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Developing and Deploying Siebel eBusiness Applications > Deploying the Application > Rolling Out to End Users >

Rolling Out to Mobile and Dedicated Web Client Users

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The Packager Utility allows you to create custom software installation packages for distribution to end users. This installer contains the Siebel Mobile and Dedicated Client executables and your custom configuration. Using the installer allows end users to create a Siebel environment on their machines that duplicates the environment on the administrator's client machine.

After the Packager Utility assembles the software into a single, self-extracting file, you can distribute this installer to your users. For example, NREC chose network distribution, as described in Making Your Customized Installer Available to End Users. However, Siebel Packager packages can also be distributed in the following ways:

Siebel Anywhere. You can use Siebel Anywhere to distribute and execute the installation automatically for both dedicated and mobile users. However, because receiving Siebel Anywhere kits requires the Siebel client to be already installed on the user's machine, you cannot use Siebel Anywhere for an initial rollout. You can use it only for upgrades. For more information, see Siebel Anywhere Administration Guide.
CD-ROM. You can copy the customized software package onto CD-ROMs for distribution to end users.
Other methods. You can distribute the program through any other file distribution mechanism, such as email or FTP.

Preparing to Use Siebel Packager

You must complete the procedures in this section before using the Packager Utility.

To prepare to use the Packager Utility

Make sure the Packager Utility has been installed on a client machine in your Production environment. This initial installation will serve as a model for other installations, which may be performed by running Packager against the initial installation.
Select Custom during client installation and be sure to select the Packager Utility option.
The rest of this chapter refers to the root-level directory of the client installation as siebel_clnt_root.
The Packager will use the files from this client installation (or another client installation, as specified when running the Packager) for the installer that it creates.

NOTE:  Be sure to customize this model Siebel client installation so that it is identical to how you intend to package it. When creating the custom installer, the Packager Utility will reproduce this model installation exactly.

Copy any changed files to the appropriate subdirectories under siebel_clnt_root, or under the root directory of another installation that you will use to create the custom installation package.

Such files may include custom repository (.srf) or configuration (.cfg) files, and Web template files.

Make sure that you have sufficient free disk space on the client on which the Packager Utility is installed.

During the packaging process, the Packager Utility temporarily requires three times the amount of disk space required by the Siebel client software you are packaging, plus two times the disk space required by the third-party software you are packaging.

Create a custom siebel.ini file.

The siebel.ini file controls the following behavior of the installer that the Packager will create:

Whether or not the Siebel client installation program checks that the appropriate versions of third-party software have been installed on the client machine
Whether or not the data sources that the Siebel application relies on are installed and how they are configured
Which installation dialog boxes users are presented at run time and which installation parameters they can specify

The siebel.ini file used by the standard Siebel client installer prompts the user for parameters—not usually the desired behavior for an end-user installation. It is highly recommended that you create a siebel.ini file customized to your environment.

Make your changes to the siebel.ini file located in the \siebel_client\packager\temp\package_name directory using a standard text editor. This file is largely self-documented to help you in customizing it. If you need more information, see Siebel Web Client Administration Guide.

Preparing Siebel Components for Packaging

You can use the Packager Utility to package the Siebel client installation software. Of the different installable components that make up a Siebel application, NREC chose to package the ones described in Table 16.

Table 16. Software Installed in the Test Environment

Component	Description
BIN	Siebel Executable Files (Binaries) located in the \siebel_clnt_root\bin directory, including the required .dll files, configuration files, and the Siebel executable. You should include all files in this directory in your self-extracting installer, except the user preferences file, user.prf, and the session file, siebel.ses. You may want to replace the siebel.cfg file with your customized configuration file.
FONTS	Contains font files, located in the siebel_clnt_root\fonts directory.
LOCAL	Location of the local database, located in the siebel_clnt_root\local directory. Local databases are unique to individual users and should not be packaged.
LOCALE	Language-specific files, located in the siebel_clnt_root\locale. directory. Do not omit this module when creating a package.
MSGTEMPL	Message files used by the client, located in the siebel_clnt_root\msgtempl directory.
Objects	Object Configuration Template Files (Configured Objects) located in the siebel_clnt_root\objects directory— the precompiled *.srf file to distribute to end users. The \objects directory must contain at least one .srf file before you start the Packager Utility.
PUBLIC	Contains HTML, JavaScript and image files for Siebel Web Client, located in the siebel_clnt_root\public directory.
SQLTEMPL	Contains SQL scripts used by the Siebel Web Client, located in the siebel_clnt_root\sqltempl directory.
WEBTEMPL	Contains Web templates, located in the siebel_clnt_root\webtempl directory.

For information about other types of files that can be packaged, see Siebel Web Client Administration Guide.

Running Siebel Packager

This section describes how to run Siebel Packager. The Siebel Packager wizard walks you through four windows to help you create the custom client installer.

NREC is deploying a single-language version of their application. This requires two separate installers—one for BASE and one for ENU (U.S. English). Both packages must use the same package name. You need a separate installer for each language component, including BASE. For example, if NREC were planning a multilingual roll out, it would require an installation of BASE as well as each additional language pack.

To create the BASE package

From the Windows Start menu, select Programs >Siebel Client 7.0 >Packager.
Click OK at the Choose Setup Language screen.

The Siebel Client Packager, Step 1 of 4 - Directory Definition dialog box appears.

Create the BASE package:
Enter a Package Name. For example, NREC Package.
Leave the default values in the remaining fields.
Click Next.
In the Module Definition dialog box, select Packager from the Modules list and click Remove and then Click Next.

You do not want to include Packager itself as a module.

In the Packaging window, click Start.

The utility displays progress information while it executes.

When the utility is complete, click OK and then Next.
In the Self-extracting Archive dialog box, click Exit to finish the packager.

To create the language package

Go to Start > Programs > Siebel Client 7.0 > Packager, and click OK at the Choose Setup Language dialog box.
In the Directory Definition screen:
Choose <LANGUAGE> in the Language Packs list (for example, choose ENU for U.S. English).
Enter a Package Name (for example, NREC Package).
Leave the default values in the remaining fields.
Click Next.

The Module Definition dialog box appears.

Choose Packager from the Modules list, click on Remove to remove it, and then click Next.

The Packaging dialog box appears.

Click Start to begin creating the package.
When the Packager is complete, click OK, and then click Next to continue.
In the Self-extracting Archive dialog box, click Exit to finish the packager.

NOTE:  The parameters used in the siebel.ini file need to be modified so that the installation on the end-user machines is silent. The siebel.ini file can be edited by clicking on the Edit siebel.ini file in the Packager. For more information about creating Base and Language Packages, and about editing the siebel.ini file, see Siebel Web Client Administration Guide.

Making Your Customized Installer Available to End Users

After you have tested your customizations and are satisfied with the client installer you have created, make your customized installer available to end users. As described earlier, you can distribute your customized installation program to end users in a number of ways. Because NREC chose to distribute the installer using network distribution, this section describes that distribution method. For instructions about other distribution methods, see Siebel Web Client Administration Guide.

To distribute a self-extracting installer over a LAN (if you created a self-extracting archive)

Put the self-extracting installer (packager_name.exe) in a network-accessible directory. Make sure that all users have access to this directory.
Send an email to users explaining how to copy and extract the package from this location. Consider telling users how to ftp the self-extracting archive on their own machines and install it from there.

To distribute an installer over a LAN (if you did not create a self-extracting archive)

Put the package directory in a network-accessible location to which all users have access.
Send an email to users to tell them how to install the package from this location.

After or during this rollout, you are ready to provide user training on the applications.

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