Advanced Distribution: Pre-Installing Applications

Novell® ZENworksTM Desktop Management lets you to distribute portions of an application to a workstation before the user launches the application the first time. Because you can schedule the distribution, you can perform an off-line, or lights-out, distribution of the application and save the user some of the wait typically associated with a distribution. For example, you could pre-install the application after work hours so the application is ready to use the next day.

With a pre-install, all workstation-related distribution processes (file copying, modifying text files, .ini files, and workstation registry settings) are performed prior to launching of the application. When the user launches the application, the user-specific distribution processes (modifying user registry keys and so forth) are completed.

The following sections provide information for pre-installing applications: