Seeding the intranet - using intranets for software distribution - includes related article on Web-based electronic software distribution - Technology Information

As the World Wide Web spreads across corporate cyberspace, prescient IS shops are exploring new uses for their Intranet-based Web pages. Early applications were training information, job postings and the like. Now, IS groups want to use their Intranets to address one of networking's thorniest problems -- software distribution.

Solving the problem of electronic software distribution (ESD) in a networked environment has been a goal for IS officials at Texas Instruments Inc., Plano, Texas, ever since they moved into client/server development.

"When everyone had access to the mainframe, software distribution was easier," says Gene Phifer, TI's senior information technology manager and Internet specialist. Following TI's move to client/server, Phifer used Microsoft's Systems Management Server (SMS) to distribute software to Windows-based PCs. For Unix machines, "we use Unix's standard file transfer protocol [FTP] along with a BASIC program to do the installation."

Says Phifer, "We wanted to replace these piecemeal solutions with one that addresses the whole audience at TI. That solution," he says, "is the Intranet."

Like Phifer, many IS managers are finding the Web a more convenient and user-friendly delivery system than FTP. A utility invoked by means of a command line, FTP requires keyboard entry instructions that are prone to syntax errors. In addition, FTP typically requires an ex-perienced user or programmer.

Conversely, users report that it's relatively easy to navigate the Intranet. And, once the network is in place, distributing software using the Web is relatively inexpensive. "Even though there are different ways to distribute software, the Web makes it simpler," says Phifer. Among the advantages of doing ESD on the Intranet are universal client access and the ability to group multiple data types (see box, p. 66).

Phifer plans to perform all of TI's software distribution using either CD-ROMs -- for very large systems -- or the Intranet. "We are performing a pilot of Intranet-based software delivery. We have to finalize our selection of a Web browser and an enterprise-level licensing package, and then complete the installation of TCP/IP throughout the company. We expect to accomplish those steps soon and plan to be fully operational sometime this summer."

Like Phifer, Jeffry Yaplee, senior network consultant in Digital Equipment Corp.'s Seattle-based Network Services Group, is working to maximize DEC's use of the Web. Digital is using several methods to distribute software throughout the firm.

"We prefer a mixed solution," Yaplee says. "We distribute software larger than three megabytes, such as an OS like Unix, over CD-ROMs. Software less than three megabytes can be delivered over the Intranet, using Netscape software and browsers." In some cases, Digital uses traditional delivery tools such as its own Polycenter AssetWorks product or Microsoft's SMS.

Not everyone believes that Intranet-based ESD represents an advantage over traditional ESD approaches. Clay Ryder, senior industry analyst at Zona Research Inc., Redwood City, Calif., for example, argues that software distribution within the limits of a corporate firewall simply does not require the resources of an internal Web.

"Updates to packaged software can be downloaded to LAN-based PCs from central Unix or mainframe servers acting as repositories," Ryder says. "Installation programs can then be run on the local PC. Neither platform requires the special features of the Intranet to accomplish software distribution."

Others agree that the Intranet is not a cure-all for software delivery woes. Software distribution, say some observers, requires more than a good browser, a powerful server and high network capacity. Two shortcomings currently found with Web-based ESD, according to Barbara Sannerud, vice president, product strategy at Computer Associates International Inc., Islandia, N.Y., are the lack of organizational process and security.

"Systems management software has to be able to take a business process view of the software delivery component. IS organizations need to map dis-tributions not just to a list of individuals, but to all individuals within a particular business role," says Sannerud. Ideally, she says, business roles would be grouped to reflect the particular needs of the firm, based, perhaps, on characteristics like geographical location, business function or department.

Furthermore, software delivery over the Intranet requires a more-refined security process. "The delivery process has to be governed by a rules-based security model that is able to encompass the whole enterprise," notes Sannerud.

Complicating this delivery issue is the "virtual" nature of many corporations today. "The Intranet must extend beyond company walls to reach its remote or mobile users," says Sannerud. "Many people are only temporary workers who come and go unpredictably. Other workers never physically enter the building, preferring to telecommute to the office. The concept of the company as resident within four physical walls is obsolete." Digital's Yaplee agrees that IS needs to get an organizational infrastructure in place before attempting any type of software distribution. To utilize the Intranet for ESD, he says, IS has to ensure that the network can handle the workload that will be placed on it when a major software distribution takes place. For example, "binary images tend to be very large. Networks can rapidly run out of bandwidth when these very large files are transmitted or when many people access the network at the same time." Also, he advises companies to "develop a strategy for the placement of the server so that it doesn't get bogged down. Mirroring servers, for example, may improve the overall performance." Yaplee also suggests installing a software licensing system that controls who gets copies of software, as well as developing and implementing enterprise-wide operational policies and procedures for configuration control.

As Digital's combination approach to ESD -- in which it uses the Web and other methods -- suggests, the Intranet is not ready to handle all soft-ware distribution tasks in client/server environments. SMS, for example, "is useful when the delivery has to be made to unattended workstations," says Yaplee. "The Intranet cannot handle this situation -- it always needs the user to take some action."

Analysts expect new systems and network management offerings for the Web to enable users to perform ESD and other tasks on Intranets. NewtWatch 4.6 from NetManage Inc., Cupertino, Calif., for example, allows administrators to push software out to desktops con-nected to a TCP/IP network.

CA will be providing a software delivery component on CA-Unicenter/The Next Generation (TNG), the network management extension to its Unicenter systems management platform. Both TNG and CA's Unicenter/Internet Commerce Enabled (ICE) are slated to ship by year-end '96. Along with software delivery and installation, TNG provides an animated view of the actual delivery. In addition, TNG can manage the remote installation of any kind of software, even operating systems.

Scheduled for a summertime release is AutoXfer, a new tool from Platinum Technology Inc., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill. Ted Collins, vice president of Platinum's ViaTech Laboratories, says Platinum's goal is to reduce the manual intervention typically required in software distribution. The Web and the tools that operate on it lack necessary features for efficient ESD. For one thing, there's no way for a central administrator to automatically invoke the distribution process. Second, the administrator is not informed when a user receives delivery.

According to Collins, AutoXfer will resolve these issues. The product, he says, checks the permission level of the person or group receiving a transmission to ensure the software should be delivered to that node. Users can control all transfers, coordinating distribution with other deliveries to prevent congestion on the network.

Related article: Advantages to ESD on the Web

Following a move to a client/server platform, Gene Phifer, senior information technology manager and Internet specialist at Texas Instruments, is using Microsoft's SMS for distributing software to Windows- based PCs, and FTP for distribution to Unix machines. However, Phifer wants to replace this combination solution with an ESD plan that utilizes internal Web pages on TI's Intranet. Some benefits Phifer expects to gain:

Any desktop with a Web browser can access software updates.

The information that appears on the client side can be customized, i.e., font sizes can be changed or page layouts can be altered.

Adding users is simplified because any machine that can run TCP/IP can link to the Web.

The standard eight-character filenames used in older operating systems such as DOS can be lengthened for a more accurate description.

The Web's superior indexing tools make finding information easier. nWeb pages are easy to package on the server side.

An HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language) document, containing pointers to files ready for delivery, can be created with an ordinary ASCII text editor.

The Intranet permits the grouping of many different data types such as text files, compressed binary files, and audio and video clips. The distribution package can contain a description of the software, helpful hints, order and approval information, installation, set-up procedures, and programs to decompress the files.

                                                 Network/ Gateway
Company             Product      OS Support      Support

COPYRIGHT 1996 Wiesner Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group