Prism Deploy keeps all its promises FUNCTION Administration WEIGHT 30 % GRADE 5. Straight! WEIGHT x GRADE 30 % X 5 = 1,5 FUNCTION Documentation WEIGHT 20 % GRADE 4. Thorough handbook on a CD. WEIGHT x GRADE 20 % X 4 = 0,8 FUNCTION Reporting WEIGHT 30 % GRADE 4. Option of checking delivery in real time and more. WEIGHT x GRADE 30 % X 4 = 1,2 FUNCTION Function and features WEIGHT 20 % GRADE 4. Many, fun and successfully implemented. WEIGHT x GRADE 20 % X 4 = 0,8 GRADE 4,3

Making sure that all workstations in your organization have the same configuration and the same applications is no longer something devoutly to be wished for. That is, not if you employ Prism Deploy.

By: Patrik Duckert

There's a list of chores that nobody at the IT department wants to deal with and it often gets quite long. But things can get better, provided you approach the problem the right way.

Saving on continuing education and development while letting staff handle menial tasks is bound to lower the competence level. Ignoring boring routine chores is no solution either. What you want to do is to find solutions that handle the chores. Installation of programs can be done by a number of solutions on the market. Here, we take a look at Prism Deploy from Lanovation.

WEB: nok.idg.se/arkiv/intryck.asp (subscribers only) www.lanovation.com/products/ prismdeploy/prismdeploy_info.htm

All good things are four
Installing software on computers is basically a matter of delivering files and changes in registers. The idea behind application distribution is to identify and package these changes ahead. Then, the package is sent to the clients and lo and behold - an installation is made!

To make this possible, Prism Deploy has four modules: one packaging module, Prism Deploy Editor, which maps, packages and customizes the program installation; one distribution module, Prism Deploy Console, which associates packages with the intended recipients. It also provides the possibility of checking package delivery by means of logs and reports. This is possible only if Prism Deploy Client is installed on all workstations involved. These clients, in turn, communicate with the fourth and last cornerstone of this solution, Prism Deploy Server. The client is simple to install from a CD or from a network resource. For a major rollout, scripted delivery of the client is a piece of cake. Packaging the installation
When you create installation packages, you need to follow a set pattern. First, a "snapshot" of the machine is taken. The snapshot describes the configuration of the machine. After that, you perform the desired changes in the machine, such as a program installation.

Theoretically, you could make any kind of change of the machine. When you're done, Prism Deploy Editor takes a second snapshot, and based on this, the package is created. After that, you have the option of customizing the package according to taste. Distribution is handled in a cooperative effort between the client, Prism Deply Server, and Prism Deploy Console. In the Console, you create a channel which the clients subscribe to. The administrator can set intervals for how often the client will check for new installation packages. If there is a new package, it will be installed on the machine according to the preferences of the administrator.

When testing Prism Deploy, we started by creating two rather small packages. No problems. Then we decided to scale up our test and tried creating an installation package including Netscape 6.2. The creating of the package was completed without any glitches. The snapshot was taken and the installation was made. Then we decided to customize the package to make it suit our needs. After that, we associated it with the channel and with our test machine. At the test machine, we could see that the client was already waiting and asking politely, "do you want to install the Netscape package?". It was an easy choice and in less than fifteen seconds, Netscape was a fact. Impressive.

Some useful advice on Prism
Now, how would this run in a working environment where workstations are a live exhibition of Microsoft's collected works from Windows 95 to XP?

That, of course, would require quite a bit of testing, but according to the documentation, it shouldn't be a problem. Another piece of advice in the documentation is to keep the two operating system varieties separated.

FACTS: Type of product: Application distribution Supplier: Lanovation Appr. price: 100 licenses, 350 Swedish kronor each, 500 licenses 250 Swedish kronor each N&K's verdict: Prism Deploy is simply a good and scalable solution for application distribution.

Finally, it can be said that Prism Deploy is a well-functioning solution for distribution of applications. It is easy to create the packages, and distribution runs smooth and easy. The option of checking on the distribution and retrieving logs and reports is worth gold. If you can make sure that all employees have the same software version on their computers, you will save time and money.

Patrick Duckert is an operations engineer for the city of Malmö. You can reach him at patrik.duckert@malmo.se.