It appears that all of my software distributions go through the middle tier...
Articles and Tips: qna
01 Mar 2004
Q.
I have removed the Novell Client for Windows from my workstations and it appears that all of my software distributions go through the middle tier even though I have CIFS installed on the server. How can I prevent this?
A.
In the current version of ZENworks for Desktops, NAL will use the middle tier server to distribute any application from a in the pre-distribution script to map the drive. The agent will then pull the files from the workstation's mapped drive via the CIFS protocol instead of through the middle tier. Unfortunately, this has the drawback of making the application unavailable outside the firewall, so make sure you enable Remote Connection Detection in launcher configuration and then set a System Requirement that requires the user to be on a LAN connection or specify a remote alternate application which uses a UNC path.
MSI applications are never distributed through the middle tier because the Microsoft Installer is responsible for installing the application and is not middle-tier aware. As such, it is not necessary to use drive letters with MSI applications. However, this means that you will need to either enable Remote Connection Detection or Force Cache so that your MSI applications can be distributed both inside and outside the firewall, if desired.
* Originally published in Novell Connection Magazine
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