Lecture 12

1
Lecture 12 13 Software Management

• Reading
• Windows - W2KER section 6.3, ch. 7 (also
  http//www.serverwatch.com/tutorials/print.php/149
  7871 and http//www.serverwatch.com/tutorials/prin
  t.php/1497901)
• Linux - Red Hat 9 Customization Guide, Section V
  (Package Management). You should pay particular
  attention to Ch. 32 (also the authoritative
  reference for RPM and LAH Ch. 23)
• Common Ground
• Windows Specifics
• Linux Specifics
• Updating and managing software

2
Common Ground

• What's Common?
• Everyone needs software
• What does software installation require?
• Files added or updated
• Directory services updates (e.g., changes to
  /etc/services, new DNS aliases)
• Becoming accessible to users (e.g., showing up in
  a Start Menu, or in a user's PATH)
• Localization (i.e., differences in system as
  shipped by the vendor vs. what your organization
  needs locally).
• Install it yourself
• Give list of packages to third party and pay them
  to install it

3
Common Ground (cont.)

• Managing change
• Inventory (i.e., what do you have?)
• Versioning your build
• Rogue users and departments
• Testing
• Make changes reversible (n.b. undoable and
  reversible arent the exact same concepts).
• "reversible" means that you can do some
  well-defined set of steps to both do an operation
  forwards, as well as backwards
• "undoable" means you can get back to the original
  state, but may require a much more cumbersome
  process

4
Common Ground (cont.)

• Managing change (continued)
• Revision control policy and process
• Software location policies (client vs. server,
  which directories/drives are for user software,
  etc)
• Interactive installation vs. automatic
  installation
• Timing of installation and updates (vendor driven
  vs. SA driven vs. user driven)

5
Common Ground (cont.)

• Fat clients vs. thin clients (with fat servers)
• Question one old rationale for thin clients was
  the high cost of disks. Now that disks are
  cheaper, some argue that fat client is better.
  What other factors need to be considered in
  making a decision between fat and thin client?

6
Windows Specifics

• Registry and system folder combine to encourage
  fat client
• Microsoft encourages fat client installation
• DLL Hell (different applications needing
  different versions of core DLLs)
• Current methods for installation rely on GPO
  (Group Policy Object)

7
Windows Specifics (cont.)

• Three ways of Installing Software using AD
• Publishing applications (make available for end
  users to install)
• Assigning applications to computers (installs
  onto system)
• Assigning applications to users (installs desktop
  and/or Start Menu shortcuts, but the first use
  actually does the install)

8
Windows Specifics (cont.)

• .msi Windows Installer Database
• .msp Windows Installer Patch
• .mst Windows Installer Transform
• .zap Zero Administration Package
• WinINSTALL LE (and similar products) can be used
  for packaging software that does not provide a
  native installer

9
Windows Specifics (cont.)

• Other ways of installing software
• Copy files locally and update desktop and/or
  Start Menu
• Copy files onto server, and update desktop and/or
  Start Menu
• Run vendor-supplied installation package (often
  just like Assigning to computers, but may not be
  if the package doesn't update the list of
  installed software).

10
Windows Install Exercise

• When would we want to Publish software?
• When would we want to Assign to a User?
• When would we want to Assign to a Computer?
• Are there other ways of installing software
  beyond what was covered in the lecture?
• Lets take a look at how this is done in a Group
  Policy!

11
Up Next

• Before next class
• Homeworks
• HW6 - due
• HW7 - assigned
• Next class
• Software Management

12
Linux Specifics

• Unix world often thin client and fat server
• Some vendors have packaging solutions
• Traditionally
• Download source (assume it's src.tgz)
• gunzip -c src.tgz tar xvf -
• cd src
• read README
• read INSTALL
• edit Makefile
• edit source code
• make
• make install

13
Linux Specifics (cont.)

• More recently, it's
• Download source (assume it's src.tgz)
• gunzip -c src.tgz tar xvf
• cd src
• ./configure
• make
• make install
• Upgrade? Symbolic links to provide canonical
  names.
• Uninstall? Who would ever do that?

14
Linux Specifics (cont.)

• RedHat uses rpm
• rpm ivh package (install, verbose, w/hashes)
• rpm qa (query for all installed packages)
• rpm ql package (list all files in a package)
• rpm -qi package (provide package info)
• rpm -Uvh package (upgrade, verb/hashes)
• rpm -e package (erase)
• Lack of ability to build programs from source may
  hinder your growth as an SA. Also, some
  experience with C (or C) can be important, as
  there may be times when you are asked to debug
  code issues (in the form of buggy software from
  vendors, on both Windows and Unix).

15
Linux Install Exercise

• Lets play with RPM
• Install from source?

16
Updating and Managing Software

• Windows
• Widowsupdate / autoupdate
• Officeupdate
• SUS/WUS
• SMS
• Lets look at Windows Update WUS

17
Updating and Managing (cont.)

• RedHat
• RedHat Network / up2date
• RHN Proxy
• Lets look at RHN

18
Up Next

• Before next class
• Next class
• Security