Is it possible to have a template for Fixlets/Tasks? Is there a configuration file (probably XML I guess) that we can adjust so it’s standard in the action?
e.g.: we have a couple parameters that we always include in our Tasks/Fixlets.
It would be handy to have this in a template so it’s there already.
e.g.: if you create a package with the System Lifecycle module and then you upload a file (for example an .exe file) and create a task with that .exe file as commando, there is already a whole lot of action script in the action (like the prefetch etc, logging,…). Where does this come from? Is this a file somewhere? I’ve looked at the server (yes, my colleague and I went through all the (sub)folders), but without success.
You can create a Fixlet/Task that you want to be your template, then when you want to create a new one from that template, just hit “copy” in the console and save a custom copy of it.
I get the feeling this isn’t the kind of templating you desire, but it is one option.
There is also something called “Fixlet Templates” and a “Fixlet Template Wizard” or something like that. This lets you automatically generate Fixlets based upon a template that you define.
Templates are not a bad idea, but in general, REST API automation is better.
Your feeling was right, this isn’t the kind of templating I was looking for, but it’s definitely an option.
The problem is that we will have double work.
If we use System Lifecycle and we upload a file and then create a task, the SHA1 code etc is already their. So to have this, we will need to create that task, copy the SHA1 code etc in the template. Okay, not really that much of work, but we have over 500 software to distribute…
And what do you mean with REST API? I know what it is, but how can you use it to automate it?
I have a python script that uses the REST API and makes both an installer and an uninstaller for an unlimited number of MSIs. Assuming no special command line options are required other than /qn then there is nothing extra to do. It takes about 10 seconds per MSI.
You can do the something similar with EXE installers, but it is a bit more complicated as they often require command line options depending on which type of EXE installer it is. Even then, those can often be determined programatically.
In general, the wizards and System Lifecycle create low quality Tasks that typically lack relevance to properly detect when the software is installed. This is not the case when I create them using the REST API or other means.
Also, you can use AutoPkg with the REST API to automatically generate a new installer task every time a new version of the software is released, with near 0 effort. This goes for both Windows & Mac software.
You can even automate the testing of these generated tasks somewhat by creating actions to install them on test machines as soon as they are created. You can then audit the results and put them into production.
As long as everything works as it should, it can often be a total of 5 minutes of human time per software item to get it into production. There is an initial investment in setting up the automation, but it continues to pay it forward with very little maintenance.
hmm, this sounds very promising. Too bad i’m not really familiar with Python (I once set up an ERP system that was in Python and I had to adjust the code a bit, but that’s it…)
Could you help me out with that script or give me an idea how to get started? I think it will be very useful if it’s working correctly.
In our environment, we both have MSI’s and EXE installers and it’s all Windows.