Deploy and manage desktop and mobile applications - Managing Enterprise Devices and Apps - page 40

This section covers the following topics:
■ Application management by using Configuration Manager

Applications and packages

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Application management features

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Application management server roles

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Software Center

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Application Catalog

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Application management by using Coniguration Manager
In System Center 2012 R2 Configuration Manager, you can deploy software by configuring
what are termed applications, or you can use the traditional method of configuring what are
termed packages and programs. Although they have separate names and function in differ-
ent ways, both these methods enable you to deploy software to client computers.
Applications contain built-in intelligence, such as the ability to deploy different types of
software based on the properties of the client device. Many administrators find packages and
programs a more efficient method for running simple commands or running custom scripts
on Configuration Manager clients.
When using packages and programs for software distribution, the process consists of the
following elements:

Packages Package objects represent the actual files the targeted client requires to
run a program that Configuration Manager deploys. For example, a package could
contain the installation files that Configuration Manager uses to install a software
application on the client computer. Alternatively, a package might not contain any
source files if Configuration Manager only uses it to run an executable that is present
on the computers of the members of the targeted collection. When you create a pack-
age, you can specify many of its properties, such as the package's name, the location
of source files that it contains, and whether it includes one or more programs. For
example, you can use the Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer files to create a package.

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Programs A program is the command that indicates how to manage the pack-
age files. You can create a program only after you create the package in which you
define the program. Programs include commands that the client runs during software
deployment. For example, a package that you use to install an application will include
a program that runs a command, such as Setup.exe, which installs the application. A
package must contain at least one program before you can deploy it to clients, but
you can create multiple programs for a package. For example, you could create one
program that installs an application silently and another program that installs the same
application by using an installation wizard. In addition, the program includes informa-
tion about how the command will run, such as whether user or administrative rights

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