70.1 Using GroupWise AutoUpdate and SetupIP to Distribute the GroupWise Windows Client

The GroupWise Windows client Setup program includes an AutoUpdate feature that helps you keep users’ Windows client software up to date. Each time the GroupWise Windows client starts, it checks with the POA for the user’s post office to find out if new Windows client software is available in the post office’s software distribution directory. When new Windows client software is available and AutoUpdate is enabled, the Windows client Setup program can prompt the user to update or install the updated software automatically, thus forcing the user to update.

The AutoUpdate process is controlled by the setup configuration file (setup.cfg). A default setup configuration file is provided in the following directory:

software_distribution_directory\client

To control how the Windows client Setup program functions when updated software is detected, you create a customized version of the setup.cfg file and copy it to the win32 subdirectory where the Windows client Setup program (setup.exe) is located.

NOTE:This section does not apply to updating the Linux/Mac client. Instead, see Section 70.3, Using ZENworks Linux Management to Distribute the GroupWise Linux Client.

If you want the AutoUpdate process to install the GroupWise Windows client software from a software distribution directory on a Linux server, refer to TID 7003968 in the Novell Knowledgebase if you need assistance setting up the connection to the Linux server.

70.1.1 Understanding the Setup Configuration File

The setup configuration file (setup.cfg) is an ASCII text file that supports extended ASCII characters. The file contains the responses normally provided by the user during the installation of the Windows client software; for example, the path for the client software and the folder for the GroupWise desktop icon are specified in this file. In addition, information can be added to the setup configuration file to add predefined LDAP directory service accounts to the Address Book in the client during installation.

When the GroupWise Windows client Setup program (setup.exe) is executed, it looks in the same directory for a setup.cfg file. If none is found, the installation proceeds, prompting the user for the needed information. If the setup.cfg file is found, the client Setup program proceeds, using the information specified in the setup configuration file. Depending on the entries in the setup configuration file, the user might or might not be prompted to provide information during the installation.

The setup configuration file is divided into the following sections. In the setup configuration file, each section head must be enclosed in brackets [ ] as shown.

[GroupWiseSetup]

Version=

This entry must match the version being installed; otherwise, the Setup program does not use setup.cfg. The default is 8.0.

Path=

This entry specifies the path where you want the GroupWise Windows client to be installed. The default path for GroupWise 8 is c:\Program Files\Novell\Groupwise.

Earlier versions of GroupWise defaulted to c:\novell\groupwise.

Folder=

This entry creates and installs the GroupWise client shortcuts to the specified folder in the user’s Start menu. The default folder is Novell GroupWise.

LaunchMessenger=

This optional entry specifies whether Novell Messenger should be launched when GroupWise starts. The default is No.

LaunchNotify=

This optional entry specifies whether GroupWise Notify should be launched when GroupWise starts. The default is No.

OutlookFirewallException=

This entry specifies whether Outlook should be added to the Windows XP Firewall exceptions list. The default is Yes (add Outlook to the exceptions list).

GWMailTo=

This entry specifies whether the GroupWise Windows client should be the default e-mail application in your Web browser. The default is Yes, so that the Internet Browser Mail Integration is installed along with the GroupWise client.

IPAddress=

This optional entry specifies the IP address for the client to always use. Use this setting to set the IP address per post office when using multiple post offices.

IPPort=

This optional entry specifies the IP port for the client to always use.

DefaultIPAddress=

This optional entry specifies the default IP address for the client to use the first time it is started. This should be an IP address that everyone on the system has access to.

DefaultIPPort=

This optional entry specifies the default IP port for the client to use the first time it is started.

StopService=

This entry is used when you are running integrated third-party software along with the GroupWise client, and that software might be locking some GroupWise client DLLs. If GroupWise client DLLs are locked, the GroupWise client software cannot be installed. Specify the service for the client Setup program to stop before it installs the GroupWise client software. Use the name as it appears in the list provided by Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Services. You can stop only one service before installing the client software.

[ShowSetup]

ShowDialogs=

Specify No to hide dialog boxes during the installation. Specify Yes to show the dialog boxes. The default is Yes.

If an entry is missing from the setup.cfg file and ShowDialogs=Yes, the Setup program selects the default setting. If ShowDialogs=No, the Setup program prompts the user for a selection.

ShowProgress=

Specify Yes to show the progress indicator during the installation. Specify No to hide the progress indicator during installation. The default is Yes.

Show Finish=

Specify Yes to display the Finish dialog box after the installation. Specify No to hide this dialog box. The default is Yes.

[AutoUpdate]

When you enable AutoUpdate, you can configure the AutoUpdate process to prompt the user to update or to install the software automatically, thus forcing the user to update.

Enabled=

Specify Yes if you want users to be prompted to update their GroupWise client software as soon as a newer version is available. Specify No if you want to disable the AutoUpdate feature. The ForceUpdate= entry is then ignored. This can be useful if you intend to distribute the client software by using a different method such as ZENworks Desktop Management, or if you want to disable AutoUpdates at the post office level during a migration to a newer version of GroupWise. The default is Yes.

SetupIPEnabled=

The default is No. Specify Yes if you want to use AutoUpdate over an IP connection to a Web server instead of a mapped drive to a software distribution directory.

ForceUpdate=

When this entry is set to Yes, GroupWise automatically updates the users’ client software. The default is No.

Users can still click Cancel to cancel the update; however, they cannot run the Windows client software to access their mailboxes until they update the software.

GraceLoginCount=

Specify the number of grace logins allowed before you require the users to update their client software. If ForceUpdate=No, this entry is ignored.

PromptUntilUpdated=

When PromptUntilUpdated=Yes, the user is prompted to update the client software each time the GroupWise client starts. The user can choose not to install the new software when prompted and still run the currently installed version of the client. The AutoUpdate reminder appears the next time the user starts the client. The default is No.

[Startup]

Notify=

If you specify Yes, the Setup program places Notify in the Windows Startup folder to be started automatically when the computer starts. The default is No.

[GWCheck]

This section installs and enables GroupWise Check (GWCheck). GWCheck is a tool that performs maintenance and repair tasks on users’ mailboxes to keep GroupWise operating efficiently. It is essentially a standalone version of the Mailbox/Library Maintenance feature available in GroupWise Administration in ConsoleOne. GWCheck checks and repairs GroupWise user, message, library, and resource databases without having ConsoleOne and the GroupWise snap-in loaded. In addition to checking post office, user, and library databases, it also checks Caching, Remote, and archive databases.

InstallGWCheck=

Specify Yes to install GWCheck files to the workstation. Specify No to not install GWCheck. The default is Yes.

GWCheckEnabled=

Specify Yes to install the files to the same directory as the GroupWise client, which results in the Repair Mailbox option being enabled under the Tools menu in the client. Specify No to install the files in a GWCheck subdirectory below the GroupWise client directory, which disables the Repair Mailbox option until the files are manually copied into the GroupWise directory. The default is No.

[IntegrationApps]

GroupWise installs integration for the following applications, if found, unless the entry is set to No.

  • Microsoft Excel

  • Microsoft Word

  • Microsoft PowerPoint

  • Corel Presentations

  • Corel Quattro Pro

  • Corel WordPerfect

  • OpenOffice Calc

  • OpenOffice Draw

  • OpenOffice Writer

  • OpenOffice Impress

[Languages]

The default language is set to English, and all other languages are set to No, meaning they are not installed. See the setup.cfg file for a listing of the different languages.

70.1.2 Adding LDAP Directory Service Accounts to the Setup Configuration File

LDAP directory service accounts provide users with the ability to search directory services such as Bigfoot for names and e-mail addresses of people. Each search can check potentially millions of names. After locating a name through a directory service search, users can add those names and e-mail addresses to their personal address books.

You can add predefined LDAP directory service accounts to the Address Book by adding information to setup.cfg. This information can be added even after the initial installation. After the accounts are added, this information does not need to be removed from setup.cfg. During subsequent installations, GroupWise adds any new accounts listed but does not update or duplicate existing LDAP accounts.

The user can also choose to add LDAP directory service accounts after the GroupWise client is installed, as described in Using the LDAP Address Book in Contacts and Address Books in the GroupWise 8 Windows Client User Guide.

To add an LDAP address book during installation, add the following lines to the setup.cfg file, providing information that is specific to the LDAP account:

[LDAP Account 1]
Description=Ldap Server1
Server=ldap.server1.com
Port=389
SearchRoot=c=us
Login=TRUE

You can add multiple accounts:

[LDAP Account 2]
Description=Ldap Server2
Server=ldap.server2.com
Port=389
SearchRoot=0=widget, c=us
Login=FALSE

Parameter

Description

Description=

The name that displays in the list of LDAP directory services in the Address Book.

Server=

The LDAP server name or IP address.

Port=

The LDAP directory service’s port number. The number is usually 389.

SearchRoot=

The base or root of the LDAP directory service where the user searches for names. For example, the base could be a country, organization, or other type of grouping. This is not required for all LDAP directory services. If a search root is required, the LDAP directory service provides the information.

Login=

TRUE means users are prompted for a username and password when they use that LDAP directory service.

70.1.3 Preparing Your Software Distribution Directory to Support AutoUpdate

During the installation of GroupWise Administration, you had the opportunity to plan and set up a software distribution directory, as described in GroupWise Software Distribution Directory in Installing a Basic GroupWise System in the GroupWise 8 Installation Guide. If you selected Client when you initially created your software distribution directory, the GroupWise Windows client software was copied from the GroupWise 8 DVD or downloaded GroupWise 8 software image into the client subdirectory of the software distribution directory. The default location of the software distribution directory varies by platform:

NetWare:

sys:\grpwise\software

Windows:

c:\grpwise\software

If your software distribution directory already contains the Windows client software, skip to the instructions for the type of client installation you want to perform:

If you have not yet copied the Windows client software to the software distribution directory, you must do so before you can use AutoUpdate.

  1. Start the GroupWise Installation program.

  2. Click Install GroupWise System, click Yes to accept the License Agreement, then click Next to accept a standard installation.

  3. Select Install Individual Components and deselect GroupWise Agents, so that only GroupWise Administration is selected, then click Next.

  4. Deselect Install Administration Files, so that only Copy Files to a Software Distribution Directory is selected, then click Next.

  5. Specify or browse to and select your software distribution directory, then click Next.

  6. Select GroupWise Client for Windows, then click Next.

  7. Review your selections, then click Install.

  8. When the client software files have been copied to the software distribution directory, click Finish.

    For an explanation of the contents of the client subdirectory, see Software Distribution Directory in GroupWise 8 Troubleshooting 3: Message Flow and Directory Structure.

  9. If you want to distribute the client software from a mapped network drive, continue with Preparing for Client Software Installation from a Mapped Drive.

    or

    If you want to distribute the client software from a Web server, so that the client users do not need access rights to the software distribution directory, skip to Section 70.1.5, Preparing for Client Software Installation from a Web Server.

70.1.4 Preparing for Client Software Installation from a Mapped Drive

  1. Make sure that client users have a drive mapped to the software distribution directory.

  2. Make sure that users have Read and Scan rights to the following locations in the software distribution directory:

  3. Skip to Section 70.1.6, Customizing the Setup Configuration File.

70.1.5 Preparing for Client Software Installation from a Web Server

When you copied the Windows client software to the software distribution directory, the files required for installing the client from a Web server were copied to:

software_distribution_directory\admin\utility\setupip

SetupIP can be configured to install the Windows client software from Apache on NetWare and Linux, and from Internet Information Service (IIS) on Windows.

In the setupip subdirectory, all language-independent client software files are included in the setupip.fil file. There is a separate setupip.language_code file for each client language (setupip.de, setupip.fr, and so on) that contains all client software files for the language indicated by the language code. If you copy multiple SetupIP files to the Web server, users are prompted for which languages they want to install.

  1. Create a directory for the SetupIP files in the document root directory of your Web server, for example:

    Apache on NetWare:

    sys:\apache2\htdocs\setupip

    Apache on Linux:

    /srv/www/htdocs/setupip

    IIS on Windows:

    c:\InetPub\wwwroot\setupip

  2. Browse to the following subdirectory in your software distribution directory:

    \software_distribution_directory\admin\utility\setupip

  3. Copy the setupip.fil file and any language-specific setupip.language_code files for languages you want to install, from the setupip directory to the directory you created in Step 1 on the Web server.

  4. In the setupip directory, run writeip.exe.

    WriteIP dialog box

  5. Specify an IP location for the setupip.fil file.

    For example, you can specify:

    http://172.16.5.18/gw8/client

    or

    http://intranet.company.com/software/gw8/gwclient

    You can include proxy and port information, for example:

    • http://name.mycompany.com/software/gw8/
    •                             client;proxy.place.mycompany:1690

    You can specify as many as five locations. During AutoUpdate, each location is checked, in order, until a connection is made.

  6. (Optional) Select Choose IP Address at Random so that the order in which the locations are checked is selected randomly when AutoUpdate occurs.

    This balances the load on the Web server.

  7. Select download options:

    Download to a Temporary Directory: Select this option to download the client software into a temporary directory that is automatically deleted after the user installs the updated client software.

    Download to a Specific Directory: Select this option to control where and how the client software is downloaded.

    • Path: Specify the directory where you want SetupIP to download the client software.

    • Delete Install Files after Install Is Complete: Select this option to clean up the user’s workstation after the client software is installed.

    • Download Only New and Updated Files: Select this option to shorten download time by downloading only new and modified software files.

    • Allow the User to Change the Download Directory: Select this option to prompt the user for the location to download the software files.

  8. Click OK to create a customized setupip.exe file based on the settings you selected.

    The writeip.ini file is also created, which stores the options you selected using writeip.exe.

  9. Copy the custom setupip.exe file to the win32 subdirectory so that it resides in the same directory with the client Setup program (setup.exe).

  10. Configure your Web server to support SetupIP:

    Apache on NetWare:

    1. Use a text editor to edit the sys:\apache2\conf\httpd.conf file.

    2. Add the following lines, assuming that setupip is the directory you created on the Web server in Step 1.

      Alias /setupip "SYS:/apache2/htdocs/setupip/"
<Directory "SYS:/apache2/htdocs/setupip">
    Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
    AllowOverride None
    Order allow,deny
    Allow from all        
</Directory>

    3. Save the file.

    4. Restart Apache on the NetWare system console screen.

    Apache on Linux:

    1. Use a text editor to edit the /etc/apache2/httpd.conf file.

    2. Add the following lines to the file:

      <Directory /srv/www/htdocs/setupip>
   Options Indexes
</Directory>

      On the Directory line, specify the directory that you created in Step 1.

    3. Save the file.

    4. Restart Apache:

      rcapache2 restart

    IIS on Windows

    1. At the Windows server, click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

    2. Expand the Local Computer object, then expand the Web Sites folder.

    3. Right-click your Web site, then click Properties.

    4. On the Home Directory tab, select Directory Browsing, then click OK.

    5. Restart IIS:

      Click Start > Administrative Tools > Services. Right-click World Wide Web Publishing Service, then click Restart.

  11. Continue with Customizing the Setup Configuration File.

70.1.6 Customizing the Setup Configuration File

  1. Browse to the following directory:

    software_distribution_directory\client

  2. Make a backup copy of the setup.cfg file.

  3. Use an ASCII text editor to edit the setup.cfg file entries with the values you want.

    1. Under the [AutoUpdate] heading, specify:

      Enabled=Yes

    2. (Conditional) If you want the GroupWise client software to be updated automatically, specify:

      ForceUpdate=Yes

      or

      If you want users to be prompted to update their client software, specify

      ForceUpdate=No

    3. (Conditional) If you are forcing users to update, set the number of grace logins you want to allow before forcing an AutoUpdate; for example, specify:

      GraceLoginCount=2

      This entry is ignored if ForceUpdate=No. If users are merely prompted to update, they can decline indefinitely.

    4. (Conditional) If you are using SetupIP, as described in Section 70.1.5, Preparing for Client Software Installation from a Web Server, specify:

      SetupIPEnabled=Yes

  4. Change other setup configuration entries as needed.

    For information about other entries in the setup.cfg file, see Section 70.1.1, Understanding the Setup Configuration File.

  5. Save the setup.cfg file.

  6. Copy the updated setup.cfg file from the client directory to the win32 subdirectory, so that it is in the same directory with the setup.exe file.

    If you want different settings for users who are installing from a Web server, you can create another customized setup.cfg file and copy it to a win32 subdirectory under the directory you created on your Web server in Step 1 in Section 70.1.5, Preparing for Client Software Installation from a Web Server.

  7. Continue with Section 70.1.7, Enabling AutoUpdate in ConsoleOne.

70.1.7 Enabling AutoUpdate in ConsoleOne

  1. Log in to ConsoleOne as an Admin equivalent.

  2. Click Tools > GroupWise System Operations > Software Directory Management.

    Software Distribution Directory Management dialog box

  3. Select the software distribution directory, then click Update.

    Update Software Distribution Directory dialog box

  4. If the client software is being installed from a mapped drive, select Update by Copying From, then select Software Distribution Directory or browse to and select another location.

  5. Select Force Auto-Update Check by GroupWise Components, then click OK.

The next time each client user starts the Windows client, the client detects that the software version in the software distribution directory has been updated. It launches the client Setup program, which runs according to the setting you have provided in the setup.cfg file.

If a mapped drive to the software distribution directory is found, the client software is installed from the mapped drive. If a mapped drive to the software distribution directory is not found, the Setup program looks at the IP locations you specified in writeip.ini and installs the client software using by SetupIP.

If no connection to a software distribution directory can be made, the setupip.err file is created in c:\windows on the user’s workstation. This file explains why none of the connections could be made.

70.1.8 Error Log File

If an error occurs during the software update and ShowDialogs=No in the setup.cfg file, the error message is logged in the gwsetup.err file in the user’s c:\windows directory. The log file is an ASCII text file.

If you add ErrorMessage=error_text as the last entry under the [GroupWiseSetup] section in the setup.cfg file, the specified error text is displayed. Otherwise, a generic error message is displayed, notifying the user to contact the system administrator.

70.1.9 Disabling Your AutoUpdate Customizations

To stop the client Setup program (setup.exe) from using the setup configuration file (setup.cfg), delete setup.cfg from the win32 subdirectory where setup.exe resides. Without a setup.cfg file, the Setup program offers the user all client installation options to choose from.