VB2005 Application Deployment

[ibanez335]

Hi Everyone,
this is my first post so I hope I don't break any rules/codes of practice.

I have developed an application and produced the appropriate setup files by adding a 'setup project'. I have no problems installing it on a standalone machine. However, I want to install it on a school network using a nominated network drive e.g. Z:.

The application incoporates a simple crystal report and a simple msaccess database which I want to install on Z: alongside the app.config. I then want to add the program to the client application desktops so that they run the program installed on Z:. I also need to distribute the required netframework and ocx files etc to the client machines.

My network technician seems to think I should have two setups. One for the server and another for the client machines.

I'd be really grateful if anyone could give me some pointers.

Thanks in advance

[cutepinkbunnies]

Hi there Ibanez

You'll probably want to look into clickonce deployment, which you can use to deploy your application to a UNC/URL and let the clients install.

The framework can easily be deployed via GPO/WSUS (see your admins about this) or as a prerequisite for your software install. The best part about 2k5 is software is configurable to automatically update when you publish a new version. Read up on that I'm sure will enjoy clickonce.

As far as everything else, you can position whatever you'd like in the code on your network share. Additionally I think you may run into difficulties keeping access stable with > 2 users.

Here is a link for your enjoyment :) Good luck!

[asnider]

Yeah, definitely go with clickonce deployment, but I disagree about the access comment. I work for a company with 20 plus users hitting an access application/database.

Clickonce is very simple to set up, you simply create a publish location (which is typically the same as your update location). Then you make sure to set all the required files to copy always (or if newer). It's also a good idea to go into the Application files button and make sure all your required files are marked REQUIRED. That's the biggest gotcha that I typically run into. Everything else is pretty smooth sailing.

[ibanez335]

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I've only had a glance at clickonce. I thought that you couldn't specify the drive/dir where the install should go but obviously I need to have a proper look at it. Am I right in saying that the app.config gets buried automatically with a random name rather than using a setup project where the app.config is installed alongside the application exe? Also how do I distribute one ocx file to the client machines?. I'm not bad at programming but I'm not savvy on the network side.

The program is a replacement for a VB6 application I wrote to report ICT faults to a help desk for the 400 stations on the school network. The idea was it would give me an excuse to migrate over to vb.net. The msaccess is no problem as it is infrequently used.

Again thanks for the interest you've shown and the suggestions.

Cheers