Software Quarterly

Sneaking Away From the Sneakernet


Electronic Software Distribution:
Can ESD Cure the Common Update Headache?

By Nick Wreden

Nick Wreden, who has worked for Time-Life, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and other publications, heads Aspen Communications, a Atlanta, Ga., agency that provides editorial and other services to high-tech firms. His educational background includes both programming and a master's degree in journalism.


Just over a year ago, when Jim Wolf and his associates began installing and updating software on their company's 1,000 personal computers, they faced weeks of drudgery: it took 90 minutes of swapping diskettes on each PC to complete the update. Then, too, there was the time needed to travel to 46 company sites.

That's all changed. "Now we've got an Electronic Software Distribution [ESD] solution," says Wolf, a systems analyst at Whirlpool Corp. in Benton Harbor, Mich. "The solution allows us to do a better job at the same task in less than 30 minutes. It's especially helpful since we're migrating our infrastructure to OS/2."


Jim Wolf, Whirlpool Corporation

By speeding up the software updates -- and eliminating associated headaches -- ESD is becoming a primary weapon in the battle to increase productivity in Information Systems (IS) and other company departments.

Not only is productivity improved, but personnel costs are reduced. There's no longer any need for people to race from computer to computer to update files from diskettes, a process sometimes called "sneakernet," which has turned into "jetnet" in a lot of organizations with far-flung sites. But sending disks or personnel to remote locations doesn't always work. Often, before manual updating is completed, a new version of the software is released.

With ESD, there are consistent and faster changes of software and data throughout a network. Equally important, ESD increases control over software assets -- including managing licenses and inventory, maintaining configuration records, and administering company computer policies.

"We tried writing our own software to handle ESD, but there are so many compli-cated issues to handle," says Wolf. "That's when we began looking at commercial software to help us."

The Price Is Right

The cost of running a network can be significant. The Gartner Group, a research organization based in Stamford, Conn., estimates that personnel and related support costs for a 2,000-node local area network (LAN) over a five-year life cycle are an eyebrow-raising $20,765 for each PC. That price tag includes the hidden costs of administration, distribution, installation, and support. The cost of software? Less than 10 percent of total costs.

Compare that cost to typical prices for an ESD solution: about $50 to $100 for each workstation and a one-time charge for setting up the solution. As a result, paybacks are rapid. Gartner Group estimates that ESD software pays for itself within six to nine months.

ESD further enhances corporate productivity by keeping all data assets synchronized and current. Data -- as well as shrink-wrapped and custom applications -- can be updated daily, which is especially important for time-sensitive information used in catalogs, price quotes, and other applications.

"Effectively managing software through ESD can give you a competitive advantage, too," says Rodolfo Ambrosetti, a manager in IBM's Rome software development lab. "For example, in retailing, retrieving and managing data daily from remote locations can give you market insights long before others."

Because it offers such benefits, the ESD software market is growing at double-digit rates. Gartner Group estimates that the ESD market, which totaled $40 million in 1993, will expand to about $210 million by 1996.

ESD: Some Key Issues

In many ways, ESD is the "good soldier" of client/server computing. It may not get the recognition of such top-ranking concerns as security, multiprotocol transport, and interoperability, but ESD provides the logistical backbone that truly can turn enterprisewide access to information into a competitive force.

But like other distributed computing issues, ESD is not a "plug-and-play" technology. There are a host of issues to deal with ranging from available technology and existing environments to MIS leadership and even corporate culture. An understanding of critical ESD issues can help you find the best solution for your company.

On mainframes and midrange computers, centralized data and software don't have to be distributed. Similarly, there are no distribution problems with small and manageable networks: a simple file-transfer program can handle updates. But the advent of client/server computing and enterprise networking has resulted in applications and data being kept in two or more locations within a company.


ESD is becoming a primary weapon

in the battle to increase productivity in

Information Systems (IS) and other

company departments.


Without ESD, it's almost impossible to keep users "singing off the same song sheet" -- or to keep up with the multiple configurations common to heterogeneous environments -- or to deal with related issues such as software licensing.

"One of the primary benefits of ESD software is that it will give us the ability to control the different versions of software as well as understand what resides on PCs throughout the company," says Jeremy Gray, data center manager for Boise Cascade Corp., Boise, Idaho.

Three Views

Essentially, ESD can be viewed through three prisms that sometimes overlap:

When a host computer and all networked workstations have similar configurations or when software is not sensitive to equipment or set-up variations, ESD solutions are most easy to implement. It's relatively simple for an ESD solution to copy needed programs from a host or server system to other computers.

Unfortunately, networks today are rarely uniform. In a 2,000-node network, it's possible to have 2,000 different configurations running the same software.

In such less-uniform environments, ESD software can help execute an appropriate set-up routine -- or script -- on the client workstation, delivering keystrokes that "fool" the machine into thinking that a user is installing the program. Routines can also provide an electronic stethoscope to check memory, disk space, configuration, and CONFIG.SYS or *.INI files to keep client workstations healthy.

Once appropriate routines are written, updates can essentially occur on autopilot. Usually, these updates take place when network traffic is at a minimum.

Beware of Commercial Programs

For in-house applications, writing update routines is relatively easy since most organizations have standardized installation procedures. But, the task is more difficult for commercial software. There are thousands of shrink-wrapped packages, and no two seem to share the same installation strategy.

Programs written for Microsoft Windows are often the most difficult because they require the input from both the keyboard and mouse. Another problem: Windows is machine-specific, which means it is configured differently, for example, on a Compaq 486/66 with an SVGA monitor than on an IBM Personal System/2 Model 55. Fortunately, installation routines for off-the-shelf software can sometimes be acquired from the vendor or from specialized value-added software distributors.

ESD software can also be viewed in terms of those products that can handle enterprise software management and those that are optimized for departmental updates. An enterprise solution must incorporate broad support for different platforms and protocols -- such as SNA, TCP/IP, and IPX -- and have the ability to concurrently distribute software to thousands of workstations and servers that may be widely dispersed. By contrast, departmental ESD software is a more limited solution that can control software distribution for a number of applications within a large LAN or corporate campus.

Two Flavors

Depending on the amount of control IS wants to delegate to sophisticated, or "empowered," users, ESD software comes in "push" and "pull" flavors. Most ESD software revolves around pushing software from a host to clients. But some applications allow users to pull the updates or software they want from the host. Push software is best for unattended, after-hours updates, and pull is best for optimizing changes for either individual machines or user preferences.

During implementation, administrators configure and build source images of the software to be distributed, then make those images available to the ESD program. A distribution and installation plan -- specifying which workstations get which software -- is defined, and the distribution is tracked. ESD software will catalog the source images, execute the distribution-and-manage installation, and track the status of the installation for administrative reports.

IBM's NetView Distribution Manager (DM) solutions can meet corporate requirements for ESD in three key areas, including:

The benefits of IBM's NetView DM solutions include centralized management of operating systems, data, applications, and configuration; unattended operations; software change management; multiple platform and connectivity options; and ability to function within client/server environments.

IBM's leadership in ESD was recognized at ComNet '94, an annual networking and communications conference. IBM NetView DM/6000 was selected by attendees as the "Most Innovative New Product Introduced at ComNet '94" in the New Product Achievement Com-petition. NetView DM/6000 was also cited as the "Best New Networking Management Product" at the show.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Networks

A key feature of almost every ESD solution is called rollback. It permits system administrators to "undo" an installation that has been corrupted by a sudden power outage, a virus, or even a bug in a major application program. ESD software also provides the ability to schedule software changes at more convenient times.

"Rollback is one of the top criteria for ESD software," notes Whirlpool's Wolf. "We would be in tremendous trouble with our users if we made a mistake and couldn't rapidly reinstate the original code and restore the machines to their original configurations."


"Rollback is one of

the top criteria for

ESD software," notes

Whirlpool's Wolf.


Because of the drudgery involved in sneakernet, IBM developed an ESD architecture called CID (configuration, installation, and distribution). This umbrella architecture provides an easy, uniform method to install and configure software across multiple platforms, whether within a single LAN, multiple LANs connected to a host, or a wide area network.

CID products distribute an image of the install program, then automatically invoke the install program along with routines to supply the necessary responses to install prompts. Applications that are CID-enabled can be installed from any drive (not just "A," as in many applications), which means a CID-enabled application looks for responses from a CID file -- usually on a server -- instead of a keyboard during installation.

CID programs can be invoked in either of two modes, lightly attended and unattended. Lightly attended requires boot diskettes to be installed before the update process can occur, while unattended operations don't require any user intervention.

OS/2 programs are CID-enabled, as is DOS 6.3, IBM's latest version of DOS. It's anticipated that programs for other operating systems will also become CID-enabled. But for products that aren't, you can install the software on a model machine and copy files to the clients.

A Single Tool

"The CID architecture enables users to conduct remote, unattended installs, no matter which platform or protocol they are using -- IPX, NetBIOS, or TCP/IP," says Denise Barlock, a software distribution specialist at IBM. "Many other products don't have the ability to manage installations and updates across multiple platforms with a single tool."

In some ways ESD is representative of why most organizations install a network in the first place -- to let users electronically share common access to the same information, applications, and resources. If you're still depending on sneakernet and a never-ending disk-to-disk shuffle, you're not only losing sight of your original goal but -- much more important -- the promise of greater corporate productivity.

See also:

How to Pick the ESD Software You Need

ESD's Bright Future

Taking ESD to a New Level

Tips for Succeeding With ESD

NetView Distribution Manager


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