ARCHIVED: In Windows Active Directory, how can I assign or publish a .MSI file?

With Active Directory group policies, you can do far more than just restrict and set certain registry entries. You can set startup or shutdown scripts for computers, set login and logout scripts for users, redirect folders like My Documents, publish applications, and more. You have three main options for assigning and publishing applications:

• Assign to a user
• Assign to a computer
• Publish to a user

When you assign an application to a user, its icons are set up and the software is installed on first use. If you assign to a computer, it will be installed the next time the computer starts. If you publish an application, the user has the option of installing the application via the Add/Remove Programs control panel applet. The user cannot uninstall any deployed application. Only published applications can be uninstalled, because they are optional.

Note: At Indiana University, you should assign software installation through group policy objects (GPOs) to computers. Assigning software to users can be very time-consuming and unpredictable. For more information, see ARCHIVED: In the IU Active Directory, how should I deploy software?

You can publish or assign applications to any GPO, which means you can assign applications per domain, per site, or per organizational unit (OU). To publish or assign an application to a GPO:

1. Start the Active Directory Users and Computers Microsoft Management Console snap-in. To do this, click Start and select Programs, then Administrative Tools, and then Active Directory Users and Computers.
2. Right-click the domain, OU, or site, and select Properties. Then select the Group Policy tab.
3. From a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 computer, click Open (skip to the next step if using a Windows 2000 system).
4. Select the GPO to which you wish to assign or publish the application:
   • From a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 computer, right-click either Computer Configuration or User Configuration, depending on whether you want the application to be assigned to a user or a computer.
   • From a Windows 2000 computer, click Edit and then select either Computer Configuration or User Configuration, depending on whether you want the application to be assigned to a user or a computer.
   
   
5. Select Software Settings, then Software installation.
6. Right-click Software installation and, from the context menu, select New, then Package.
7. Select the MSI file you wish to deploy, for example:

     \\bl-uits-titanic\data\winzip\winzip.msi

   Make sure you specify a network path that the users or computers can access, or they will be unable to install the software.
8. Click Open. You will be able to select either Publish or Assign. Select the appropriate option (normally Assign), and click OK.

The program will now appear under the "Software installation" branch, and will be assigned or published to any users or computers who have the GPO applied to them.

This article was adapted from article 13918 in John Savill's FAQ for Windows.