Before you create a Deployment Tool application, consider how you will be best to organize the deployment of your Visual LANSA Application.
It is important to understand that deployment is more complex than "just picking up everything and moving it over there".
A successful deployment requires understanding, planning and thorough testing.
Start by considering the following questions:
If you can answer all of these questions, then you are ready to start deploying your application.
If you could not answer all of the questions above, you need to develop a clearer understanding of what you are attempting to deploy before you proceed!
Establish the minimum supported configuration
You need to formally define the minimum configuration your solution will viably need, including:
A formal minimum supported configuration will:
Repercussions of Per-Machine vs. Per-User Installations
Windows Installer can install or upgrade a software product for all users of a computer (per-machine c ontext) or for a particular user (per-user context) based on the access privileges of the installing user. If the initial Version is installed per-machine then all subsequent Versions and Patches must be installed per-machine.
If you plan to deliver your software product updates using Just-In-Time upgrade, then the users who is running the application MUST have the rights to install those updates. So if they do not have the rights to install per-machine and the software is installed per-machine then when the update is attempted it will fail.
Also see
3.1 Deployment Tool Environment
3.2 Lifecycle of an Application
