Chapter 20: Analyzing Installations Prior to DeploymentAbout the Predeployment Test Tool1544 ADS-0950-UG00 AdminStudio 9.5 User GuideAbout the Predeployment Test ToolThe Predeployment Test tool allows system administrators to determine if a Windows Installer .msi package willsucceed or fail when it is installed in production. Predeployment Test finds issues with disk space, installconditions, and will find conflicts with Windows Installer packages already installed on the system.This section includes the following topics:• How the Predeployment Test Tool Works• Predeployment Test Tool Components• Overview of Predeployment Test Tool ResultsCaution • Predeployment Test features cannot be installed on 64 bit machines because Microsoft® .NETFramework 2.0 does not support 64 bit machines.How the Predeployment Test Tool WorksWhen using the Predeployment Test Tool to determine if a Windows Installer package will succeed or fail when it isinstalled in production, you perform the following steps:• Create test-ready packages—Use the Predeployment Test Preparation Wizard to convert an originalWindows Installer .msi package into a “test-ready” package which incorporates custom actions. A test-ready.msi package does not make any system changes when it is installed; it is used to collect data on whether thatpackage would succeed or fail if it was installed on a particular machine. Using the wizard, you select thepackage to test and you specify deployment and conflict tests that you want to execute on the deploymentmachines.• Install test-ready packages—You install the test-ready packages in your enterprise. When a test-ready .msipackage is deployed, Type 1 .msi custom actions are executed. Each custom action performs a test andsends the results to a Web service, and the Web service saves those results into a database.• Analyze results—You can then view the compiled test results in a Web browser.Predeployment Test Tool ComponentsThe Predeployment Test Tool consists of five components:• Predeployment Test Preparation Wizard—This wizard-based tool converts the original .msi package intoa “test-ready” .msi package, a package that does not make any system changes when it is deployed.• Custom Actions—Type 1 .msi custom actions are executed when the “test-ready” .msi package isdeployed. Each custom action performs a test and sends the results to the .NET Web service.• .NET Web Service—This .NET Web service accepts the results from the custom action execution and savesthem into database tables in the Application Catalog.
