Chapter 5: Deploying and Maintaining RealPlayer 8 Intranet Clients

After creating the installer, you can choose among various methods of distributing RealPlayer 8 Intranet to your users. This chapter explains the deployment and maintenance of RealPlayer 8 Intranet clients.

Deployment Options

This section discusses the deployment options for RealPlayer distribution. After you have created the installers and configuration files, you can deliver them in one of three ways:

Place the installer on a Web server and users can access and install RealPlayer from this location.
Distribute the installer in a software package using third-party systems management software. You can also use systems management software to distribute the preferences file on a local client directory, and RealPlayer will poll a local file rather than increasing network traffic by polling a remote file.
Manually deliver the installer through your standard software deployment mechanisms.

Installation Options

If you deploy RealPlayer 8 Intranet clients using an installation script, you can use flags to customize the installation behavior. The default installation process starts the RealPlayer setup program that guides users through the rest of the installation process. The following two procedures explain how to install RealPlayer 8 Intranet either silently or with only the progress indicator.

To install RealPlayer 8 Intranet silently:

Use the following command:

installer.exe -s

where installer.exe is the name of the installer.

A silent installation runs in the background, displaying neither setup dialog boxes nor a progress indicator.

To install RealPlayer 8 Intranet with the progress indicator only:

Use the following command:

installer.exe -p

where installer.exe is the file name of the installer you are using.

The installation displays only a progress indicator.

Note
RealNetworks recommends that users manually uninstall any other versions of RealPlayer before they begin installing RealPlayer 8 Intranet. Otherwise, the installation process will warn them that they must remove any other versions of RealPlayer before they can continue. At this point, users can either cancel the installation or choose to continue. If they continue, the installation process removes any other versions of RealPlayer.

	Note
RealNetworks recommends that users manually uninstall any other versions of RealPlayer before they begin installing RealPlayer 8 Intranet. Otherwise, the installation process will warn them that they must remove any other versions of RealPlayer before they can continue. At this point, users can either cancel the installation or choose to continue. If they continue, the installation process removes any other versions of RealPlayer.

Maintaining RealPlayer 8 Intranet

RealPlayer maintenance includes updating components when new ones become available, maintaining the configurations, and creating new installers.

Downloading New Components

When new plug-ins and features become available, RealNetworks will create a zipped file with these components and place it on its Web site at http://service.real.com/pam.

You must download the zipped file, extract its contents, and put them in your RealPlayer Intranet Administrator directory. You must then create a new installer and redeploy RealPlayers to distribute new components.

Maintaining Configurations

If you selected the Use Remote Preferences setting during the creation of a configuration file, most changes to this file are propagated to RealPlayers when they poll the configuration file. Some changes will not appear until users restart RealPlayer. In either case, you do not need to create a new installer to distribute these configuration changes.

If you did not select the Use Remote Preferences setting during the creation of a configuration file, you must build a new installer and redeploy the RealPlayers to distribute any changes to this file.

Configuration Changes Requiring a Restart of RealPlayer

Some configuration changes do not take effect until RealPlayer and the StartCenter (if previously enabled) are restarted. Changes to the following preferences do not appear until after the restart:

Enabling or disabling the StartCenter
Changes to the RealPlayer Title
Completion of the e-registration process
Access to online Help

To close the StartCenter:

Right-click the Real logo to the right of the Start button on the taskbar.
Click Close StartCenter.

Maintaining Installers

You must generate a new installer to change RealPlayer settings in any of the following situations:

If updated components or plug-ins become available and you want to update RealPlayer with them.
If you want to change the original configuration by adding or removing a data type plug-in.
If you did not select the Use Remote Preferences check box when you created a configuration file and you want to change the initial configuration of deployed RealPlayers. Because RealPlayers are not configured to check a remote version of the file for changes, you cannot easily update the configuration without redeploying the RealPlayers.