Automate mass deployment of ArcGIS Explorer 1500 to heterogeneous PC environment?

danan · ‎11-03-2010

We'd like to mass deploy ArcGIS Explorer 1500 to a thousand or more heterogeneous desktop PCs. Limiting technician visits to each desktop is a goal, so we're looking for an automated solution. We've tried a product called PatchLink but have had limited luck. It's designed primarily for installing, you guessed it, patches. With no in-built conditional logic / ability to check for and install prerequisites, it has been a challenge trying to auto-deploy to a large, heterogeneous PC environment.

Have others had this challenge? If so, how did you meet it? I've been told we should look at "App V" and SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager). Has anyone here successfully used these or other products to automate deployment of ArcGIS Explorer? Is "App V" (application streaming) even a contender? I've read that ArcGIS Explorer can't be deployed through Citrix products like XenApp and XenDesktop. Wondering if there's a similar caveat for Microsoft's "App V". But then I may be confusing app virtualization with app streaming.

We have the following additional constraints:
-- Users don't have admin rights to their PCs
-- Although there's an AGX 1500 installer that doesn't require admin privs, AGX 1500 has several prerequisities that many machines lack and users aren't able to install these themselves.

Esri's advice seems to be to install each release of AGX as soon as it appears. This is easier recommended than accomplished for large Enterprises with a heterogeneous PC environment. One factor compounding the problem is that there is no true upgrade path for AGX. The "upgrade" process is as follows:

1) Uninstall AGX completely
2) Install new version

Any insights would be helpful here on managing an automated mass deployment of AGX in a large, heterogeneous PC environment.

MichaelBranscomb · ‎11-04-2010

Hi,

I'm discussing this with colleagues - I'll post here as soon as I have an answer.

Regards

Mike

danan · ‎11-04-2010

Hi,

I'm discussing this with colleagues - I'll post here as soon as I have an answer.

Regards

Mike

Thanks Mike. Looking forward to learning what you discover.

While thinking this issue over, I decided to submit a request to ideas.arcgis.com for a true upgrade path for ArcGIS Explorer vs. the uninstall/reinstall pattern presently offered. I think a proper upgrade path may help with mass deployment of ArcGIS Explorer in large Enterprises:

http://ideas.arcgis.com/ideaView?id=087300000008HYBAA2

If the philosophy behind ArcGIS Explorer is that users should immediately upgrade whenever a new build is available, large Enterprises with heterogeneous PC environments should be taken into consideration, e.g. how can we better comply with this recommendation?

Would love to hear about customers' experiences, pro or con, mass deploying ArcGIS Explorer in large Enterprises. Surely others have had or are having a similar challenge?

BrianKowalski · ‎11-04-2010

We have some of the same problems and limitations you face. Such as wide enterprise distribution (in the thousands), users without Admin rights, enterprise testing before acceptance of new versions, pre-requisites, etc.

We do not use an automated process because of a lot of the issues you raise and we have also tested the Citrix route. The key with us is to have at least a period of time when we support two versions of ArcGIS Explorer. This gives the localized System Admins time to upgrade user workstations. Such as build 1200 and 1500. After a certain percentage of users are upgraded we drop support for the older version and prepare for the next upgrade.

Our â??upgradeâ?� process is to run new versions thru testing for enterprise acceptance. Once accepted, the new version is made â??availableâ?� for enterprise deployment.

From there a user can put in a help ticket to have their version upgraded. We have System Admins at all locations and they have rights to, as you say, uninstall previous versions and install the new version and any required frameworks

I know this is not the answer you are looking for but at least you know youâ??re not alone in wide enterprise use of ArcGIS Explorer Desktop.

I will be watching this thread to see if you are successful on finding an easier solution to enterprise distribution, installation and upgrading of ArcGIS Explorer Desktop.

Thanks,

danan · ‎11-05-2010

We do not use an automated process because of a lot of the issues you raise and we have also tested the Citrix route. The key with us is to have at least a period of time when we support two versions of ArcGIS Explorer. This gives the localized System Admins time to upgrade user workstations. Such as build 1200 and 1500. After a certain percentage of users are upgraded we drop support for the older version and prepare for the next upgrade.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and processes Brian.

We have System Admins at all locations and they have rights to, as you say, uninstall previous versions and install the new version and any required frameworks. I know this is not the answer you are looking for but at least you know youâ??re not alone in wide enterprise use of ArcGIS Explorer Desktop. I will be watching this thread to see if you are successful on finding an easier solution to enterprise distribution, installation and upgrading of ArcGIS Explorer Desktop.

Thanks again. We couldn't be the only two large Enterprises pondering this issue.

We're really trying to avoid visits to the desktop for AGX installs. Having to do so would change the economics and cost proposition of AGX for some large Enterprises. While the client may be offered free of charge, there is Total Cost of Ownership to consider.

On the sunny side, AGX combined with our Resource Center will allow us to deploy GIS apps to the Enterprise without having to touch each desktop. That's a compelling value proposition. But it could be made more so by automating the push of AGX itself. Hopefully we'll both discover a good solution for that here in this thread.

MichaelBranscomb · ‎11-08-2010

Hi,

Thanks to BKBroiler for sharing their experience and advice on the practicalities of enterprise deployments of ArcGIS Explorer. Additionally there is some technical documentation for this process online: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisexplorer/1500/install_guides/arcgis_explorer_install_guide.htm.

Additionally, there is documentation on enterprise deployment of the other ArcGIS products (which might provide a useful reference) at http://downloads2.esri.com/support/whitepapers/other_/ArcGIS_10_Enterprise_Deployment.pdf.

Regards

Mike

danan · ‎11-10-2010

Hi,
Additionally there is some technical documentation for this process online: http://help.arcgis.com/en/arcgisexplorer/1500/install_guides/arcgis_explorer_install_guide.htm.

Right, that's the install guide anyone should read before attempting to deploy AGX 1500. Good reference for someone who's never installed AGX 1500 before.

Additionally, there is documentation on enterprise deployment of the other ArcGIS products (which might provide a useful reference) at http://downloads2.esri.com/support/whitepapers/other_/ArcGIS_10_Enterprise_Deployment.pdf.
Mike

Thanks Mike. I took a quick look but there's no mention of "App V." Will read it more closely and pass it on.

Have you heard back from your colleagues yet with any specific advice about "App V" as a means of deploying AGX 1500? "App V" was recommended locally as a potential approach. Will that work?

Thanks very much.

Dana

MichaelBranscomb · ‎11-10-2010

Hi,

As far as I'm aware application virtualization/streaming platforms such as Microsoft's App-V are not officially supported in the sense that ESRI may not be able to offer you technical support in all cases. However, looking online there are a number of customers who have attempted to use ArcGIS and App-V with many of them sharing their tips and tricks (particularly for dependencies on DLLs outside of ArcGIS).

Microsoft also released a hotfix for App-V which includes a fix specifically addressing an ArcGIS-related issue - http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=959834.

I suggest contacting your ESRI account manager for more advice on the use of virtualization and automated deployment technologies to ensure you choose the correct approach from the outset.

Regards

Mike