Due to restrictions in the NT security architecture, the steps outlined on pages 20-23 of the netOctopus User's Guide for a pull install of the netOctopus PC Agent via a login script may fail under certain circumstances. This is not a limitation of netOctopus but is caused by certain Windows NT/2000 domain configurations.

For maintenance customers with access to the netOctopus Enterprise Resource Center, it is recommended that you use the netOctopus netDeploy utility instead of this procedure. The netOctopus netDeploy utility provides additional functionality not provided by the scripts mentioned below.

This how-to document provides instructions for an alternative push installation for the netOctopus Agent for those customers that do not have access to the netOctopus netDeploy tool. While this procedure must be performed on a per machine basis it allows the administrator to perform the initial distribution of the netOctopus PC Agent without having to physically go to each Windows NT/2000 client.

1. Log on to a sample machine under an administrator account with administrative privileges to install software on the client machines that you want to push the netOctopus PC Agent to.
2. Install the netOctopus Agent on this sample machine.
3. Copy the entire contents of the \Program Files\netOctopus Agent installation directory to a temporary directory:

   charconversion.dll
   Deinstall.exe
   execstub.exe
   Install.log
   Modules
   NA32.LOG
   na32vxd.vxd
   nal009.dll
   namsg.dll
   nant.exe
   nantauth.dll
   nantsecc.exe
   nantsp95.dll
   nantspnt.dll
   nantsys.sys
   NAPREFS.INI
   naspawne.exe
   naspwn16.exe
   naswdiff.ini
   nauninst.dll
   netolist.txt
   setup.inf
   uninstal.log
   \AdmDiff\default.swp
   \Modules\na32ui.dll
   \Modules\na9516.dll
   \Modules\nasm16.dll
   \Modules\naswdiff.dll
   \Modules\NCMChangeNameModule.dll
   \Modules\nmod95.dll
   \Modules\nmodnt.dll
   \Modules\nmodxnt.dll
   \Modules\nnet.dll
   \Modules\nusbmodule.dll

4. Delete the following files from this temporary directory if they exist:

   install.log
   na32.log
   uititle.ini
   naprefs.ini
   AdmDiff\*.*

5. Use Windows Explorer to connect to the hidden administrative share for the hard drive of the client machine using a UNC pathname, typically \\TARGET\C$. This can also be done at the command prompt by mapping a drive letter with the net use command.
6. Copy the contents of the temporary directory created in step 3 to \\TARGET\C$\Program Files\netOctopus Agent.
7. Use the Service Installation Wizard (SRVINSTW.EXE) from the Windows NT Resource Kit to remotely add the netOctopus Agent service to the remote machine. Use the following options:

      Service name: netOctopus Agent
      Executable path: C:\Program Files\netOctopus Agent\nant.exe
      Type of service: Service is its own process
      Security credentials: System Account, check Allow Service to Interact with Desktop
      Startup type: Automatic

8. Once the service has been added successfully, connect to the remote client machine using either Server Manager for NT or the Computer Management applet on Windows 2000 and start the netOctopus Agent service. This can also be done at the command prompt with the NETSVC.EXE utility from the NT Resource Kit.
9. Launch the netOctopus Administrator and update the netOctopus Agent on this machine using Execute PC Installer. If you neglect to perform this step the netOctopus Agent will be unable to deliver information like PCI slot information to the Administrator console. This is because the preceding procedure does not activate the netOctopus driver required to obtain this information from the operating system. However, updating the Agent will resolve this issue by activating the required driver.

   

To help expedite the above procedures for pushing out the PC Agent to Windows NT/2000 Agents, two scripts (napush.bat and netosrv.exe) are provided as a courtesy to Netopia's customers. For these to work correctly you will need to place them in the same directory as the aforementioned SRVINSTW.EXE and NETSVC.EXE utlities from the Windows NT Resource Kit.

1. Log on to a sample machine under an administrator account with administrative privileges to install software on the client machines that you want to push the netOctopus PC Agent to.
2. Install the netOctopus Agent on this sample machine.
3. Open a command line session and run the napush.bat script. This script will copy the required Agent files from the current installation on your sample machine to the system that you want to deploy the netOctopus Agent on (replaces steps 3-6 in above procedure). Run napush.bat by itself without any options to get instructions on usage.

   napush c c titania

4. In the same command line session after the napush.bat script is done, run the netosrv.exe script. This script will install and start the netOctopus Agent service on the remote Agent machine (replaces steps 7-8 in above procedure). Run netosrv.exe by itself without any options to get instructions on usage.

   netosrv c titania

5. Launch the netOctopus Administrator and update the netOctopus Agent on this machine using Execute PC Installer. If you neglect to perform this step the netOctopus Agent will be unable to deliver information like PCI slot information to the Administrator console. This is because the preceding procedure does not activate the netOctopus driver required to obtain this information from the operating system. However, updating the Agent will resolve this issue by activating the required driver.