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Deploy Adobe packages with ARD

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When preparing a package for deployment in Mac OS, the package should be created and stored in Mac OS. It is possible for the references in a Mac OS package to become corrupted if copied and stored in Windows.

Preparation

Before you begin to deploy the Adobe deployment package, make sure the following conditions are met:

  • Remote Management is enabled on all target systems. You can enable this from the System Preferences pane; click Sharing. In the resulting window, select Remote Management in the left pane and select the sharing features you want to enable. Check the ARD documentation for recommendations; for example, “Copy Items” and “Delete and Replace Items” should be selected for deploying packages. Deployment Component Reference.
  • The Adobe package you plan to deploy is on or accessible from your administrative machine.
  • You have already defined an ARD group that includes all the target systems to which you want to deploy the Adobe package. 
  • You have sufficient free memory to deploy on all target systems. This includes space to copy the deployment package to the target system, in addition to the installed size of the deployed products.

Allowing user to specify installation location

If you selected “Specify directory during deployment” when configuring an installation deployment package, you must modify the created package before deploying it through ARD.

Make the following change in the created PKG install package:

  1. Open the Contents/Info.plist file in the PKG install package.

  2. Modify the value of the IFPkgFlagDefaultLocation tag to be the absolute target folder path. For example:
    /Volumes/<Volume_name>/<Folder_name>

    or if deploying to the root volume:
    /<Folder_name>

    If you plan to Deploy using Copy Items and Send UNIX Command, specify the folder name; you will pass the Volume name with the installer command.

    When you have made this modification, you can proceed to deploy the package using ARD, as described below.

Package deployment

  1. Start ARD on your admin system.

  2. Select the target machines.

    In the left pane of the ARD main window, select the desired computer list, and verify the target machines in the right pane.

  3. Set up install packages.

    Select the 'Install Packages' option of ARD and add the install package to be deployed.

    Choose whether to restart, whether you want to run this task from this application or task server, and other options as desired. If you choose "Run this task from: Task server on this computer", the task server will push the task to any systems that were not online when task was initiated.

    If you wish, you can schedule the installation task for a later time. To do this, click Schedule in the lower left corner of the Install Packages window; then, in the Schedule Task window, enter the time and date at which you want to install the package.

  4. Install to the target systems.

    If you have not scheduled the task for a later time, check the availability of all target machines listed in the Name area at the bottom of the Install Packages window. When you click Install, installation immediately begins on all listed targets.

    If you have scheduled the task for a later time, click Install. Before the time at which the task is scheduled to begin, make sure that all target machines listed in the Name area of the Install Packages window are in a quiet state with no active users, but are active to receive the command.

    When the Install Packages task is executed, its status is shown in the ARD window. When the process completes, the status is updated accordingly.

    Caution:

    Do not stop install/uninstall tasks through ARD. If you attempt to do so, the operation may continue even if the ARD window indicates that it has stopped.

    Because of the package structure created by the Adobe Application Manager Enterprise Edition, the progress bar displayed while deploying through ARD is not helpful. It either shows 0% when complete (in macOS 10.5) or remains at about 95% for most of the time (in macOS 10.6).

Update packages

  • Update packages are created with a name in the form <pkg_name>_Update.pkg.
  • Update packages cannot be uninstalled.

Troubleshooting

Package deployment through ARD can fail if the user state changes during deployment; that is, if a user logs in or out, or you switch users. If you use the task server, the task may start deploying the same package immediately after the state change, which may fail. This is standard ARD behavior. If it occurs, simply redeploy.

Deploy using Copy Items and Send UNIX command

As an alternative to using the “Install Packages” option, you can use the “Copy Items” task to copy the package task to the target system and then run “Send UNIX Command” to run the installer and deploy the copied package.

  1. Start ARD on your admin system. 

  2. Select the target machines. In the left pane of the ARD main window, select the desired computer list, and verify the target machines in the right pane.

  3. Set up install packages.

    1. Select the Copy Items option of ARD and add the install package to be deployed.
    2. Select the destination to which you want to copy the package on the target machines.
    Note:

    If you want the target to the be the boot drive, specify / after -target Install to the target systems.

  4. Select the Send Unix Command option of ARD:

    1. Select Run command as: User.
    2. Enter root in the user field.
    3. Pass the volume name with the installer command:
      sudo installer -pkg -target <Volume_Location>
    Note:

    If you want the target to be the boot drive, specify / after -target.

Uninstalling Adobe software with a deployment package

Note:

Uninstall packages are not created for update packages.

The installation deployment package contains a file named <package_name>_Uninstall.pkg, which you use to uninstall the software that you installed with the corresponding install file, <package_name>_Install.pkg. The steps are similar to those you followed to install the software.

  1. Select the target systems. In the left pane of the main ARD window, select the group that contains the target systems on which you installed the software using a deployment package.

  2. Run the Install Packages task for the uninstall package on the target systems.

    • Select the 'Install Packages' option of ARD and add the uninstall package (or drag it to the packages pane).
    • Click Install.

  3. When the task is executed, its status is shown in the ARD window. When the process completes, the status is updated accordingly.

    Caution:

    Do not stop install/uninstall tasks through ARD. If you attempt to do so, the operation may continue even if the ARD window indicates that it has stopped.

Uninstall using Copy Items and Send Unix Command

If you deployed using this method, use the same method to uninstall, copying and invoking the uninstall package instead of the install package.

  1. Select the target machines.

    In the left pane of the ARD main window, select the desired computer list, and verify the target machines in the right pane.

  2. Set up uninstall packages.

    • Select the Copy Items option of ARD and add the uninstall package to be deployed.
    • Select the destination to which you want to copy the package on the target machines.

Further reading

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