How do I know which Deployments are part of a Deployment Package? (Full Version)

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jonf -> How do I know which Deployments are part of a Deployment Package? (11/8/2007 8:32:10 PM)

I think I have my head wrapped around the Software Update concept.  But I am wondering if there is a way to tell which Deployment Packages have what deployments?

For example (not my real layout),  under 'Deployment Management' I have two deployments: "All Office Patches" and "All MS Patches".  I then add them to my deployment package called "All MS Patches."  That is fine, but if I want to confirm that those deployments are part of the package, how do I see that?

Or am I looking at this concept all wrong?

I can get this far by downloading/deploying software from my Update Lists, but I want to look at where I put my deployments.

TIA



mcarriere893 -> RE: How do I know which Deployments are part of a Deployment Package? (11/9/2007 8:47:12 AM)

Each of the following are separate entities:

Updates lists: Can be used by admininistrators to allow (sub) admins to deploy updates. You (as the admins with full rights), create the update list, and have other admins (with fewer rights- those rights are shown in the documentation) deploy the list to collections (ie deployments).

Deployment Packages: Think of these as an SMS regular software distribution package. You are basically adding updates to a source location, and distributing them to Distribution Points.

Deployments: think of these as the advertisements. They are sent out to the collections you want.

When you choose to "download software updates", you are adding the particular updates/patches to a deployment package.
When you choose to "deploy software updates", you are creating the "advertisement".

There are various ways to deply updates now. One method for example (care of Wally M) would be to
1) create/modify an update list
2) Create a deployment template
3) Drag the update list onto the template
4) Run thorugh the DSUW and select your collection

BTW To see what updates you have in a deployment package, open up the package in the console and look at the updates in the software updates tab.



jonf -> RE: How do I know which Deployments are part of a Deployment Package? (11/9/2007 11:59:38 AM)

Thank you for the detailed reply mcarriere, that clarifies a lot of terminology for me.  I know how to look at which updates I have in a deployment package, but do you think it would have been a good idea to have the ability to view which updates are in the deployment package by deployment as opposed to by each individual update?  Because when I look at the 'Software Updates' in a deployment package, I can't tell which update belongs to which deployment.  This would have been nice because many updates are based on identifiers and to make it easy to see which deployment has which software updates, you could view the deployment you created with a name summarizing the updates.

Because based on my example on the topic, the 'All MS Patches' deployment package would show all updates from both deployments (aka advertisements as you put it).  But I have no way to tell which deployments are within the package.

It would seem like a useful piece of information to me, but I can't shake the feeling my software update scheme isn't following the recommended workflow.



mcarriere893 -> RE: How do I know which Deployments are part of a Deployment Package? (11/9/2007 12:18:25 PM)

Might not like this, but deployments, and deployment packages are not actually linked together.

Paraphrasing the documentation:
Clients install updates in a deployment by using any DP that has the updates available (regardless of deployment package).
So, even if you delete a deployment package, if the update is still in another deployment package (and is on a DP that a client can access), that client will install it.

When the last deployment package is delete that contains an update in a deployment, then, clients will not be able to (obviously) retrieve the update in the deployment.

K, so you really have to (and it takes a little time playing in the lab) think of all these things as different /non linked items.

One way to think if it is that you can create a deployment package with tons of updates. So these updates are now all sitting on DP(s), and so when you create a deployment, you select the updates you want (doesn't have to be all the updates in the deployment package), and are good to go. You don't have to do a deploy and a deployment package together.

To see what updates you are deploying, you need to look at each deployment.
To see what updates are in a deployment pacakge, you need to look at each deployment package.

Try to think of creating deployment packages per month, and then name them as such instead of naming the deployment package and deployment the same.



jonf -> RE: How do I know which Deployments are part of a Deployment Package? (11/9/2007 12:35:02 PM)

ok, thanks for bearing with me :)

So to recap, clients can NOT retrieve a software update unless that update is part of a deployment package.  But the only way it could verify that the software update is "approved" to be installed is if it's been deployed.  ...right?

So if you have a DP of all MS Patches, but critical patches have been deployed to 'collection A' and minor patches to 'collection B', then the clients will know what software updates from the DP to install.

please tell me i'm close to being right! [&:]

Thanks again for your replies. 



mcarriere893 -> RE: How do I know which Deployments are part of a Deployment Package? (11/9/2007 12:53:05 PM)

That's right. You gotta have a deployment package containing the updates you want clients to install. This could be one BIG deplyoment package containing all updates, or however you want to do it, like lets say one package per OS, or whatever works for you. And you gotta have a deployment targeted at a collection for those machines to get the policy to install any of those updates.

Clients do not care what deployment package, they only care that it is in at least one package (that they have access to).

An remember the real beauty here is that clients only download the specific patches they require (this is how it is now), whereas in SMS 2003 if you did a download and execute, all patches would be downloaded, meaning typically admins created smaller packages.



xneilpetersonx -> RE: How do I know which Deployments are part of a Deployment Package? (5/8/2008 4:34:20 PM)

This is a much older thread but might as well bring it back up as it has helped me some. Once you have added an update to a deployment package, and then the deployment has been made (advertised), can you go back and remove updates from the updates deployment? For instance you have deployed an update that had slipped through testing and has broken some critical home grown app. You would remove the patch from all machines and then want to ensure that it does not get re-deployed until a fix can be worked out.

thanks
np





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