MSI vs SmartInstaller

[Scott B]

Other than the file type what is the difference between the fog client MSI installer and the smart installer?

[Daniel Miller]

The smart installer is capable of installing the fog client on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

[Sebastian Roth]

@Scott-B While Daniel’s answer is perfectly right I might just add that technically the SmartInstaller has the MSI packed into it and simply uses msiexec on Windows system to install. For Linux und MacOS it uses it’s own install routines.

[Scott B]

@Daniel-Miller @Sebastian-Roth

Thanks for the explanation. I always wondered since I have always done the MSI.

[Sebastian Roth]

@Scott-B MSI is just fine on Windows!

[fry_p]

Sorry to necro this thread, but I also want to mention a certain use-case for the MSI. You can pass arguments using msiexec to install. This is useful for remote/silent installation. This has saved me in the past.

From the Wiki:

msiexec /i FOGService.msi /quiet USETRAY="0" HTTPS="0" WEBADDRESS="192.168.1.X" WEBROOT="/fog" ROOTLOG="0"

Firstly, all options are optional. Here’s what they all do:

    USETRAY= defaults to "1", if "0" the tray will be hidden

    HTTPS= defaults to "0", if "1" the client will use HTTPS (not recommended)

    WEBADDRESS= defaults to "fogserver", this is the ip/dns name of your server

    WEBROOT= defaults to "/fog"

    ROOTLOG= defaults to "0", if "1" the fog.log will be at C:\fog.log, otherwise %PROGRAMFILES%\FOG\fog.log

[Sebastian Roth]

@fry_p While you are right that options can be used for MSI install (very important I know!) this is not something specific to MSI. The SmartInstaller can also be called using options: https://wiki.fogproject.org/wiki/index.php/FOG_Client#FOG_Client_0.10.0.2B_Installation_Options

[fry_p]

@Sebastian-Roth well then, today I learned! MSI’s only advantage is you can deploy via GPO I suppose. To my knowledge you have to call a script for an exe. Either way works. Thanks for the clarification.

[Scott B]

@fry_p

This is good information. It’s how I automate the FOG client install after my sysprep images have been restored.