M100630: Service pack handling with Security Patch Management 7.2

The release notes for Security Patch Management 7.2 refer to improved service pack handling abilities. This article describes these abilities; how to modify service pack packages to stop services (including the ManageSoft service) prior to running the service pack installer and then restarting it after installation.

Introduction

The release notes for ManageSoft Security Patch Management release 7.2 refer to improved service pack handling abilities. These improved handling abilities refer to features available within the core ManageSoft product that can be applied to packages created by ManageSoft Security Patch Management.

Specifically, you can add details of a service to a ManageSoft package so that the service stops on managed devices before the package is installed and then restarts after installation.

This feature can be especially useful in the deployment of some service packs where installation of the service pack requires you to stop ManageSoft first, but the same feature can be used to stop any service prior to installation of the service pack and restart the service after installation of the service pack.

To stop a service prior to package installation and restart it after installation

These instructions describe the steps required to add a service to a package so that the service is stopped on managed devices prior to package installation and restarted after installation. For further information about adding services to ManageSoft packages, see the ManageSoft Packaging Guide.

1. From the ManageSoft console, right-click Packaging.
2. Do one of the following:
   • Select Open Project, browse to the project's location in the software library, select the project, and click OK.
   • Select Recent Projects, and select the project you want to open from the list.
   The project is displayed under the Packaging node.
3. From the console tree, expand the Services node.
4. Select the All Services node.
5. Do one of the following:
   • Right-click and select New Service
   • From the Action menu, select New Service.
   The New service Properties dialog is displayed.

Complete the relevant details on the General tab:

Path to executable

Enter (or browse for) the path and filename of the executable. This field must be completed so that the project can be validated and packed, although the value is not currently used.

To stop the ManageSoft managed device service, enter 
$(ProgramFiles)\ManageSoft\Common\ndinit.exe.

Service name

Enter the unique name assigned to this service. This is the name that will be displayed in your project. The length of the name should not exceed 256 characters. The name should not include either forward (/) or back (\) slash characters.

To stop the ManageSoft managed device service, enter ndinit.

Be aware: To find the name of other services, use the Services snap-in for the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to view the properties of the service. The service name is displayed at the top of the General tab on the Properties window.

Display name

This is the name your users will see on their managed devices. The length of this name should not exceed 256 characters.

This service is not part of this package but must be stopped before this package is installed and restarted after it is installed.

Check this box to stop the service before this package is installed, and restart it after the package is installed. You do not need to include the service file in the [File] section of your project if you check this box.

1. Click OK.
2. Validate and pack the project:
   • From the ManageSoft console, right-click the Project node, and select Pack.

     The Pack dialog is displayed.

   • Click Pack.
   Your project is validated and packed.

You can now test, approve, and deploy the package according to normal security patch management procedures.