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You can choose from several different approaches for installing and deploying Extra!. Deciding which approach to use is typically based on a variety of factors, including your approved business processes, the scale of the deployment, your deployment tools, and whether you want to customize the installation.
For example, a small-scale deployment might consist of installing Extra! on a few workstations, whereas an enterprise-wide deployment would probably involve extensive customization and testing.
Before you start, review the following best practices for your deployment and the administrative tools provided by Extra!
Large-scale terminal emulation deployments have significant risks in terms of delays, cost, and user acceptance. Performing a high level assessment allows you to identify risks at an early stage, and plan mitigation strategies to address them. Be sure to:
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Develop communication plans Develop plans to communicate with user groups and key personnel throughout the process to avoid the communication problems that are common to many deployments. User organizations may not be aware of their licensing options, when they have to upgrade, or which resources and information to provide. IT staff are sometimes unaware of desktop macros and other customization files that are required for user groups. |
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Coordinate to make sure all stakeholder needs are met Make certain all user groups, IT, and stakeholders are “on the same page” and are prepared regarding what is needed, schedules, and expectations. |
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Define high level requirements Define high level requirements by collecting and analyzing all the information required to define and prioritize needs, address user concerns, and improve user acceptance. |
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Define resource requirements Define resource requirements to determine how many and what type of resources your deployment requires. |
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Assess customization requirements Assess your current environment to determine which customizations are required for user acceptance. Be sure to address special security requirements or other needs such as file transfer. |
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Assess risks Assess the risks of application compatibility and user acceptance. |
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Perform a high level analysis of your solution Make sure your deployment solution complies with new security mandates, reduces maintenance, meets productivity requirements and still has good user acceptance. |
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Define user requirements Define user requirements for each user group to determine the priorities for this group and special needs such as file transfer capability or security requirements. |
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Inventory User Desktops Inventory desktops to assess how many vendor products and files are being used in the existing configuration. |
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Identify integration needs Identify needs for integration with HLLAPI or other applications that use your terminal emulation software. |
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Package, test, and deploy to selective user groups and conduct pilots to minimize user disruption. Be sure to test for both technical issues and user acceptance. |
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Deploy customized files to the correct locations Extra! looks for session files and supporting custom files in specific locations. If you deploy one of these files to another location, Extra! will be unable to find it. |
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Ensure your user systems meet Extra!’s Requirements To make sure users have the Extra! hardware and software requirements |
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Follow guidelines for setting up security certificates You can configure certificate authentication for both Secure Shell and SSL/TLS connections. All SSL/TLS sessions require certificates for host authentication; without the necessary certificate, you cannot make a host connection. Depending on the host configuration, you may also need to install certificates for user authentication. Secure Shell sessions typically require both host and user authentication. Certificates can be used for either host and/or user authentication, but are not required by default. |
Extra! uses the Microsoft Windows Installer application installation and configuration service. The Windows Installer gets installation information from a relational database, which is saved and deployed as a Microsoft MSI file. When you deploy an MSI file to a user workstation, the Windows Installer on the workstation accesses the information in the MSI file to perform the installation.
Use the following tools to customize and deploy Extra!. These tools are installed as part of the administrative install image.
The Setup (setup.exe) is the recommended tool for installing and deploying Extra!. This tool uses the primary Extra! MSI file to install Extra! but it also installs prerequisite software (if needed) and has several other features that provide a smoother deployment than installing directly with the primary Extra! MSI file. When the Setup Program installs Extra!, it automatically uses the correct language for the installation and removes previous versions of Extra!.
The Setup program has a command-line interface that you can run from a command line, a batch file, or a deployment tool. You can set command-line options to preset installation parameters and limit user interaction as Extra! is installing. You can also suppress installation dialog boxes to provide an unattended installation or use command-line options to prepare Extra! for installation by users. In general, any of the MSI command-line options can be used from the Setup program command line.
To see a list of available command-line parameters, enter:
setup.exe /?
You can use the Customization Installation Wizard (CIW) tool to create transforms and package your custom configuration files in companion MSI files that can be installed independently of your product installation, just as you have on previous releases of Extra!.
You can use the Installation Customization Tool (ICT) to customize Extra! or customize the way it is installed. The tool lets you create the following files:
Companion installer package (MSI). This package contains the customized configuration settings and files that you choose to deploy with the installation (or independently). Companion packages show up as independent entries in the Windows list of installed applications.
Transform file (MST). This file modifies the default installation to change how Extra! is installed (For example, remove a command button in the Windows Uninstall or change a program list). When the transform is deployed along with the Extra! MSI file, it changes the default installation settings to the settings specified in the MST file.
This tool is accessed by running setup.exe from the command line with the admin switch (setup.exe/admin). To simplify working with this tool, you can create a desktop shortcut to the Setup program and add the admin switch on the command line as shown in the online Help available when you open the tool.