Upgrading an existing Group Policy deployment of Argos Agent

If you have deployed the Argos Agent to your workstations with a Group Policy Object, at some point you will want to upgrade these desktop clients to the latest version. In order to do this you will need to create a new software package that will upgrade the existing software package in the GPO.

The techniques outlined in this document assume an understanding of MSI and, optionally, Group Policies. If you aren't familiar with these concepts, we recommend against using them. Support for Microsoft networking is beyond the scope of our support policy.

Download the latest version of Argos 7

1. From a web browser on the server that hosts your "Argos7Installers" folder, navigate to http://www.sepialine.com/get. Fill out the necessary information, and save the UnpackArgos7.exe file to your desktop.
2. Run UnpackArgos7.exe, this will update your Argos7Installers folder to all the latest installation files. 
3. Navigate to Argos7Installers\Agent\AgentMSI, the ArgosAgent.msi file contained here is the one you will be deploying. Copy it off to the network deployment share you wish to use for your GPO software deployment.

Prepare your new .msi for deployment

1. If you are using an .mst (or transform) file in your exisiting GPO software package to pass the necessary values to the installation, you can simply apply that same transform to the new .msi file when you set up the upgrade. If you're not using an .mst, you'll need to edit the new .msi itself to contain the appropriate property table values. Directions for both of these operations can be found in our GPO Deployment KB Article .
2. You will want to be sure to place your new .msi in the same network share that your older version was deployed from. 

Create a new software package within your existing GPO

1. In Group Policy Management Console, right click on your existing GPO and click "Edit".
   
   
2. Drill down to Computer Configuration>Policies>Software Settings>Software Installation. You should see your existing software package in the pane on the right. Right-Click on "Software Installation", and select new>package.
   
   
3. Browse to and select your new .msi file when prompted, and click on "Open". We recommend placing this file in the same share you used to deploy the existing .msi.
   
   
4. Select "Advanced" for the deployment method.
   
   
5. Under the Upgrades tab, click the add button, then select the existing (old) software package under "Package to upgrade". Also click on the radio button for "Package can upgrade over the existing Package".
   
   
6. NOTE: If you're using an .mst to transform your .msi, add the .mst to your package under the Modifications tab. Please see the GPO Deployment KB Article  for more information on this process. 
7. Under the General tab, change the name of the package to "Sepialine Argos Agent" and click "OK".
   
   
8. Congratulations! You're done. Your users will receive their updated Argos Agent on their next reboot. To test this update on a workstation within the scope of the GPO immediately, go to a command prompt on the workstation and enter: gpupdate /force /boot. You should see the updated version of Argos Agent in Add/Remove Programs.