Unattended desktop client configuration

With the use of Microsoft's Group Policy Management, you can easily install and setup the Acronis Access Desktop client on multiple machines remotely. The only thing end users will have to do is start the client and enter their password. The Group Policy Management also ensures that users cannot change/replace the correct settings by accident. If this happens, they can simply log off and when they log in, the correct settings will be re-applied.

Creating and configuring the Group Policy Management object:

1. On your domain controller, open the Group Policy Management console.
2. Right-click on your desired domain and select Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here....
3. Give it a name and press OK.
4. Expand the Group Policy Objects section and select your new policy.
5. Under the Scope tab select the desired sites, domains, OUs, groups, users and/or computers.

Unattended installation of the client

This section will help you install the Acronis Access Desktop client silently on user login on all desired machines.

Creating an installer distribution point

All computers that will have the client installed, must have access to the installer. This is done by creating a folder, sharing it with the desired user group and placing the installer in it.

1. Right-click on the folder with the installer and select Properties.
2. Open the Sharing tab and press Share.
3. Enter the domain group, OU or users that you will install the Access client on. This group (or etc.) should be the same as the one you select for the Group Policy Object.
4. Press OK/Done and close all remaining dialogs.

Note: Make sure that the installer is reachable by the desired machines by its network address (e.g. \\WIN2008\Software\AAClientInstaller.msi)

Getting the installer on the user's machine

1. On the domain controller, expand the Group Policy Objects section and right click on your new Policy Object.
2. Select Edit and expand User Configuration -> Preferences -> Windows Settings -> Files.
3. Right-click on Files and select New -> File.
4. Select Create for Action.
5. For Source file(s) either click on the browse button and navigate to the Access client installer or enter the full path to it. (e.g. \\WIN2008\Software\AAClientInstalelr.msi)
6. For Destionation file enter the destination folder and destination filename. This will copy the Access client installer from the network share and will place it in the destination folder on the user's machine on logon.

   Note: e.g. If you enter C:\Folder\ThisFile.msi, the client installer will get placed in the user's C drive, in the folder Folder and will be named ThisFile.msi.

7. Press OK.

Installing the client

Making the installation script

1. Create an empty text file and paste the following script into it:

   msiexec /i "C:\AAC.msi" /quiet

   sleep 180

   DEL /F /S /Q /A "C:\AAC.msi"

   This script will open a command prompt, install the Access client without displaying anything and delete the Access client installer after 3 minutes.

2. Change the path C:\AAC.msi in both places, to the path you entered in the Destination File field and press File -> Save As....
3. Enter a name for the script and make sure it ends with .bat. For the Save as type: field, select All Files. Make sure that the file is either on the domain controller or is reachable by it. This file is important and must not be changed or deleted so place it in a specific location that won't get changed.

Using the script on user logon

1. Open the Group Policy Manager and expand the Group Policy Objects section and right click on your new Policy Object.
2. Select Edit and expand User Configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings -> Scripts (Logon/Logoff).
3. Double-click on Logon and press Add.
4. In the Add Script dialog, press Browse (...) and navigate to the folder where you saved the script.
5. Select the script and press Open.
6. Press OK and press OK again on the following dialog.
7. Done. All users in the specified group or OU will now get the Acronis Access client installed on logon.

Creating the folder and registry entries:

In this example we will create entries for the Username, Sync-Folder, Server URL, the Auto-Update checkbox and if the client should connect to servers with self-signed certificates.

1. Expand the Group Policy Objects section and right click on your new Policy Object.
2. Select Edit and expand User Configuration -> Preferences -> Windows Settings.

Creating the sync folder:

1. Right-click on Folders and select New -> Folder.
2. Set the Action to Create.
3. For the path, enter the following token: %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\AAS Data Folder

Creating the registry:

1. Right-click on Registry and select New -> Registry Item.
2. Set the Action to Create.
3. For Hive, select HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
4. For the path, enter the following: Software\Group Logic, Inc.\activEcho Client\
5. Now do the following for the desired entries:
6. For the Username:
   1. For Value name enter "Username".
   2. For Value type select REG_SZ.
   3. For Value data enter the following token: %USERNAME%@%USERDOMAIN%

      Note: If you wish to use Single Sign-on, do not configure the Username token. Instead, do the following:

   • For SSO:
   • For Value name enter "AuthenticateViaSSO".
   • For Value type select REG_SZ.
   • For Value data enter 1.
7. For the Server URL:
   1. For Value name enter "Server URL".
   2. For Value type select REG_SZ.
   3. For Value data enter the address of your Access Server. e.g. https://myaccess.com
8. For the Sync-Folder:
   1. For Value name enter "activEcho Folder".
   2. For Value type select REG_SZ.
   3. For Value data enter the following token and path: %USERPROFILE%\Desktop\AAS Data Folder
9. For the Auto-Update:
   1. For Value name enter "AutoCheckForUpdates".
   2. For Value type select DWORD.
   3. For Value data enter "00000001". The value "1" enables this setting and the client will automatically check for updates. Setting the value to "0" will disable the setting.
10. For the Certificates:
    1. For Value name enter "AllowInvalidCertificates".
    2. For Value type select DWORD.
    3. For Value data enter "00000000". The value "0" disables this setting and the client will not be able to connect to Acronis Access servers with invalid certificates. Setting the value to "1" will enable the setting.