After you create a package, SMS
creates a PackageID.pkg file on the site server, in the
Sms\Inboxes\Pkginfo.box directory. SMS then replicates the .pkg
file to each of the CAPs. As you create
programs for that package, SMS updates its .pkg file. The remaining
steps in the software distribution process are shown in the
following diagram.
When you specify distribution points
for the package, SMS creates a shared package directory on those
distribution points and then copies the package source files to
those shares.
Note You can restrict access to the
shared package directories by defining
access accounts for the package.
After the package, program, and collection are defined, you can
create an advertisement to send a
program to a collection of clients. After the package data is
copied to the specified distribution points, SMS copies the
advertisement data to the CAPs in the
site.
When you enable
software distribution for a site, SMS installs the Advertised
Programs Client Agent on clients in the site. The agent regularly
checks a CAP in the site for new advertised programs. If the agent
finds an advertisement for the client (which occurs if the client
is a member of a target collection), the program is either
scheduled to run automatically (assigned) or appears in
Advertised Programs Wizard in the client's Control
Panel.
Before the program runs (automatically or when initiated by the
user), the client agent checks the CAP for a list of distribution
points and chooses one. The client agent then uses the package
source files on that distribution point to run the program.
After you distribute the package to distribution points and
create advertisements, you can monitor the status of the package
and advertisements by using the SMS status system. The SMS status
system provides information about the status of packages and
advertisements that you create, and information about the status of
the site itself. The status system has four status summarizers:
Component Status, Site System Status, Package Status, and Advertisement Status, which display
summaries of the status messages they represent.
