neverblog.net

Windows Server 2003 offers systems administrators a new* and exciting tool for deploying applications across the domain: MSI deployment with Group Policy using Active Directory. Basically, if you can turn any app setup into an MSI, you can easily push it to any and all machines on your domain through Group Policy. Using the silent flag for msiexec, you can make these installs completely automatic, with no user interaction whatsoever. When your user boots up the machine, there is a slight delay while the MSI installs, advertised by a small dialog box in the top left corner, which indicates what app is being installed. After the install is complete, the user will be logged in completely normally, with the new app available to them. For a detailed walkthrough on deploying your app through Group Policy, click here. You can also read the Microsoft documentation here.

* I know, Microsoft claims this worked in Server 2000. Did you try it?
.msi, GPO, active directory, app deployment, application deployment, deploy application, group policy, install application remotely, msi, remotely deploy msi, systems administrator