Software Installation & Packaging

 

Installation Services

  • Overview - An installation package is the first experience a Customer will have with a new software product. The experience the customer has installing a software product can either create a sense of confidence or foreboding in the product.  A trouble free installation creates a sense of confidence, while a faulty installation mars the customer's impression of your product before they have even looked at it.

  • Software Installation & Packaging - Using Macrovision Installshield, we have the ability to create dynamic installation applications and environments for your custom software which can be leveraged for large scale or mass deployments of commercial software. This technology can also be used to deploy or roll out custom software applications for use in IT departments or for home grown corporate applications.
  • Installation Testing - Ensure your product is ready to be distributed to a wide audience. Based on the Application and the Operating System components it uses, we can tailor a set of tests on every appropriate Operating System that will uncover any weakness in the installation. With experience in Software Installation Building and Testing, we can identify any potential problem with an installation and communicate what the resolution is.

Types of Installations

  • CD Based -  Installation that is contained on physical compact disc's or DVD's and kept at the customer or end user's location.
  • Web Based Installs - Installation that is physically run off of a web server making the installation process accessible from anywhere provided that a broadband internet connection is available. 
  • Automatic Updates - Enables application or data updates to be made available and added to the application that has already been installed on the user of customer's computer. 

Installation Component Diagram

Installation Steps

Types of Deployments

  • Commercial Products (B2B or B2C) - Deployments that are made available to private citizens / home users or corporate customers. 
  • In-House Deployments  - Deployments that are used to roll out custom software applications or updates internally.

 

Information & Examples

  • Tom Masano, Inc. VPN Software - Custom web based installation tool for loading Tom Masano VPN 10 Software onto your computer. This is a demo only web based installer, as the actual web based installer requires that several pre-requisite software applications are already installed on your system.  
  • Root CA Auto Installation -  You will save money because Aloye functions an independent SSL Certificate Authority which allows for the creation of custom Developer Certificate files. These files can then be installed into your Windows certificate store using the Aloye Root CA Installation Tool.  
  • Windows Firewall Auto Configuration - If your application requires certain IP addresses, protocols, and/or ports to be open, the Aloye Firewall Auto Configuration tool can be customized to automatically configure and lock down your user's Windows Firewall to meet those specifications.

MSI Technology   Installshield Platform

  • Installation Resources - Installation Industry Resources - The following links have proven to be of tremendous value to us in researching and staying abreast of the latest innovations and techniques related to the creation and maintenance of Installation Setups. Hope they help you!

  • InstallShield Knowledge Base - The one place to go to see if the problem has already been reported and a fix or workaround is available.

  • InstallSite.org - An excellent site that is maintained by Stefan Krueger of Germany. Sometimes this site has a better listing of known bugs than can be obtained from the InstallShield site. Excellent reference material and a great repository of neat code snippets that can be of benefit.

  • InstallShield News Groups - An excellent starting point to research problems that don't have an official fix or workaround. The questions posed and answers provided may give you the vital clue to solving the problem. Understand that many answers are not provided by "true" InstallShield experts and many times must be taken with a grain of salt.

  • InstallShield Tips and Tricks - Almost a hidden feature, this excellent collection of white papers deal with various tricks that are available for dealing with hard to resolve problems. Although it looks like the material is dated - specifically written for InstallShield products that are now 2-3 releases back, the material is still valuable.

  • InstallShield Related Blogs - There are a few excellent Blogs dealing with InstallShield MSI's, and Windows Installer. Start with mine "Shieldmaster" and use the links there for additional Blogs of interest

  • FAQ for Windows NT and 2000 - An excellent reference site for questions dealing with the inner workings of Windows NT/2000. This site is maintained by John Savill. Go to here for Active Directory and Group Policy questions and answers.

  • MSDN topic Windows Installer - You don't need the MSDN subscription to reference the Windows SDK regarding Windows Installer. Here it is in all it's glory and always updated!

  • MSI Frequently Asked Questions - A valuable site for answering those lingering questions on MSI, but were afraid to ask your co-workers! Real plus - it is maintained by Microsoft and covers both General Questions as well as MSI availability and Updates.

  • Certification Guidelines for Microsoft Logo Compliant Installations - If you want your Installation Setup to receive the Windows Logo Certification, this site is critical to understanding the requirements. Obvious starting point, which is not clearly stated is that the Installation Setup be MSI format based!

  • IIS Configuration Information - This site is the starting point for understanding how to install, configure and troubleshoot the Windows IIS (Internet Information Server).

  • IIS Answer Site - If the previous site didn't answer that burning question on IIS - try this one!