MSI Package Builder – windows installer .msi remote

Overview

Do you agree that application management belongs to the most routine and time-consuming tasks for system administrators? Nobody seems to be enthusiastic about visiting every PC in the building and following the same installation sequence time and again. Nevertheless, it's important to keep applications updated and under a centralized control, otherwise they become unmanageable quite soon. It doesn't matter how many PCs you have - 10 or 10 000; the only chance to manage installations effectively is to rely on automated systems.

How to Build MSI: Effortless Approach

How can EMCO MSI Package Builder help you? Let's identify week points of remote deployment first. One of the widely used means of remote installation is the domain's Group Policy. It's pretty powerful, but if you consider using it, you have to be aware of its requirements:

Group Policy only enables deployment of those applications that are ready for silent unattended installation. The automatic process nature leaves no place for options selection and interaction with the user, hence the setup file design should account for this.
A Windows Installer package (MSI file) is needed for installation though Group Policy. Deployment of EXE files is not supported directly, so you need to repackage EXE to MSI.

Obviously, there are many installations that do not meet these requirements. Is it possible to deploy them remotely? Certainly! This is a task for EMCO MSI Package Builder to produce new or convert existing installations into a format suitable for silent unattended installation.

Innovative Technology: Automatic Installation Repackaging

EMCO MSI Package Builder goes beyond the scope of typical installation creation tools and straightforward EXE to MSI repackagers. It's not just another MSI editor or builder. You are not limited by feature set bounds, and at the same time you don't need to browse hundreds of pages of manuals and learn a specific installation language. Instead, you benefit from an automatic and fully visual MSI creation process based on the pioneer 'Live Monitoring' technology.

How can you create MSI or customize an existing installation? With MSI Package Builder you can follow a traditional way and enter the set of files and registry keys for installation manually in the visual editor. Or you can save a lot of effort by trying the automatic build approach benefiting from the 'Live Monitoring' technology. In this case, the process is very easy and consists of just a few steps:

Start monitoring by pressing the button in the application. This action activates collecting information about changes on the file system and registry.
Start the activity to be monitored. It can be an original setup file, which you need to execute to then follow the installation process as usual by selecting options and entering data. Or it can be a set of actions required for a new installation, for example, files copying. All changes undertaken on the file system and the registry are automatically tracked.
Stop monitoring by pressing the button when the monitored activity has finished. All monitored actions are displayed in the visual editor and can be changed if required.
Build MSI automatically using the monitoring results.

This approach significantly simplifies producing of customized MSI packages for any existing installation. You just need to monitor the installation process where you can select required options. The thus generated package performs exactly the same actions as those taken during the manual deployment and is ready for a remote deployment.

Key Features

Creation of MSI packages, which can be installed manually on a local PC or automatically on remote PCs through Group Policy or EMCO Remote Installer.
Intuitive visual editor for managing files, folders, registry and environment installation entries. Truly visual approach - no programming skills required.
'Live Monitoring' technology that enables capturing of file system and registry changes caused by any application. Collected data used for MSI creation.
Decompilation, which allows decompiling the existing package, making changes and creating a new customized MSI package.
Installation of Windows services. Service entries can be defined manually in the visual editor or come from the monitoring results.
Extended installation management features: system variables support, control of files and registry keys overwriting, file attributes support, files and registry keys permanence options, etc.

Why EMCO MSI Package Builder?

EMCO MSI Package Builder helps you create MSI packages, thus it can be used every time you need to create an installation. You can rely on it even when other deployment tools fail, namely:

When you need to create a setup file but don't know how to do it. Don't worry - you don't need to undergo any special training. Using the intuitive visual interface, you will be able to create your first installation within a couple of minutes.
When you want to make a mass application deployment on remote computers. You just need to monitor the manual installation process using the 'Live Monitoring' technology, and MSI can be automatically created from the monitoring results. The generated package can be installed remotely by means of Group Policy or EMCO Remote Installer.
When you have to convert EXE to MSI. This can be done automatically using the 'Live Monitoring' technology. Moreover, you can select different options in the course of the original installation process, and your selection will be reflected in the produced MSI.
When you need to uninstall an unwanted application from remote computers. For this, monitor the application deinstallation and create MSI from the monitoring results. This package can be executed on remote computers by means of Group Policy or EMCO Remote Installer to uninstall an application.

Select Edition

EMCO MSI Package Builder is available as Starter, Professional and Enterprise editions with different features and at different prices. Below you can see a high-level feature comparison of these editions.

	Starter Edition	Professional Edition	Enterprise Edition
Functionality Focus
Build brand-new MSI
Convert EXE to MSI
Customize existing MSI
MSI Creation Approach
Manual creation in the visual editor
Automatic creation based on the monitoring results ('Live Monitoring' technology)
Automatic creation based on the MSI decompilation
Installation Features
Files and folders: create, modify, delete
Files versioning options: overwrite unconditionally, overwrite older, overwrite equal or older, skip
Files attributes: set and preserve
File permanence: preserve file during uninstallation
Registry entries: create, modify, delete
Registry entry permanence: preserve registry entry during uninstallation
Services: install, uninstall, start, stop
Environment variables: create, modify delete
Price	$199.00	$499.00	$595.00

Licenses issued for MSI Package Builder versions prior to 3.3.1 are equal to Enterprise Edition licenses.

Related Product

EMCO Remote Installer - A timesaving tool intended for software remote installation. It allows you to retrieve a list of applications installed on every PC in the local network, to automatically detect changes in this list and to make a mass remote installation and deinstallation of software. The software deployment process is automatic, unattended and silent; all you need is an MSI package ready for silent installation and a list of the PCs where it should be deployed. The rest is the EMCO Remote Installer's business.

EMCO Installation Suite - This bundle targeted at management of installations and applications throughout the local network. It includes two innovative products: EMCO MSI Package Builder and EMCO Remote Installer, which allow you to create new or customize existing installations and deploy them remotely onto PCs in the local network. You can also convert EXE to MSI for existing setups to prepare them for remote installation. As a result, you get an integrated solution that spares you most tiresome and routine application management tasks and chores.

Awards

Year after year, EMCO MSI Package Builder receives various awards from editors and readers of leading IT resources. These awards are acknowledgement of the advanced product design, good usability and our commitment to quality.

Testimonials

We have been looking for Inventory software for several months and we have evaluated several systems. Emco was recommended by one of our suppliers, Bennet's IT Solutions (www.bits.co.za). We tested the software and were very happy with the data collected and the pricing of the software.

Our big problem with more expensive packages was that the cost did not always justify the functionality. Our own in-house developers could write code to collect the data, but we wanted an off the shelf product that presented this data well. Emco was chosen because of the good cost and functionality it offered.

I have also looked at some of Emco's other products, and we may purchase some of this in the future.

Henry Dixon, Senior Technical Support Specialist
Goodyear South Africa | www.goodyear.co.za

We are very stasified with the product

Applied to: MSI Package Builder

I am working in TV 2 in Norway, and I am responsible for the desktops in the company, that is defining a standard and controlling OS deployment as well as deployment of applications. I have been working for a year with another product, that just didn't do the job. Our msi packages sometimes failed without a obvious reason.

I started looking at other software applications for creating msi packages easily and I tried Emco as the last product. I found after browsing the internet, and I have tried it for a few weeks. We are very stasified with the product because it is so easy to use, and not least that it gets the job done.

Espen H. Haga, IT Department
TV 2 AS | www.tv2.no

It saves me literally weeks of time

Applied to: Network Inventory

I love the software. It saves me literally weeks of time. I can gather information about our entire network of 50 Pcs in less than two minutes. Good reporting & charting options.

Steve Harris, I.T. & CAD Manager
Cottee Parker Architects Pty Ltd. | www.cotteeparker.com.au

A few clicks of the mouse and I have all the control I need

Applied to: Remote Desktop

As IT Manager for EMCOR Service: Mesa Energy Systems, I maintain a Win2K environment with approximately 100 nodes distributed over 4 locations throughout California connected via a frame. I've experimented with many different remote desktop solutions. They required unreliable or tiresome remote clients to be installed before use. Some of them simply crammed too much functionality into the product resulting in software unnecessarily large, complex, as well as unstable. All of them were far too expensive to license.

I then discovered the EMCO Remote Desktop. The product was straightforward, and I was up and running without even reading a user manual. No remote client installs. No messy video drivers. Add or Identify remote workstations easily. Just a username, a password, and a few clicks of the mouse and I have all the control I need. The price is amazingly affordable. It works, and it works well . . .And I'm only on version 1.0! I look forward to investigating the other EMCO products.

Rob Wagner
EMCOR Service: Mesa Energy Systems, Inc. | www.emcorgroup.com

We have found both products to be extremely useful

Applied to: Remote Desktop

We have been using both Remote Audit and Remote Desktop from EMCO and have found both products to be extremely useful. In both cases they replaced existing software with software that was easy to use and much more useful.

Michael, Director of Information Technology
Albertus Magnus College | www.albertus.edu

So far I have nothing but praise for this software

Applied to: Network Inventory

The EMCO Network Inventory 3.0 software has enabled me to get an overall view of the status of the company computer systems. It has done this for me effortlessly and has taken all the leg work out of what would have been a very tedious task. Additionally the software has done this with no interruption of the end users therefore company work output has been unaffected.

So far I have nothing but praise for this software but have yet to use it to its full potential. Thank you EMCO.

Mark Hayward
TM Group PLC | www.tmgroup-plc.co.uk

Your product does all the things I have always wanted

Applied to: Network Inventory | MSI Package Builder

We have purchased EMCO Network Inventory 4.5 and EMCO MSI Package Builder. I found your website via google, whilst searching for a network inventory tool which allowed you to search for specific files and their version. I then found your MSI Package Builder to be very helpful and both packages are very user friendly.

The product we currently use for network inventory, will certainly be replaced with EMCO Network Inventory, as your product does all the things I have always wanted. Your product is also much more cost effective, which allowed me to be able to purchase your MSI package.

You have many interesting packages on your web site, which I will be looking at and evaluating over the course of this year, with the view to putting into our budget for 2007. I just wish I had found your web site before now.

Darren Lloyd, IS Supervisor
EMS | www.ems-online.co.uk

Network Inventory product is and continues to be a great tool for us

Applied to: Network Inventory

EMCO's Network Inventory product is and continues to be a great tool for us. I was looking for a network inventory product that did not need an agent to be installed. My experience was that installing and maintaining agent installations on all nodes was cumbersome and time consuming. My search led me to EMCO's Network Inventory product. It is so easy to use and intuitive that in 30 minutes I was able to download, install and run a network inventory. It accurately gathers all the information that we need to track. In addition we can run custom scan for specific versions of programs or specific file types such as .mp3's and track our licensing compliance. Thanks for such a valuable and easy to use tool EMCO!

Brigid Gray
Pima County Assessor | www.asr.co.pima.az.us

This is a excellent time saver for Network Administrators

Applied to: Network Inventory

We found EMCO Network Inventory provides comprehensive inventory information with little effort. This is a excellent time saver for Network Administrators. It also helps Administrators, to check monitor users who install software (like screen savers and others) without Network Administrator's knowledge, and get into problem.

Sundar Pillay, IT Manager
RHI Refractories Asia Pacific Pte Ltd

A great value for your money

Applied to: Remote Desktop

Administering networks is something all system administrators do on a daily basis. Unfortunately, minor issues and major problems tend to happen from time to time and in most cases require immediate and resolute actions, as any network downtimes affect the whole company and its clients. However, sometimes problems come when they are least expected - for instance, when the system administrator is away or on a sick leave and no substitute is available. If you are a system administrator looking for a versatile remote administration tool, EMCO Remote Desktop Professional is just what the doctor ordered!

This compact, affordable and multifunctional utility from EMCO Software provides the essential toolkit that allows system administrators to manage wired and wireless Microsoft networks remotely in an efficient and expedient manner. This approach also allows you to troubleshoot network problems from a centralized location, which is time and money-consuming. Remote Desktop Professional collects various network data about hardware and software installed on network computers and tasks currently running on them. The advanced built-in remote task manager is very similar to that found in NT-based systems, so you won't have any problems getting used to it. The tool supports Windows Vista and does not require DCOM/RPC to operate.

If in doubts about choosing the right software for remote network administration, look no further than Remote Desktop Professional. A great value for your money, it offers everything necessary for resolving network problems in a wink of an eye!

Technical Editor
3d2f.com | www.3d2f.com

Thanks EMCO! Keep up the good work!

Remote Audit (Network Inventory) is fantastic tool! It really takes the guesswork out of the auditing equation. We've even been able to create web-based reports thanks to the advanced exporting features. I'd highly recommend this product to any administrator who is looking for an economical and easy to use auditing utility. Thanks EMCO! Keep up the good work!

Trevor Wise
OptiFrame Software | www.optiframe.com

Remote Audit 2.0 was the best value software of all the tools we investigated

When CCH undertook to migrate all its staff from Windows NT to Windows 2000 Professional, we needed a reliable, cost effective and easy to use software audit tool. EMCO's Remote Audit 2.0 provided us with a perfect solution. Remote Audit doesn't require a client or messy log in scripts meaning it is quickly deployed so you can get on with the job in hand, instead of investing time configuring and preparing the tool.

What's more Remote Audit 2.0 was the best value software of all the tools we investigated and was implemented within 24 hours of purchase across the entire network. We never would have thought that an Icelandic company would have provided the solution to an Australian software issue!

Sarah Baxter, Project Manager
CCH Australia | www.cch.com.au

Well done EMCO!

We chose EMCO Remote Audit for our organization and it has proved an invaluable aid in keeping our software in line with the current licensing laws. Well done EMCO!

Martin O'Donnell, IT Manager
De Montfort Insurance Company PLC | www.demontfort.com

Remote Audit 2.0 has proved invaluable

As an I.S. Support Administrator I am faced with supporting around 180 PC's, with a mixture operating systems, mainly Windows NT 4.0, a number of Windows 2000 and also few Win 95/98. With constant company restructures and high staff turnover keeping an up to date audit of all our Computers was proving very difficult, so it was necessary to find a program to help. After trying several different products from varying Software companies, with both a very competitive price and great functionality I purchased EMCO Remote Audit 2.0 (200 nodes).

Remote Audit 2.0 has proved invaluable, it is able with very minor network overhead, interrogate all the PC's on your network and report back with all essential information including detailed information on Processor type/speed, Memory, Disk Details (utilization etc.), operating system, service pack, detailed listing of installed application, detail of installed printers, local network shares... and the list goes on. With both Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4.0 it will also pick up WMI information such as Manufacture Serial number etc.

Network Audit 2.0 unlike many competitors doesn't require it/you to install anything to the PC's being audited, it simply and quickly queries each PC and stores all the data in a common database. Remote Audit can also export audited information to a variety of different file formats very simply for further analysis. Overall Remote Audit 2.0 has been a very handy piece of software, with its very competitive price, great functionality and user friendly interface I would recommend it to anyone.

Maxim Ghest, I.S. Support Administrator
IFS England | www.ifs.inchcape.co.uk

Thanks for providing this excellent piece of software

Since using Remote Audit 2.0 we have been able to monitor our computer systems for software that is not supposed to be installed on clients machines. We have also used the product to help with our upgrade from Windows NT 4.0 to Windows 2000 by finding which computers needed to be upgraded and what was previously installed on the systems. The time saved by using Remote Audit 2.0 greatly out ways the initial cost of the software which is of great value anyway.

Thanks for providing this excellent piece of software to make our IT lives a bit more bearable ;)

Lean March
SATC | www.southaustralia.com

The Remote Audit helped me immeasurably in doing a Windows NT-XP upgrade

The Remote Audit helped me immeasurably in doing a Windows NT-XP upgrade by verifying hardware assets...it defined who should have their system replaced or just upgraded, gave me a list of people left, and also looked out for software exceptions.

Kevin Money
Iroquis | www.iroquis.com

Effective, Easy to use, Simple and Straight Forward - Recommended

Applied to: MSI Package Builder

Easy to un-pack existing .msi files and repackage into your own requirements, easy to create your own new packages, great for monitoring and capturing software during installs to create your own thing. We didnt think we would use it as much as we have this has been excellent for our college of 420+ nodes. We have the now Enterprise edition. EMCO support is excellent. As good as any 50million dollar over priced over the top solution for MSI packaging and deployment. It gets the job done and well.

Feedback from download.com

This unique product is exactly what I need

Applied to: MSI Package Builder | Remote Installer

Time-to-time I should install software to user's computers and it always takes a long time and requires many efforts, because our offices are straggled over the building in the different floors. Time ago my colleague told me about that tool, which helps him a lot with software installation. Yesterday I had a task to install Adobe Acrobat and Photoshop tools to the 37 user desktops, so it was a good chance to try it on practice.

I spent 10 minutes for reading Quick Start in Help and created Adobe Acrobat MSI 10 minutes later. It was really exiting - I needed just to start monitoring, which tracks on changes performed on computer, then start Acrobat installation and after stopping of monitoring MSI can be automatically created. I can't believe that it's a truth, therefore I tried to install created MSI on different computers and it works well without any prompt to specifying a path for installation and other annoying things, which you should perform again and again when installing software on different computers. After trying functionality of installed Acrobat from created MSI package I found that it works by the same way as the standard distribution.

Magic of this tool continues when I started MSI Remote Installer, which is a part of the distribution. Using this tool I was able to select computers, which require Acrobat installation and install it from my computer. I repeated procedure also with Photoshop and it went smoothly as well.

A really unique tool - I spent less then one hour for playing with a tool and installing software on 37 computers - great result.

Feedback from download.com

Stable, reliable, and simple remote system for managing software deployment

Applied to: MSI Package Builder | Remote Installer

The EMCO Remote Installer/MSI Package Builder software suite has empowered our firm with a stable, reliable, and simple remote system for managing software deployment and removal across our network. The ability to easily generate your own custom .msi packages, and deploy them remotely network-wide... is _essential_ automation.

David Austin, Technical Director
ASGVis LLC | www.asgvis.com