PDQ Deploy is a software installation and update deployment tool. It supports installation across a network of computers, silent installation and more. This HOWTO will show you how to set it up to install FireDaemon Pro.

Note: While this guide explains how to deploy FireDaemon Pro with PDQ, this guide will also work for any other FireDaemon software product.

PDQ Installation

First download PDQ Deploy from their official website. For the purposes of this HOWTO, we will use Deploy Free.

Run the PDQ Deploy installer. While Installing PDQ, the Installer will ask for Credentials. Here you need to provide the credentials of the Domain Administrator as the user needs access rights on the local machine as well as the remote console.

Once you've installed PDQ Deploy, download FireDaemon Pro from the FireDaemon website. Do not install it yet--that's what we want PDQ to do.

Adding a Target List

Before deploying FireDaemon Pro, there must be a target list that details which computers will have the software installed to them. While there is an option to add this target list during deployment, it can be useful to add the target list beforehand, especially if the target list is very large or if you plan to use one target list across multiple installations. To add a target list, select “New Target List” from the File menu. Enter a name for this list. From there, PDQ provides several different methods of listing remote hosts.

Manually adding the hosts: Enter each target computer manually. Click “Add Computer” after entering a target to ensure it gets added to the target list.

Active Directory: While installing PDQ if you provided proper Domain/username/Password it will fetch the hosts from active directory. If you have not provided proper authorisation yet, you can do this by editing your Credentials Preferences in the File menu. Once you have provided authorisation, select Choose Targets, followed by Active Directory. This option will fetch the hosts from the active directory and populate the target list for you.

Provide a file with a hosts list: Select Choose Targets and choose where you want to import your hosts file from. Options include an target list and a text file. Select your option to import your hosts file.

Provide a name for your target list and click OK after adding all your targets to save the list.

Installing FireDaemon Pro with PDQ

Before automating FireDaemon Pro deployment via PDQ, FireDaemon Pro needs to be added as a package within PDQ Deploy. Right-click Packages on the left-hand side of the PDQ panel (or press Ctrl-N) to add a new package.

Enter the name and version of the FireDaemon Pro version you’re deploying. You may also enter a description if you wish.

Now click “Step 1” under Package Properties. Here’s where you enter the needed information to install FireDaemon Pro.

Next to Step Title, enter a title for this step such as "Installing FireDaemon Pro".

Then, in the Install File section, enter the path to the .exe install file. Browsing your filesystem to find the file is recommended, as this will insert the path information to your file.

For a silent installation, enter the following under Parameters: /s /v “/qn”

Now click Save, and your FireDaemon Pro deployment settings are saved and ready for you to run anytime.

Once you’re ready to deploy, click "FireDaemon Pro" under the Packages section on the lefthand menu. From there, click the Deploy button on the upper right side, then select Deploy Once to start installation of software on remote hosts.

For “Choose Target” select one of the options depending on your PDQ deployment.

The options are the same as adding a target list earlier. You can select an existing target list for this deployment as well as add a new target list here.

Once you’ve chosen the targets for the deployment, ensure that they were checked for deployment by making sure the checkmark appears next to each target. Once you select the target hosts, select “Deploy Now” and FireDaemon Pro will be installed on the selected computers!

Since we configured FireDaemon Pro to install silently, visit the FireDaemon Pro package and verify the deployment’s status is “Successful”.