Install Chocolatey

Automation Scripts - Library - (ITarian will write
1

Hi All,

Not sure what others are using for package management on their endpoints so I have started looking into using chocolatey, I have set up a procedure to install it onto a computer.
I will then look at making a few other procedures to install and/or update different bits of software.

PS this requires Powershell v3 to be installed on the computer which I believe is windows 8 and newer by default


import subprocess;
process=subprocess.Popen(('powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "iwr https://chocolatey.org/install.ps1 -UseBasicParsing | iex"'),shell=True,stdout=subprocess.PIPE);
stdout=process.communicate()[0]
print stdout
2

Then once its installed you can use a procedure to install some software, in this case adobe reader


import subprocess;
process=subprocess.Popen(('choco install adobereader -y -allowEmptyChecksums'),shell=True,stdout=subprocess.PIPE);
stdout=process.communicate()[0]
print stdout
3

What is your reason/purpose in using Chocolatey? What problem exactly are you trying to solve please?

4

Hi Melih,

Its so that I can have a list of software packages that I can pushout to computers without needing to manually do it on an endpoint. So say I do a reinstall of windows and want Adobe Reader, open office, paint.net installed, I set up a procedure and they I can just press a button to install those packages. I had previously been using ketarin on a USB stick which is great when you are at at a computer.

I am used to using SCCM and linking computers up to software advertisements so that I know that a specific set of applications will be installed on a specific set of computers

Hope that makes sense

EDIT: I like apt-get on Ubuntu and was thinking that that feature on windows would be really handy, I haven’t used chocolatey before but it does appear to give that same functionality

5

@doughast We will be publishing a new Auto Discovery and Deployment Tool very soon. Please have a look at it once it is out. We would love to get your feedback. Please free to add additional functionality we can provide in the tool.

https://forum.mspconsortium.com/foru…eployment-tool

6

I saw it just after, sounds like it may fill the gap, I will have to check it out when it’s available

7

@dougaust The tool is published. Please give it a try and let us know what do you think.

8

I have not yet run the Auto Discovery and Deployment Tool (I have installed it to have a look at it) but I am assuming that this tool is designed for local network deployment of software?

This will not replace my need for something like chocolately because most of the devices I support are not located on a single network

What I will be looking at setting up is a script that will install a specific set of software that will be my Standard Operating Environment list of applications
If I onboard a new device or set up a fresh OS install I would like to click a single button to run a script that will install that software for me with no interaction by me once the device is enrolled.
This software along with patch management will then allow me to keep those applications up to date

Hope this makes sense

Thanks

9

This tool might be covering bulk enrollment for devices that you manage however, they don’t need to be on the same network as long as you can access them and have a common account.

Also, ITSM has scripting that you can distribute and install any software any time.

Apart from those, I agree that, we should build our Patch Management component to install any selected app or apps to any device in the beginning (just like you described as need) and also keep them updated once installed. I think this would address your specific need and would be much better / easier than Chocolatey.

Ilker

10

Yes that does sound like it may be what I am after.
Ideally it would need to be a system that allows you to select from a list of commonly used applications that you can then assign to a computer and then the software will take care of the rest and look after the update cycle also.

I am just very used to having SCCM where we have AD groups set up for the software and we add computers into that group and then we forget about it and let SCCM do its work

11

how do you see the role of SCCM within C1? Does our new deployment tool replace that? If not do you want it to replace or you want it to work with SCCM?

thank you!

12

Sorry SCCM is for a different work place and I don’t use them together, I would just like to be able to deploy software from C1 or via a procedure in a similar way, being able to advertise or at least push a selected list of software to a particular computer or set of computers and keep them up to date. Looking at the deployment tool it appears that I can get some of that function on the same network which I think is useful but for my situation most of the computers I will look after will hardly ever be on at the same time and will never be on the same network

13

so what other features/capabilities would you want to see in our deployment tool please?(tell us everything you want and want to see in a deployment tool, we will get it done)

14

Hi Melih,

I can see the deployment tool as a great stand alone software deployment tool on a network of computers, that is a very useful feature but for me supporting home users I would find it easier that if I could select from the web portal a set of specific applications to install out onto end computers that I don’t have direct access to other then via C1 that would allow me to make sure that computers have software like adobe reader installed just so that I don’t get a call along the lines of “I cant open PDF documents” or something like that, or if I do I know that I can just jump on C1 and tick a box and the software will install onto the computer

Hope that makes sense of what I am after

Thanks

15

Hello @dougaust ,

Thank you for the feedback! We have contacted you by email regarding this request. Looking forward for your reply there!