Back to ConfigMgr 2012 menu
The “Application
model” of software distribution was introduced with ConfigMgr 2012. You may still
use the traditional package/program model but the new model adds many benefits,
including the following:
- More user centric – integrates with User Affinity
- Integration with Application catalog (If the application is deployed to a user, the user sees the published application in the Application Catalog and can request it on demand. If the application is deployed to a device, the user will see it in the Software Center and can install it on demand).
- Uses detection methods to force deployments
- Automatically create detection methods
Package/program was
the only model available to distribute software in ConfigMgr 2007. When these packages
are migrated to ConfigMgr 2012 they will still remain in that original format. However there
is a tool that can convert them to the Application model – the Package
Conversion Manager (PCM).
PCM 2.0 can be download here
You will notice that the full title is System
Center 2012 SP1 Configuration Manager Package Conversion Manager 2.0. R2 version is not available yet but PCM 2.0 works with R2.
Straightforward installation on the Site Server.
Accept the License terms.
Click Install.
Installation has completed. Restart the ConfigMgr console if it was open.
When the tool is
installed it adds more options to the ConfigMgr 2012 console.
See Analyze Package,
Convert Package, Fix and Convert (top right hand side of screenshot).
You need to analyze a
package to determine if it can be
migrated to the new Application model or whether some remediation work will be
required in advance.
You will see one of these
results after you have analyzed the legacy package:
1. Automatic – Your
package is in a state that will allow for a successful migration to an
Application
2. Manual – Some
remediation work on your legacy package is required before it can be
successfully migrated to an Application Deployment Type.
Choose a package and click Analyze Package (I have chosen a package with MSI file). The analysis commences.
See the package
Readiness is Manual (the conversion manager cannot read the MSI product
code for each deployment type).
See the deployment types.
Now choose “Fix and Convert” to launch the Package
Conversion wizard.
The are no dependencies on unconverted packages.
These are the deployment types – we need to fix these
problems.
Click Edit on the first Deployment type.
Click Add for new detection method.
Browse to the MSI location.
Choose “Windows Installer”. See the detected product code. Click OK.
Click OK to add the detection method to the deployment
type.
Repeat these steps for the other deployment types.
Click Next to continue.
Click Next to continue.
Confirm the settings and click Next to continue.
Wizard has completed.
The original package
remains unaltered.
See new application. Now distribute the application and deploy it to a collection.
