Hey gang - Been awhile since I posted a blog and once again I am back at it :) And why not Adobe just dropped another reader Update on us :) Ive attached the sample cab file at the bottom of this post for those of you not yet in the DIY mode of creating custom updates but to borrow from an old Chinese proverb (liberally) - " Give a IT tech a CAB he can patch that specific update - Teach an IT tech how to create a CAB and they can update anytime they need too...."
So in that spirit here is the step by step on how to create a custom update with a msp payload -
Step 1. Download the Adobe reader 9.3.4 Update (http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=4761) and copy to C:\temp (You may choose to copy it to a network share or some other location depending upon your own internal source file process - to use the sample cab you'll need to download it to c:\temp)
Step 2. Fire up you SCUP Console - You'll need to make sure you have a Vendor defined as well as the Reader product defined.
Step 3. Right click on the correct product (Reader 9.3) and select Create Update from the pull-out menu
Step 4. Fill in the Update Information (Ive highlighted the mandatory fields in the screenshot - but I also like to add the Adobe Bulletin ID and set the classification
Tip: For the description I generally browse to the Bulletin Web Page and cut and paste what has been provided by the vendor - no need to reinvent the wheel....
Step 5. Extended properties - by field:
Article ID: I usually use the same value as the Bulletin ID - This just makes it easier to see and sort and filter by in the SCUP Console(Console doesn't expose the Bulletin ID as a column - yet....) - Its not required
CVE ID: (Common Vulnerabilties and Exposures - http://cve.mitre.org/) generally also available from the vendor bulletin - again not required
Severity: Assign the appropriate Severity - generally the vendor should supply a rating but you may have an ISO which dictates that rating - not required
Support URL: Best pratice - I usually put the URL where you can obtain the actual update bits - Not required
More Info URL: Best practice - Use the vendor Bulletin URL in this field - Unless you have internal policy that dictates you direct users to a Service/help Desk page - required
Impact: Select the impact this update has on an applicable system - I generally use normal (default)
Reboot behavior: This actually doesn't do anything - the update it self and the return codes etc will dictate reboot behavior - but its good practice to select never reboot unless your certain the update your applying requires on - The default is can request a reboot.
Step 6. Define prerequisite rules - You dont have to define pre-requisite rules - Here's the golden rule on RULES......
You can create a update without a pre-req rule and it will evaluate to true on a client, however if you also do not have an applicability rule it will evaluate to false rendering the update invalid (there is no warning message). And if you do not define a installed rule the update cannot be published.
Best practice - Its a high level rule - If the pre-req evaluates to false no further scanning for the update will be done on the client - I generally use the Basic Rule - Processor Architecture and then add x86(32bit) and x64(64bit) if its supported for the application I am patching - if you have separate flavors then select the appropriate architecture.
Step 7. Select package - by field
Installer type: Select the correct installer type for the update - in this case its an msp (Windows Installer Patch) - My favorite kind BTW!
Update Package Source: Enter the appropriate location of the source package (network share or local drive where you've downloaded the bits to be consumed by SCUP. In our example and the attached CAB sample that location should be C:\temp.
Download URL: You can define this as the external source for the update bits - In this example and in the sample cab I am using the Adobe ftp URL (ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/9.x/9.3.4/misc/AdbeRdrUpd934_all_incr.msp)- You can also use UNC pathing for an internal network share.
Binary Language: This should be scraped from the update - but if not select the appropriate language - Default is English
Success and Return Codes are scraped from the msp - In the case of other update type you may need to supply this info
Command line(quiet): Add any command line parameters you want passed - NOTE: In the case of msp and msi the /quiet and /norestart are passed automagically and are not required to be entered!
Step 8. Your DONE!!!!!!!!! - Thats right your done - The Applicability Rules and Installed Rules are scraped right out of the msp - So you dont need to do anything more but click Next/Finish and then of course publish(remember to set the publish flag to full content) and synch to deploy.
So now you have the Step by Step! The AdbeRdrUpdate934.cab sample file is attached(download and change the txt file extension to cab) and can be downloaded below - At some point Adobe will be in the business of publishing their own catalogs once again but for now hopefully this post empowers you to get busy creating your own.