printers responsibly!  Try not to use them for black&white prints only.
-* Consider whether you really need to print a document:
-** Share documents with co-workers via email, Google Docs, or shared network space,
-** Use screen previewers rather than throwing large draft documents at the printers,
-** Utilize document markup and comments features in modern document editing software.
-* Do not use printers for multiple copies. Please request a photo-copier allocation and use the photocopier if you need multiple copies of documents.
-* Use the high-capacity printer ([http://www.wolftech.ncsu.edu/support/support/Printing#Xerox_Printer_.2F_Copier DOLPHIN]) when you find you must print large-volume jobs (either very large documents or multiple copies).
-* If you find that a printer is running low on toner or having other problems, please notify us.
-* It costs the department between 4 and 8 cents per page for paper, toner, and other printer supplies (most of this cost is toner). Do help to keep our costs down.
-* Keep printing areas clean.  Bring used toner cartridges to WolfTech or the ECE Main Office to be returned, and throw used paper into the recycle bins.
+'''NOTES:'''
+* Administrator access is '''not''' required to run Self Service advertised installs.
+* These installs will frequently be completely silent and provide no indication of progress, success or failure.  If you are unsure if an install has succeeded, we suggest waiting until the maximum time has passed before attempting again or restarting your machine.
+* Advertised installs can be performed while off-campus.  However, downloads and installs will be the most reliable when your machine is connected to the on-campus network.
+* If your machine does not have the Control Panel applets described on this page, or never lists or provides notifications of advertisements, there may be an issue with the SCCM client on your machine.  Contact your department or college computer support department for assistance, and be sure to provide the name of your machine.
+* All screen images on this page are from Windows 7, but text and options should be the same for Windows XP.  However, we cannot guarantee that all advertised programs will work properly with Windows XP.
+* At this time, Windows 7 and XP are the only versions of Windows supported for Self Service advertisements.
-==<span style="color:red">Accessing Department Printers</span>==
-===From Windows===
+==Receiving and Locating Self Service Advertisements==
-* Adding printer to domained Windows machines
+* Whether or not a program is advertised to your machine is the decision of your college or department computer support.  Some softwares may not be available due to licensing restrictions or other reasons.  You should contact your support personnel if you have questions or a request for a particular software to be advertised.
-** [[Adding a Printer Through Directory Search| Windows XP]]
+* Please also note that you are not required to install a software that is advertised to your machine.  Just as some softwares may not be advertised for varying reasons, others may be advertised that you do not need.
-** [[Add Printer to domained Windows 7| Windows 7]]
+<!--* You will receive automatic notifications whenever your machine receives an advertisement.  The notification will look like the image in ''Figure 1''.
-* Adding printer to personal Windows machines
+<table>
-** [[Adding a Printer Through Server and Printer Name| Windows XP]]
+<TR><TD>[[Image:Sccm_offer1.jpg|thumb|300px|'''Figure 1 - Notification balloon''']]</TD></TR>
-** [[Add Printer to personal Windows 7| Windows 7]]
+</table>
-===From Linux / Unix===
+* Currently these notifications cannot be disabled, but you may ignore them if you wish.  If you click on the notification, it will bring up a list of all the software installs that are advertised to your machine.  You can also bring up this list manually from Control Panel.-->
-<!--*[[RHEL Printer via SMB| Adding printer to RHEL using SMB '''(Recommended)''']]-->
-*[[Adding Printer to RHEL| Adding printer to RHEL using LPD]]
-For more information about printing within the ECE department, please visit the [http://www.eos.ncsu.edu/guide/printing.html Eos Printing Guide]. Once here, you can find explicit directions on printing from Unix/Linux printers.
+====Finding advertisements in Control Panel====
-===From Macintosh===
+* To locate the list of software installs that have been advertised to your machine, navigate to Control Panel > Programs > Run Advertised Programs.  That will open the window shown in ''Figure 2''.  From here you can select a program and choose to install it.  It will also give details on the last time an install was run and whether it was considered successful.
-*[[Adding printer to OS X]]
+<table>
-* Print drivers for specific models for Apple OS X typically must be downloaded and installed manually.  If you need assistance locating or installing a printer driver in OS X, contact WolfTech Support.
+<TR><TD>[[Image:Sccm_offer3.jpg|thumb|500px|'''Figure 2 - Run Advertised Programs''']]</TD></TR>
+</table>
+* Please note, if this list is empty, most likely your machine has not yet updated and received its assignments.  To resolve this, wait 10-15 minutes and then check again.  If necessary, you can force an update manually.  To do so, go to Control Panel > System and Security > Configuration Manager, click on the Actions Tab, and initiate the "Machine Policy Retrieval and Evaluation Cycle" action.
-==<span style="color:red">Department Shared Printers</span>==
-A few centrally-located printers are provided to accommodate the various printing needs of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.  Physical locations, access, and recommended usage varies for these printers, so please review the following sections for more details.
+==Understanding an Advertisement==
-===General use Printers===
+* Before you start any install, we '''strongly recommend''' that you review any details provided about the software install.  It's important to understand how long an install may potentially take and the necessary free disk space required for the full installation.  This is especially true considering many installs may be completely silent, and so you will not receive any indication that it has succeeded or failed.
-DUSK and DAWN are Dell C3760dn Color Laserjet printers that are located in EB2 for general printing for all ECE faculty, staff, and graduate students.  These printers provide color and duplex printing capability for all users.
+* To view the details of an install, highlight an advertised install in the list and click the '''Details''' button to view the window shown in ''Figure 3'' and ''Figure 4''.
-DUSK is located in the ECE Department mailroom in 3018 EB2, and DAWN is located in the Faculty Advising Office in 2116 EB2.
+<table>
+<TR><TD>[[Image:Sccm_offer6.jpg|thumb|300px|'''Figure 3 - Details - General Tab''']]</TD><TD>[[Image:Sccm_offer7.jpg|thumb|300px|'''Figure 4 - Details - Advanced Tab''']]</TD></TR>
+</table>
-* Please use these printers responsibly.  If you must print large volume jobs, use the large volume printer located in the EB2 Mailroom (described in the section below).
+* What to look for:
-* Please notify WolfTech of any issues or low toner warnings.
+*# '''Package Name:'''  All package names should include the software name, the manufacturer of the software, and the software version.  Any other details are for internal use.
-* '''Apple Users''':  When adding these printers to machines running Apple OS X, you must download and install the driver manually.  Dell's OS X driver for the C3760dn can be downloaded from [http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/RC964697/DriverDetails/DriverFileFormats/Product/dell-c3760dn?DriverId=W4TP6&FileId=2987721036&urlProductCode=False here].
+*# '''Comments:'''  Important details regarding the package will be placed here.  There is limited space in this section, but at the least we will try to include the maximum length of time a package should take to install, whether or not the package is completely silent, and if a restart is required before using the software.
+*# ''Top Section''
+*#* '''User Input required:'''  If this is "No", then the install is completely silent.  If it is "Yes", then you may see progress on the install, but you will not necessarily be prompted for any input.
+*#* '''Estimated disk space:'''  The necessary free disk space required on your hard drive for the install.  Please note, all software packages will install to your C drive.
+*# ''Middle Section''
+*#* '''After program runs:'''  This can be ignored.
+*#* '''This program must run first:'''  Some softwares may require small scripts or prerequisite installers to run first.  These will almost always be silent.
+*# '''Additional requirements:'''  Any additional required information that cannot be fit in comments may go here.  An example may be the name of a companion software that is required
-===Large Volume Printer / Copier===
-Located in the ECE Department mailroom in 3018 EB2, DOLPHIN is a Xerox WorkCentre Pro 5675 that is capable of handling large print and copy jobs and features network printing and stapling/collating.  DOLPHIN is restricted to ECE faculty, staff, and research assistants (RAs) and is available via the ECE network print server.
+==Running an Advertised Install==
-* '''Physical access to DOLPHIN is restricted to Faculty and Staff (as it's located in the mailroom).'''
+* Again, please note that you do not have to be an Administrator on the machine to run an advertised install.  ''However'', once installed, a software may require administrator privileges in order to use certain features.
+* Advertised installs can be performed from off-campus as well.  However, additional testing is required to determine how being off-campus affects download and install times.
+* Select a software from the list and click '''Run'''.  The window in ''Figure 5'' will appear:
-In order to reduce costs, the Department encourages faculty and staff to make use of DOLPHIN for jobs that exceed 35 total sheets.  For technical assistance, please email [mailto:ecehelp@ncsu.edu?Subject=Request_for_assistance_on_DOLPHIN ecehelp@ncsu.edu].  For details and directions on how to add and make use of this department resource, please view the following pages:
+<table>
+<TR><TD>[[Image:Sccm_offer5.jpg|thumb|300px|'''Figure 5 - Program Download''']]</TD><TD valign="top">
+<br>
+* Clicking '''Properties''' here will bring up the package details.  Again, we recommend you read all details on a package before installing.<br><br>
+* The "Program size" listed here is the size of the download, ''not'' the size of the finished install.<br><br>
+* The "Estimated time to download" will always be wrong because it is estimated for a 56K connection.
+** For a rough estimate while on-campus, assume the value for hours is actually for minutes.  For example, in ''Figure 5'', you can assume the download will take ~7 minutes instead of 7 hours.<br><br>
+* You should click the checkbox at the bottom to have the install begin as soon as the download is completed.
+</TD></TR>
+</table>
-*[[Xerox Printing Guide for Windows]]
+* Once you are ready, click the '''Download''' button.  Your computer will begin downloading the install media.  Once it is finished, it will prompt you to begin the install, or will begin it automatically if you checked that option earlier.
+* '''Do not''' log out or restart your machine while a Self-Service install is running.
+* Again, '''please note''' that most installs may be completely silent.  For those installs, you should allow the maximum allowed time to pass before attempting to use the software.
-*[[Xerox Printing Guide for OS X]]
-===Large Format Printer===
+==Additional details and troubleshooting==
-Currently located in 3218 EB2, BLUEWHALE is a HP DesignJet 500 capable of printing posters, displays, and banners on 36" rolls.  Access is restricted to faculty, staff, and  at this time.  Graduate students will not have access, and will need to have their advisor print their posters; however, faculty may choose to appoint a student to have access to print out posters for their group.
+* If a program fails to download or install, check the amount of free disk space on your C drive.  It is good practice to keep at least 10% free disk space for Microsoft Windows.
+* If a silent install appears to have failed, restart your computer.  If it is still missing, attempt the install one more time.  If after that it still appears to have failed, notify your computer support for assistance.
-For details and directions on how to add and make use of this department resource, please view the following pages:
+* If you receive an error message either from the install or during the download process, or a software appears to have installed properly but is missing features or licensing information, contact your department or college computer support for assistance.
-*[[Large Format Printing for Windows]]
-*[[Large Format Printing for OS X]]
-We also provide a [http://www.wolftech.ncsu.edu/files/poster_template_lf.ppt sample poster template], created by Dr. Doug Barlage, for printing research posters. It includes a number of suggestions for best practices in the printing of these posters.  Also, we have set up a Windows workstation next to the printer for you to use while printing your posters.  We '''strongly''' encourage you to use this station so that you are close enough to the printer to cancel documents that are printing incorrectly in order to save toner and paper.
-For further assistance with printing, contact WolfTech Support.  Additional toner and paper is provided in the supply closet in 3218 and instructions are provided for loading new toner and paper.  If you need technical assistance with the printer, email [mailto:ecehelp@ncsu.edu?Subject=Request_for_BLUEWHALE_access/assistance ecehelp@ncsu.edu], or if an emergency, call the Wolftech workroom at 515-0124.
-<!--
-==Medium Format Printer==
-The department is investigating the purchase of a smaller poster printer. As a part of making that decision, Michael Steer has volunteered the use of his Epson Stylus Photo 1280.  We have purchased extra toners and 13.0" x 19.0" white glossy and non-glossy photo quality paper, and would like to hear your thoughts on whether you'd use such a printer for your research posters.
-We've attached a [[media:epson_poster_template.ppt| poster template]] for the printer.
-The printer will not be publically available as a part of this test. Please submit any print requests to Dr Steer ([mailto:mbs@ncsu.edu mbs@ncsu.edu]).
--->
-==<span style="color:red">WolfPrint</span>==
-A WolfPrint printer (eb2-1046-1) is available outside 1029 EB2.  Workstations are also available in that same area (more machines will be provided once additional power/network is installed in that location).
-WolfCopy has partnered with the Office of Information Technology to provide a service known as [http://print.ncsu.edu/ WolfPrint].  WolfCopy provides accounted printers for use in many public computing labs on campus and is responsible for the paper, toner, routine maintenance and repairs of these printers.  The 6 cent fee in Unity Labs and the 10 cent fee in the libraries for printing is used to offset maintenance and supply costs.  Full color printing is also available in select labs for $0.25 per page.  Funds will be now be drawn from your AllCampus Account.
-Also, WebPrint allows users to print from laptops or other personal computers.  WebPrint is a driver-less printing service that allows users to print by uploading documents from a Web browser, and can be accessed from [https://papercut.oit.ncsu.edu:9192/app here].  Please note, WolfPrint only accepts PDF files.  Additionally, if you wish to print from off-campus, you must first connect to the NCSU [https://vpn.ncsu.edu/ VPN Service].
-WolfPrint uses PaperCut's print solution for accounted printing.  PaperCut works by intercepting print jobs as they pass into a print queue and extracts job information such as page counts.  It calculates the cost of the print job and deducts the funds accordingly from your allcampus account.  For details on AllCampus accounts at NCSU, visit [http://onecard.ncsu.edu/allcampus-network/ their website].  To check your AllCampus balance, account activity, and deposit funds (students only, faculty and staff must use payroll deduction), visit [https://services.jsatech.com/index.php?cid=45 AllCampus Online].
-'''Additional Information about WolfPrint'''
-[http://print.ncsu.edu/ WolfPrint homepage]
-[http://oit.ncsu.edu/wolfprint/wolfprint-user-faqs WolfPrint User FAQ]
-[http://oit.ncsu.edu/wolfprint/wolfprint-user-faqs#pay Print Rates]