Using the Package Editor

Creating distribution packages is performed using the Package Editor wizard.

The Package Editor is supported in the Internet Explorer Web browser only. To use the Package Editor with the Internet Explorer Web browser, you must install an ActiveX control.

Caution: If the Application Control module has been installed and its Easy Lockdown feature applied to an endpoint, a browser on that endpoint will not be able to install a new ActiveX control. Before using Package Editor in this situation, the administrator must create a Trusted Publisher policy that assigns the Ivanti Security certificate to that endpoint. For additional information, refer to Easy Lockdown in Practice and Creating a Trusted Publisher Policy in the Application Control Help.

  1. Select Review > Other > Packages.
  2. In the Packages list, click Create.
    The Welcome to the Package Editor screen opens.
  3. Click Next.
  4. Type Package Information in each field.
    The following table describes the information you type in each field.

    5. Field

    Description

    Name

    A name or title for the package. Ivanti recommends using short and descriptive names. Duplicate package names are permitted, and package names can be edited after initial creation.

    Description

    A description of package details. Ivanti recommends adding information as the package is modified, providing necessary information as needed.

    Information URL

    Link(s) to additional information about the content and usage of the package. The information URL is displayed when viewing package information.

    Deployment options for manual installations of a patch can be included in the Description field. For more information about using deployment options, refer to Including Deployment Options in a Package.

  5. Click Next.
    The Select Operating System page opens displays.
  6. In the Operating Systems page, select the target operating systems from the list. These are the platforms running endpoints that are the target for the package deployment.

    Since directory structures, executable file types, and available scripting languages vary greatly within operating systems, a package designed for one operating system may fail when applied to another operating system.

  7. Click Next.
    The Add Files page opens.
  8. Add files to the package.
    For additional details regarding adding files to a package, refer to Adding Files and Directories to a Package.
  9. Click Next.
    The Create Scripts page displays.
  10. If needed, add a script to run on the target endpoint during the deployment process.
    For additional details regarding package scripts, refer to Creating Scripts for a Package.
  11. Click Next.
    The Enter a License page opens.
  12. In the License Agreement dialog, select the License Agreement check box and enter the appropriate URL in the destination address of the License URL field.
    The License Agreement dialog allows you to enter in an optional License URL, which can link to licensing information for the contents of the package. This option is primarily for packages containing items such as operating system service packs, endpoint drivers, and so on. The License URL displays when viewing package information and allows the user to link to the license information.
  13. Click Next.
    The Summary page displays.
  14. Click Upload.
  15. In the Summary page, review the summary of the package to be deployed.
    Selecting the Make this package available for rollout check box enables the package to display in the list of available packages. You may clear this option if you are creating a package that will contain additional files or details added at a later date or do not want to deploy the package at this time.
  16. The Upload Status page verifies that the data is unpacking and uploading. Once all files are uploaded, click Next.
    The Upload Summary page displays.
  17. Click Finish.
    The page refreshes and the Package page opens with the custom package. When you refresh the Packages page, you can view the package by the name you gave it, and view the operating systems that you chose to deploy to during the patch building process.

Including Deployment Options in a Package

Package flags control the behavior of a distribution package when it is deployed.

The following flags indicate a manual installation of the patch is required. To use this option, type (manual install) in the Description field.

A number of additional deployment options are available by including them in with the flags delimiter. To add these, enter (PLFlags: <Your Flags>) to the Description field.

Package Flag Descriptions

Package flags allow you to attach behavior to package deployments. The following table defines flag behavior and their descriptions:

Description (flag behavior)

Display Flag

Select Flag

Perform an uninstall; can be used with -mu or -q.

-yd

-y

Force other applications to close at shutdown.

-fd

-f

Do not back up files for uninstall.

-nd

-n

Do not restart the computer when the installation is done.

-zd

-z

Use quiet mode, no user interaction is required.

-qd

-q

Use unattended setup mode.

-dmu

-mu

Install in multi-user mode1

N/A

-su

Restart service after installation1

N/A

-restart

Do not restart service after installation1

N/A

-norestart

Reconfigure after installation1

N/A

-reconfig

Do not reconfigure after installation1

N/A

-noreconfig

Download packages to the default package cache directory for the Linux distro, but don't install them2

Packages are downloaded to the following locations:

  • Redhat and CentOS: /var/cache/yum
  • SUSE: /var/cache/zypp/packages
  • Ubuntu: /var/cache/apt

N/A

-CACHEPACKAGES

Install packages cached in the tmp folder2

N/A

-INSTALLFROMCACHE

Tip: If you are patching Linux and Unix endpoints that receive content directly from vendor repositories, deployments may exceed your scheduled window because the patch content must first be downloaded, a process that may be excessively long. To reduce the likelihood of deployments that exceed maintenance schedules:

  1. Cache the content to the endpoints by completing a deployment using the -CACHEPACKAGES flag. This deployment downloads the content, but doesn't install it.

  2. Install the cached content by completing a second deployment using the -INSTALLFROMCACHE flag. The deployment skips the download of content, and installs the content already cached.

Ignores discrepancies between libraries available in different architectures2

N/A

-YUM_PROTECTED_MULTILIB

Skips packages with broken dependencies when updating the endpoint2

N/A

-YUM_SKIP_BROKEN

Performs a trial run of the deployment with no package changes made.3

N/A

-TRIAL_RUN

This package is chainable and will run Qchain.exe (Windows) or (UNIX/Linux).

-dc

-c

Suppress the final chained reboot.

-dc

-sc

Repair permissions.

-dr

-r

Deploy only.

-PLD1

-PLDO

No Pop-up

-PLN1

-PLNP

Debug

-PLDG

-PLDEBUG

Suppress Repair

-dsr

-sr

Force the script to reboot when the installation is done.

-1d

-1

Reboot is required.

N/A

-2

Reboot may occur.

N/A

-3

Reboot is required, and may occur.

N/A

-4

  1. This flag applies to Linux and Unix operating systems only.

  2. This flag applies to only Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5-7.x, Oracle Enterprise Linux 5.5-7.x, and CentOS Linux 5.5-7.x.

  3. This flag applies to only Oracle Solaris 10 Update 9.

Adding Files and Directories to a Package

Files and directories can be added to the package by right-clicking the Package Content window, and selecting one of the following options:

Once a macro, directory, or folder has been created, a new directory can be added to it. A file system window is opened where you can locate and select an existing directory to add to the package.

  1. Right-click the macro, directory, or folder associated with the target computer.
  2. Select Add Directory.
    The Browse for Folder window opens.
  3. Select the directory to add to the macro, directory, or folder.
  4. Click Open.
    The directory is added to the macro, directory, or folder.

Use the New Drive option to deploy a package to a drive other than the C:\ or %TEMP% drives.

  1. Right-click inside the Target Computer window.
  2. Select Create Drive... from the pop-up menu.
    The Create Drive window opens.
  3. In the Drive or Volume Name field, type the letter you require for the drive name, followed by a colon in X: format.
  4. Click OK.
    The drive is added to the Target Computer window.

Macros access existing system directories. A macro can be either an environment variable, as defined by the operating system, or a macro that only the agent can expand.
The following pre-defined macros are available under the New Macro menu:

  • %TEMP% - The operating system temp directory location. Expands to C:\Windows\Temp, C:\Temp, C:\WinNT\Temp, or /tmp depending on operating system and configuration.
  • %WINDIR% - The operating system windows directory location. %WINDIR% typically expands to C:\Windows.
  • %BOOTDIR% - The operating system boot directory location. Typically expands to C:\.
  • %ROOTDIR% - The operating system root directory location. Typically expands to C:\.
  • %PROGRAM FILES% - The operating system program files location. Typically expands to C: \Program Files.
  • %COMMON FILES% - The operating system common files location. Typically expands to C:\.

Not all macros are available on all operating systems. Choose only the macros that are compatible with the operating systems and configurations you are using.

  1. Right-click inside the Target Computer window.
  2. Select Create Macro.
    A list opens.
  3. Select the macro required for the package.
    The selected macro displays in the Target Computer window.

The Create Folder window allows for creating a folder within the Package Content directory.

  1. Right-click inside the Target Computer window.
  2. Select Create Folder.
    The Create Folder window opens.
  3. In the Folder Name field, type the name of the new folder.
  4. Click OK.
    The folder is added to the Target Computer window.

Once a folder, directory, or macro has been created, a file can be added. A file system window is opened where you can locate and select an existing file to add to the Package.

  1. Right-click the directory, folder, or macro associated with the Target Computer.
  2. Select Add File.
    The Open window opens.
  3. Select the file to add to the directory, folder, or macro.
  4. Click Open.
    The file is added to the directory, folder, or macro.

You can remove a directory or file from a package. This option is available only for files added to the Target Computer window.

  1. Right-click the directory, folder, or macro associated with the Target Computer that you want to delete.
  2. Select Delete.
    The file is deleted for the package.

The Rename option allows for renaming of a previously created drive or macro within the package.

  1. In the Target Computer directory tree, select the directory where the file is to be renamed.
    The file is highlighted and the cursor becomes active.
  2. Type the new name of the file.
  3. Click OK.
    The folder name is changed and displays in the Target Computer window.

The Properties window allows you to set properties for the selected item. Only available when you right click on a folder that has previously been added to the Target Computer window.

  1. In the Target Computer window, select the directory where the file is located.
  2. Right-click the selected file.
  3. Select Properties.
    The Properties window opens.
  4. In the Attribute field, select or deselect the Overwritable check box.

    5. Removing the check-mark from the Overwritable attribute will prevent subsequent patches that contain the same file from overwriting the file.

  5. Click Apply.
    The folder properties are changed.

Creating Scripts for a Package

You can add functionality to packages using scripts. There are three types of scripts. These scripts can be written in Microsoft Visual Basic Script or Microsoft JScript. Documentation regarding these languages can be found at MSDN Library: Scripting.
The following scripts are listed by the order in which they execute within the package:

  1. Pre-Script - Used to test for a machine condition or shutdown a service. For example you can stop the package rollout in the pre-script by using the SetReturnCode in the PLCCAgent script object.
  2. Command Line Script - Used to launch executable files. The format is the same as a standard .CMD or .BAT file.
  3. Post-Script - Used for any clean-up operations such as the deletion of files, starting services, or running an installed file.

There can be a maximum of one of each script type in a software package. When all three scripts are present, they will be executed in the order listed above.

Unless the Execution Directory option is selected and a valid directory is defined, all scripts run in the ROOT directory.

  1. Select the type of script to execute from the Type of Script drop-down list.
  2. Select the scripting type from the Script Language drop-down list.
  3. Click Edit.
    The Script Editor window opens.
  4. Type or copy the script to be added in the Script field.
  5. Click Run.
    The script is checked and the Errors box displays Success when the script is validated.
  6. Click OK.
    The Script Editor window closes and returns to the Package Editor wizard.
  7. If needed, select Script Execution Directory if a different directory location is required.
    The Script Execution Directory field becomes active.
  8. Type the back-up directory path, or click Browse.
    The location displays in the Script Execution Directory field.