SkyBox Client Download
When you have purchased SkyBox Client licenses and log on with your account, you will see a table like the one
to the right on the "My Accounts" page. This page explains why there is more than one option and how to use each option.
If you do not have an Active Directory, you should focus on the first two options only.
SkyBox vs FastTrack
If you have a need to include custom data such as Active Directory
information or license keys to your inventory, you can use FastTrack
as an advanced replacement for the SkyBox Client. Refer to the
FastTrack Inventory page
at fasttrackscript.com for more information.
Client install option 1: You are installing the SkyBox Client
If you are a small company and you are installing the SkyBox Client on computers yourself,
use the top "Setup Exe File" option to download a normal installation package. This is
the same type of setup file that you received, if you requested a trial. The trial setup
file is
not the same as your licensed setup file
and must therefore be removed before installing the setup file.
Client install option 2: Your users are administrators and they must install the SkyBox Client
If you are a small company and your users are administrators, you can ask them to
install the SkyBox Client themselves. The second "Direct Exe Download Link"
option will give you a direct copy/pastable link to your setup exe file from option 1.
This unique link does
not require login,
so you can just copy the link into an email and ask your end users to install it.
The installation will do an immediate upload on successful installation, so you can quickly
verify that they have done so by looking for their computers in your inventory.
Client install option 3: You have a domain logon script
If you have a domain logon script, you can use the third "Upload Exe File"
download button to download what is called an upload exe file. All this exe file does is to do
one
upload on the executing computer and nothing else. If you run this executable file as part of your existing logon script, there
is nothing more you need to do and there is no need to install the SkyBox Client on your computers.
The drawback of this option is that you will not get frequent updates
of your inventory, especially on servers, as you only get updates, when someone
logs on to a computer. If you are using FastTrack instead of the
SkyBox Client, you can use the "UploadInventory" command in your FastTrack-based
logon script instead to get the same functionality.
Client install option 4: You have an Active Directory or a management system such as SCCM
If you have an Active Directory or a Management System, you can distribute a Windows Install (MSI)
file automatically. You can download an MSI file by selecting the fourth "Setup MSI File" option.
How to setup SkyBox Client with Active Directory distribution
First put your downloaded setup.msi file on your netlogon share. Open Explorer and navigate to \\<DomainName>\Netlogon, where
"DomainName" is the name of your domain.
Next, on a domain controller, go to "Administrative Tools", which is located in your Control Panel
under "System and Security". Here you will find the "Group Policy Management" application, which you
must start. If you are using only the default Group Policy settings, right-click the "Default Domain Policy"
and select "Edit", as shown below.
Go to Computer Configuration -> Policies -> Software Settings -> Software installation and right-click to create a new distribution package:
You will now be asked to identify a file. Select the msi file that you just put under \\<DomainName>\Netlogon.
You must use the unc path, as your computers needs to get it from a public readable location, which your netlogon share is.
After locating the file, you will be asked for deployment method. Select the "Advanced" option, because we want to make
sure that if you ever want to remove the SkyBox client from your computers, this happens automatically, if you delete the
package:
Now the properties will open:
Select the "Deployment" tab and make sure that you check "Uninstall this application when it falls out of the
scope of management". This means that if you ever delete your package, it will automatically be removed
from all your computers.
Now your SkyBox Client is set up in the list of installed software. Note that it may take up to a day
for computers to show up in your inventory. This is because the msi file installs
a scheduled task that only triggers once a day. You can go to any computer and make it upload manually
by right-clicking the "SkyBox Client" Scheduled Task from the control panel and make it execute immediately.