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mass-install tool - Install software to classroom PCs (lemmy.world)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I thought this was the right place to ask, let me know if somewhere else was better.

I have a classroom in a public school with around 30 PCs (windows) I need to install software on (python and codium). They are all the same PCs. In the past there was a management system but due to some licensing issues that does not work anymore.

How its been done before: Go to each and every PC and setup everything manually, or do it once and mirror the HDD 30 times .... both ways very time consuming.

I thought there might be a better way to do this, do you have any idea?

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

The tool sets you're looking for fall under a category called IaC (infrastructure as code). They allow you to define environments and add installers and configuration to those environments. Typically they require an extra network-accessable server to act as a controller for the toolset.

My personal go-to at work for exactly what you're asking is Puppet.

Other popular options: Sccm, Chef, Ansible

[–] [email protected] 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I've never heard of IAC on Windows desktops. IAC is about consistent building of cloud resources. These are individual physical devices and probably aren't all being flashed and rebuilt with every deployment.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/mem/configmgr/core/understand/introduction

Configuration Manager / intune / sccm / whatever they change the name to next is the first-party solution from MS. It has always been able to modify an existing install. Push out a fresh piece of software, reconfigure one, uninstall one, force a group to update a gpo or update windows, etc...

Most universities use intune/puppet/chef for this in labs and for deployed desktops/laptops to faculty/staff to keep things up to date and consistent.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Sure. We manage about 110,000 endpoints with it at the office. It's just not infrastructure as code.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Intune is kinda point-and-clickey for sure, but would you not consider puppet and ansible IaC? What would you classify it if not?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 10 months ago

As I understand it, IAC is not about managing devices. When a IAC created device needs an update, you update the config, blow away the device, and build new.

Ansible and puppet manage devices. If you need a change, you send the package or config or reg key. You can't blow away a device and build identical, like you can with IAC. At least not easily and without lots of careful group management.

That said, IAC is changing fast and I may not be up to speed on all the features of those tools. We're an MECM and intune shop, with a bit of jamf on the side.