Distributing Virus Scan Updates with the NSBS Software Distributor

Novell Cool Solutions: Feature
By Daniel Shelley

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Posted: 23 Jun 2000

Current Version: NSBS 5

The NSBS Software Distributor, a.k.a. "Integrate Applications", in NEAT is a simple way to distribute a variety of applications using ZENworks technology. One of the most common uses people have for this is distributing Virus Scan software. Not only do you need to distribute the client engine for, say, McAfee VirusScan, but you also need to be able to quickly distribute the virus DAT update files whenever they are made available. Learn how to do it now, and the next time a virus strikes our global village, you won't miss a beat. In this article we'll cover both kinds of distribution, as well as give you the "inside" information on how the technology works.

The standard ZENworks for Desktops tools like snAppShot can do some very powerful things for your network. The NSBS Software Distributor is a way of accessing the ZENworks for Desktops technology without getting too deep into .AOT files and the like. Rather than taking a snAppShot of an installation and then reproducing the actions on another machine, the NSBS Software Distributor simply copies the installation files out to the server and creates a link to them.

If you want to explore snAppShot, which is something that I would recommend, you will need to re-install ZENworks for Desktops on your NetWare server. The NSBS 5.0 server installation does preinstall ZENworks for Desktops, but it does it in a fairly custom manner so as to conserve space on the server distribution CD. Consequently tools like snAppShot do not get copied over to the server by default. Simply reinstall ZENworks for Desktops from the client CD.

As we get into this there are some caveats to this that you should be aware of. For example, copying a few 650MB CDs out to your SYS volume might cause problems if you don't make appropriate room and/or clean up after yourself. Generally though, pay attention to what the NSBS Software Distributor is doing and read the Overview screen that comes up when the program is first run. It will help you make sense of the following examples.

Distributing Network Associates VirusScan for Windows NT

To start the NSBS Software Distributor, select Tasks, Integrate Applications from the main menu in NEAT or simply run the program directly from SYS:\Public\nsbsdist.exe.
After reading the instructions on the Overview page, select "Network Associates Virus Scan -- NT" from the drop-down box on the second page.
Notice that you can modify all of the contents in any of the fields as well as select from any of the predefined applications.
The settings should be fairly self-explanatory.
- The name of the executable that should be run to launch the install is set in the "Software Settings" page.
- The copy from location and the copy to location are specified on the "Software Copy Paths" page.
  The NSBS Software Distributor will copy all of the files and the directories in the copy from path. A path of e: would, for example, copy everything on that drive. The copy to setting should be on a drive that has sufficient space for the files you are copying. If you have a 2GB SYS volume, you should probably not make it your destination directory.
Next, you should verify that the set of users that you are distributing this to is what you want. This could be a good time to make judicious use of groups.
After examining the summary screen, click Start to begin copying the appropriate CD contents to your server.
When it is finished copying, click Finish.

Your users will immediately be able to launch this application and get the exact same behavior as they would if the CD were in their own computer. A refresh of the NAL explorer may be necessary to view the changes.

Distributing VirusScan DAT updates

A common task at most companies is distributing the latest virus pattern updates. Generally the update can be downloaded from the appropriate web site. The problem then is often the task of running the installation program on each of the individual workstations. The NSBS Software Distributor can help make this chore a little easier.

Start by downloading the executable version of the update to your local hard drive.
Start the NSBS Software Distributor and rather than selecting one of our pre-configured selections, enter your own text into the first field to name your distribution.
In the second field, specify the name of the executable. (For example: DatUpdate.exe.)
Make sure that your update is in its own directory. Pointing the NSBS Software Distributor to the root of your hard drive might not be what you want to do.
In the third field select the directory that the DatUpdate.exe file is located in.
Next, make up a directory like h:\apps\vscan\update1 that you would like to copy this to.
Remember the directory so that you can delete this file after it has outlived its usefulness.
Select the group of users that this update goes to and finish.

You say that was too easy? You're right. You might want to go into NWAdmin and change the attributes of the object so that

It is only run once (go to the Identification page and choose the Run Application Once check box)
The user is forced to run it (go to the Associations page can choose the Force Run check box for the associated group/user/org).

The "folders" page can do some interesting things to keep the start menu from getting cluttered too.

Modifying the NSBS Software Distributor default application list

The list of applications that the NSBS Software Distributor is predefined to work with is in Sys:\public\nls\<lang>\nsbsdist.ini It's a pretty self-explanatory text file including instructions inside the file itself. Inside this file you can predefine the folder settings, executable name, folder that the user sees the application inside, and the operating system restrictions.

Good luck and remember to let us know what you think. Your ideas definitely influence our next product.