Installing Remote Agents on Domain Computers

To install the agent service on a single remote computer, you will need to execute the installation package file bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi which is stored in the Agent subfolder in the main program folder (<disk>:\Program Files\10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor\Agent\).

After installing the agent, you will see the following files in the agent folder (<disk>:\Program Files\10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor Agent\):

1. BMAgent.exe - the Agent service executable file.
   The Agent service full name is displayed as 10-Strike Bandwidth Monitor Agent Service in the Service Manager.
   The service short name is Svc10StrikeBMAgent.
   
2. BMAgentCfg.exe - the Agent configuration utility.
   

If your computers belong to Active Directory, you can use the Group Policy feature to deploy the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi to target computers. This section describes how to use the Windows Installer and Group Policy to install the agent service on target computers remotely in a Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Microsoft Windows Server 2003 Active Directory domain.

Group Policy is the recommended method for managing and deploying software for customers who do not use corporate update management solutions such as Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 or Software Update Services (SUS). For more information about Group Policy, please visit the following Microsoft web site: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/windowsserver/grouppolicy/default.aspx

 

Using Group Policy for Installing the Agent Service on Remote Computers

To use Group Policy to install the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi file, follow the following steps:

1. Create a distribution point.
2. Create a Group Policy Object for bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi deployments.
3. Deploy the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi file from the shared distribution folder as machine-assigned.
4. Deploy the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi package to specific security groups if necessary.

Target computers, or computers that are to receive the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi file, must be joined to the same domain as the server where the Windows Installer (.msi) file resides. After you passing the package, the Windows Installer automatically installs the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi file the next time users who are connected to the network start their computers. We recommend that you inspect the properties of each computer to make sure that the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi update has completed on the destination computer. You might need to restart a computer more than one time to complete the update.
Only a network administrator or someone who is logged on to a local computer as an administrator can remove the installed software (the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi module) from the destination computer. The procedures identified in this section are explained in detail in the following sections.

1. Creating a distribution point

To assign the software, you must create a distribution point on the server. For the purpose, follow these steps:

1. Log on to the server computer as an administrator.
2. Create a shared network folder, where you are going to put the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi file that you want to distribute. This folder is the distribution point for the software package.
3. Set permissions on the shared network folder to permit access to the distribution package. Give access permissions to the following:
   • Administrators
   • Authenticated users
   • Domain users
   Optionally, you can configure Distributed File System (DFS) for the distribution point. We recommend you doing this because it provides you with more flexibility. It provides more flexibility by ensuring uninterrupted availability of the distribution point in case you have to replace the server. In addition, with DFS, it is easier to have distribution points in multiple sites. For more information about Distributed File System, visit the following Microsoft Web site: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=34229.
4. Copy the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi file to the distribution point.

2. Creating a Group Policy Object for software deployment

You can create a Group Policy Object and link it to any Active Directory container that contains the target computers to which you want to deploy the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi package. An Active Directory container can be a site, domain, or an organizational unit. The following instructions direct you to use a domain as a container and then to use security filtering to target the Group Policy to specific computers. For your environment, you might want to link the Group Policy to a different container, such as an organizational units. You can link to any Active Directory container that you want. Also, you can edit an existing Group Policy Object instead of creating a new GPO just for deploying the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi package. However, we do not recommend that you to edit the Default Domain Policy or the Default Domain Controllers Policy.

Create a GPO for deployment of the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi

Use one of the following methods to create a Group Policy Object for deployment of the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi package.

If you have Group Policy Management Console installed, follow these steps:

1. On an administrative workstation, open the "Group Policy Management Console".
2. In the console tree, right-click the domain name in the forest in which you want to create and link a Group Policy object.
3. Click Create and Link a GPO Here.
4. In the New GPO dialog box, specify a name for the new Group Policy Object, and then click the OK button.

If you do not have Group Policy Management Console installed, follow these steps:

1. On a domain controller or administrative workstation, open Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. Locate the organizational unit that contains the computers where you want to deploy the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi package.
3. Right-click that organizational unit, and then click Properties.
4. Click the Group Policy tab, and then click New.
5. In the New Group Policy Object dialog box, specify a name for the new Group Policy Object, and then click OK.

3. Editing the Group Policy Object for software deployment

After you create a distribution point and create a Group Policy Object for deployment of the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi, you must modify the GPO by using the Software Installation and Maintenance feature of Group Policy. To deploy the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi package, you must use the Computer Configuration node in the Group Policy Object Editor.

To edit a Group Policy Object for software deployment, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the new Group Policy Object, and then click Edit.
2. In Group Policy Object Editor, click Computer Configuration, click Software Settings, and then click Software Installation.
3. On the Action menu, point to New, and then click Package.
4. In the Open dialog box type the full Universal Naming Convention (UNC) path of the shared installer package that you want to distribute in the File name box. Type this path in the following format: \\ServerName\SharedFolder\bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi or \\ServerIP\SharedFolder\bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi. Make sure that you use the UNC path of the shared installer package.
5. Select the Windows Installer package, and then click Open.
6. In the Deploy Software dialog box, click Assigned, and then click ÎÊ. The shared installer package that you selected appears in the right pane of Group Policy Object Editor.

Note: ServerName and ServerIP — are placeholders for the server name or IP address of the computer where the shared folder is located. SharedFolder — is a placeholder for the shared folder that is on the server computer.

4. Deploying software to specific security groups

You can use security filtering in Group Policy to deploy the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi only to computers that are members of a specific security group. For example, if you create a Group Policy Object at the domain level by using the procedure that this article describes, you can use security filtering to target the GPO only to the computers that you want. First, you must create the security group and add target computers as members.

To create a security group, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the domain or Active Directory container that you want to target, click New, and then click Group.
2. Name the security group.
3. Click the Members tab, and then click Add.
4. Type the computer names, and then click OK.

Target the bandwidth-monitor-agent.msi by using security filtering

1. In "Group Policy Management Console", double-click Group Policy Objects.
2. Click the Group Policy Object that you want to apply security filtering to.
3. In the results pane, click Add on the Scope tab.
4. In the Enter the object name to select box, type the name of the group, the user, or the computer that you want to add to the security filter, and then click OK.
5. If Authenticated Users appears in the Security Filtering section of the Scope tab, select this group, and then click Remove. This makes sure that only members of the group or groups that you added can receive the settings in this Group Policy Object.

Note: The settings in a Group Policy Object apply only to the following users and computers:

• Users and computers that are contained in the domain, the Organizational Unit, or the Organizational Units where the GPO is linked.
• Users and computers that are specified in Security Filtering, or that are members of a group that is specified in Security Filtering. You can specify multiple groups, users, or computers in the security filter for a single Group Policy Object.

While creating this very section, the information from this link was used http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=kb/en-us/887405&x=19&y=11.