About a Deployment Image
The deployment image is created by a system administrator to install the application with the same installation configuration on multiple machines. The installation configuration includes the installation location, features, shortcuts, and so on. Once created, you will be able to double-click the Setup_ProStructuresx64_10.XX.XX.XX.exe file located in the deployment image folder to install the application with the defined configuration without the need of any user interaction or internet connection for component downloads.
The deployment image folder can also be moved to a shared location so that all users of the organization can directly execute the installation from there; the administrator can use this shared location in the Software Distribution System for installation of the product. Additionally, the deployment image can be shared on the network as a UNC path or pushed using SMS/SCCM.
Advantages of Using a Deployment Image
Conceptually, the deployment image can be considered as a pre-configured offline installer.
Some advantages of using a deployment image include:
Contents of Deployment Image
The deployment image contains all the files that are packaged with the product as well downloaded installation files. The image does not analyze the hardware or resources of the system on which it is created, it simply saves all the components for installation. The deployment image also saves the installation configuration.
Before You Start
Using a non-root drive for the program installation location - If the installation drive set in the deployment image configuration settings is other than the root directory (usually C:\), make sure that drive exists on all machines that the application is to be installed on. Target installation path is defined when creating the deployment image and if the path does not exist during installation, the install will fail.