Assigning Software

The assignment of software (packages) leads to an installation of the respective package on the selected installation target.

The procedure for assigning software to a computer, an OU or a group is as follows:

Select an OU, group or computer/user in the Organization Tree.
Choose the Assign package task and then follow the wizard.
Assignment by drag & drop:
Drag the desired package from the software library to the desired installation target in the object window.

You can also assign software in the Software Library by performing the Assign package task for the desired released package and selecting an installation target. A multiple selection of packages is also possible.

To provide the software in the Software Shop, you may also use the Create Shop policy task. In this case, the wizard only shows you the settings for shop policies.
If you are assigning a package to a user, a group or a container, make sure to specify the criteria that is required to select the computers to which the policy will apply to (target selection mode):
Computer
The policy target consists of computers the policy applies to.
All computers the user is associated to
The policy target consists of users. The policy applies to the computers the users are associated to (user-computer association). Use this option to install software on a computer independent of the user who is currently logged in.
Current computer of the user
The policy target consists of users. The policy applies to the computer a specific user is currently logged in to. Software assigned with this option is installed on a computer when a user, who is targeted to the policy, logs in. The software is uninstalled if a user logs in who is not targeted to the policy.
Note for this target selection mode: The system only creates the policy instances when the users logs in to a computer.
If you assign the package to a group or a container, you must specify whether the assignment also applies to the user or the computer objects contained in the package (you cannot select both).
Find further details on the required specifications in the table below!
The result is the creation of a new policy. This is visible in the context of the package, the OU or the group.
Display:
Deny policy
All other policies
- The wizard asks for installation parameters that may exist for the assigned package and that may be changed when the package is assigned.
- Policy instances are automatically created for the Standard and Job policy types for the respective computers.
  The system also checks inventory-based system requirements (server-side) that can be specified per package in the Packaging Workbench. Policy instances are only created if these requirements can be met for a computer.
- Instances of shop policies (= standard policy with Instance creation mode On Demand) are only created if the software is actually shopped.
- When assigned to a user, policy instances are created as soon as the user logs on to a computer.
- Certain properties of policies and policy instances can (only) be changed as long as the policy or policy instance is deactivated.

Required specifications when using the wizard:

Required Specifications	Available Options
Policy type selection:	Standard (automatic installation per default) You can change the instance creation mode in the Extended Settings to On Demand for a shop policy, for example (see below).
	Deny (excludes the installation of the package for the specified object) Results of a deny policy: Existing policy instances that have not been executed yet are deleted automatically if a deny policy is assigned! Existing policy instances that have been executed are displayed as not compliant. The package is uninstalled if AutoUninstall has been activated for the package. New policy instances are not created at all!
	Job (recurring, automatic installation in intervals or when a specific event occurs during an installation; can also be provided in the Software Shop if it has been specified during instance creation mode) Available intervals: AutoInstaller Intervall, Hourly, Once a Day, Every 24 hours, Once a week, Every 7 days, At Every Login The actual execution is performed as soon as the AutoInstaller is started after an interval has passed. (This depends on the use of the DSM Agent and on the AutoInstaller settings in the configuration table) Available events during installation: Software Set Execution: Start Before installing a Software Set Opening a repository Before reading a repository, even if no package from this repository is installed. Implies that a package in the respective repository is assigned as job via Opening a repository. Package Execution: Start Before installing a package (also with RunEScript) Package Execution: Success After a package has been installed successfully Package Execution: Abort After a package has been terminated by the script via ExitProc(UnDone) Package Execution: Error After a package installation has been terminated with an error Installation: Start of first package Before installing a package the first time (only if a package is actually installed) Installation: End of last package After installing the last package (only if a package is actually installed) On error Whenever errors occur during the Installer session To be able to fully execute event-oriented jobs on Terminal Servers if the event occurs in the user context (i.e. outside of the maintenance timeframe), WTS Support allows the AutoInstaller to execute computer-relevant portions as well. However, the setting Ignore maintenance timeframe must be specified in this case.
Available policies:	The wizard provides the following options if there is a policy available for the respective package revision: Create new policy Select this option if you want the policy to have different settings than the existing policy. Select the priority for the policy in the following wizard dialog. Use the arrows to move the new policy to where you want it to be. By default, a new policy has the priority 1000. By moving the new policy in front or behind another policy, its priority is automatically set. The priority of the policy defines the behavior in case of a multiple assignment. If the same revision of a package is assigned to the same installation target, DSM only runs the policy with the highest priority (i.e. the lowest number). Add target(s) to an existing policy Select this option if the policy settings are the same and you are just adding an additional installation target. Select the policy in the following wizard dialog.

Advanced specifications when using the wizard:

Required Specifications	Available Options
Creating policy instances:	Instance creation mode Specifies whether the system creates instances automatically (with the AutoInstaller) or interactively (with the Software Shop) or whether there will be no new instances currently. Instance activation on create Determines whether the respective policies are activated automatically or not. Instance activation on reinstallation Determines whether available instances are activated automatically or not when a computer is reinstalled.
Possible actions in the Software Shop	Determines which actions the end user is allowed to apply to the assigned software in the Software Shop (e.g. Repair or Reinstallation). The package properties determine which actions are generally available.
Activating the policy:	Activate policy for the chosen targets The policy is activated immediately. The settings can be edited only after deactivating again!
Installing the policy:	There are two alternatives for installing the policy. Depending on the alternative you select, there are different options available in the following wizard dialog: Immediately The policy will be installed at the next opportunity. If you want, you can also request immediate installation (FastInstall) or waking up the computer (WoL). For this purpose, the system creates the respective jobs and executes them immediately after finishing the wizard dialogs. To prevent these jobs from running on a large number of computers at the same time, you can spread the execution of the jobs over an Execution time span. The order in which the jobs are executed is specified according to the computer property Position within time span. If you configure the ICDB setting Background action > Threshold value for actions relating to policy instances with a value unequal to -1, you can also select whether the policy instances are created immediately after finishing the wizard dialogs and, if appropriate, with the help of background actions or when the client synchronization runs on the respective computers. Creating instances via client synchronization can prevent high loads on the server caused by a large number of background processes. Later Specify the date of the earliest installation in the following dialog. The rollout of the policy is performed independently immediately after finishing the wizard! If required, you can also specify Automatically start Installer for timely installation. In this case, the DSM Client calculates the right installation time following the next client synchronization which is based on the activation time, the postponement time, the maintenance timeframe, the time span etc. If you also select WoL, the date is transmitted to the server as Calculated WakeUp time. (See also: Installer WakeUp). To prevent a large number of Installers starting at the same time, you can spread the starting times over a Execution time span. The order in which the jobs are executed is specified according to the computer property Position within time span.
Postpone the installation:	The Postponement type determines whether and how long the end user may postpone the installation of a software package. Specify the time for the postponing a package by entering the Number of days to postpone or the End date of postponement. The Software Shop provides the software to the end user as postponed software until the time for the maximum postponement runs out. As soon as this time is reached the software is installed automatically without the end user interfering.
Exclusion of specific installation targets:	Depending on the installation target, you can specify any users or computers. Options: execute on/for: The policy is executed exclusively for the specified computer/user do not execute on/for: The policy is not executed for the specified computer/user. No policy instance will be created for a computer that is excluded! If you exclude a user, no policy instance will be created for the computer the user logs on to.