How to Configure Software Automation

Overview:

Why a catalog of installers isn't the same as software actually landing on a machine

Most fleets need more than the handful of applications a platform ships by default. A team might standardize on an internal tool, a specific version of a utility, or something as ordinary as a VM tool that isn't in anyone's default catalog. Without a way to add it, every install goes back to a technician copying a file to a machine by hand.

Software Automation splits that problem into three pieces: an App Catalog of every installable application (built-in or custom, across Windows, Linux, and macOS), an App Bundle for grouping applications together, and App Deployment for actually pushing an app (or bundle) to a chosen scope of endpoints. Like other automation modules, adding an application to the catalog changes nothing by itself - nothing happens until it's deployed, and every deployment breaks down into a per-endpoint task with its own status.

This guide walks the full workflow end to end: opening Software Automation, adding a custom application to the App Catalog, publishing an App Deployment for that application to a specific endpoint, and confirming from the task status that the install actually succeeded.

• Catalog first, deploy second: an application in the App Catalog is just a definition - Application details, Platform & package, and install/uninstall/upgrade Commands - until it's targeted by a deployment.
• Three application file sources: Application Location Type supports Local Directory (upload), Shared Directory, or a Public URL, not just a direct file upload.
• Self installation is optional: Allow Self Installation controls whether an end user can trigger the install themselves, separate from a pushed deployment.
• Deployment targets one app, a bundle, or a mix: Deployment Type supports Application or Application Bundle, with a dual-pane picker to move specific catalog items into the deployment.
• Retry and notify are built in: a deployment can specify a Retry Count and a Notify To list, so a failed attempt isn't silently dropped and the right people hear about the outcome.

Prerequisites

Confirm these before adding a custom application. An unconfirmed install command or a missing package file are common reasons a deployment completes without actually installing anything.

1. Administrator access: your account holds a role permitted to manage the Automation -> Software Automation module.
2. Agent installed and reporting: the endpoint agent is installed, registered, and reporting healthy on every target device.
3. Installer file ready: have the application's installer file (exe, msi, zip, or script) available locally, on a shared directory, or at a public URL before starting.
4. Install/uninstall commands known, if required: for silent or scripted installs, know the exact command and any required switches ahead of time.

Architecture: how a custom application reaches an endpoint

An App Catalog entry defines the application itself. An App Deployment binds that catalog entry (or a bundle of entries) to a scope of endpoints. The endpoint agent runs the install and reports back a per-task status.

Step 1: Open Software Automation

Get oriented before adding anything, so you know where the catalog, bundles, and deployments each live.

Instructions

1. From the main console, go to Automation in the left sidebar, then select Software Automation from the submenu (alongside Configuration Automation).
2. Note the sections in the left sidebar: App Catalog, App Bundle, and App Deployment.

Path: Console / Automation / Software Automation

Result: You're in the Software Automation module with visibility into the existing App Catalog before adding a new entry.

Step 2: Add a custom application to the App Catalog

Define the application: its identity, its platform and package details, and how it's installed.

Instructions

1. Go to App Catalog -> Create.
2. Enter an Application Name, e.g. Virtual VM.
3. Optionally upload an Icon File (max 1).
4. Toggle Allow Self Installation if end users should be able to trigger the install themselves.
5. Enter a Description.
6. Optionally set Tags.
7. Under Platform & package, set OS (Windows, Linux, or macOS) and Architecture.
8. Set Version and Application Type (exe, msi, zip, or script).
9. Set Application Location Type to Local Directory, Shared Directory, or Public URL, then upload or link the Application File.
10. Under Commands, optionally set the Installation Command, Uninstallation Command, and Upgrade Command.
11. Select Create.

Path: Console / Automation / Software Automation / App Catalog / Create

Console: application definition

Result: The application appears in the App Catalog grid alongside the built-in entries (e.g. Chrome, AnyDesk, Zoom, WinRAR, VLC, Slack, Office 365, Notepad++, Teams, Firefox, FileZilla), each tagged with an SWP- identifier, OS, version, and package format. It has no targets yet - that's set in the deployment step.

Step 3: Publish an App Deployment to endpoints

Bind the catalog application to a scope of endpoints so it's actually installed, rather than just defined.

Instructions

1. Go to App Deployment -> Create.
2. Enter a Deployment Name, e.g. Install VM.
3. Add an optional Description.
4. Under Targeting, set Scope to Specific Endpoints (or another available scope) and select the target Endpoints.
5. Under What to deploy, confirm Deployment Type is install, and choose the Application tab (or Application Bundle for a group).
6. In Select Application, check the application(s) to include - they move into the selected pane on the right.
7. Under Policy & delivery, set Deployment Policy (e.g. OOB Instant deployment policy, type Instant).
8. Set Retry Count (defaults to 1).
9. Optionally set Notify to for completion alerts.
10. Select Publish (or Save As Draft to finish later).

Path: Console / Automation / Software Automation / App Deployment / Create

Console: deployment definition

Result: A deployment task is created (e.g. ADR-068: Install VM) with stage Initiated, moving to In Progress, then Completed with progress 1/1, visible in the App Deployment list alongside prior deployments.

Step 4: Confirm the deployment with per-endpoint task status

Verify the application actually installed on the endpoint, rather than assuming from the deployment stage alone.

Instructions

1. Go to App Deployment to see every deployment with its Type (Install), Stage (Initiated, In Progress, Completed), Progress, and Policy.
2. Select the view icon on a deployment row to open its Tasks panel, showing Endpoint, Name, Status, and Last Updated.
3. Refresh to see Status move from In Progress to Success (or Failed) as the agent completes the install.

Path: Console / Automation / Software Automation / App Deployment

Console: task status

Result: Confirmation that the deployment is not just Completed at the task level, but actually Success at the individual endpoint level - the application was installed, not just scheduled.

Best practices for software automation

Troubleshooting: common issues and resolutions

Frequently asked questions