Faronics Deploy is a new Software as a Service (SaaS) offered by Faronics that allows administrators to remotely install Applications, Windows Updates, OS Deployment, as well as remotely control managed workstations and also generate Analytics, Reports and Alerts.
Faronics Deploy and Deep Freeze both are different products with different features. Deploy allows administrators to remotely manage apps, windows updates and OS deployment; whereas Deep Freeze offers the reboot to restore platform. Faronics Deploy cannot be used on a machine with Deep Freeze and vice versa. The only relationship between the two products is they both are made by Faronics.
Faronics Deploy has a list of 90+ pre-created packages as well as the ability to create your own package using MSI or EXE files for remote deployment and management.
Faronics Deploy is supported on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10 as well as macOS 10.13 (High Sierra), macOS 10.14 (Mojave), macOS 10.15 (Catalina). It is recommended that customers make sure they are on the latest patch revisions for the operating system that they are running the product on at the time of installation.
Unfortunately, at this time Faronics Deploy does not support Linux OS. If you are interested in using Faronics Deploy on a Linux platform, please send an email to support@faronics.com with details as to the distribution that you are using, as well as what features/tasks you are looking to manage through Faronics Deploy.
Unfortunately, no. Faronics Deploy client can only be installed on a Windows or a Mac computer. However, Faronics Deploy console can be operated using iOS/ iPad OS or other platform browser with limited capabilities.
Faronics Deploy and Deep Freeze Cloud – both are different products. Even though, Faronics Deploy may have some similar features as Deep Freeze Cloud but in theory they both are different products and cannot be installed on the same computer. Deep Freeze Cloud mainly revolves around the concept of Deep Freeze’s reboot to restore functionality along with remote application management, layered security, power management and mobile device management. Whereas, Faronics Deploy does not have the reboot to restore capabilities and instead offers remote application management, windows updates, OS deployment and remote control.
Faronics Deploy is licensed per operating system. If you have dual boot, or if you have an iMac with Bootcamp running Windows & Mac, you will need 2 licenses.
Faronics Deploy offers the ability to remote control a managed workstation as well as remotely install it’s 90+ pre-packaged applications, custom 3rd party applications, custom scripts (PowerShell, VB and Batch), Windows Updates, full Windows OS through its OS deployment functionality as well as standard remote management features like Restart, Shutdown and Wake-on-LAN (coming soon).
To get started with Faronics Deploy, simply signup for an account on https://deploy.faronics.com or https://www.faronicsdeploy.com using your email address and then deploy the Deploy Agent on your workstations to start managing them.
Faronics Deploy is a cloud-based console for managing computers and devices on your network from a supported browser*. There is no installation required. All you need to do is log in to deploy.faronics.com and download and install the Deploy Agent.
* Safari is not currently supported. For best results, we recommend using Chrome and Firefox.
It is not at all recommended to delete the “FD Imaging User” but if the “FD Imaging User” has been deleted, the Deploy Agent will not be able to access the Windows OS Images stored on the Deploy Imaging Server and therefore the OS deployment feature to Image a Computer or Capture an Image would not work. If the user gets deleted accidentally, please contact support@faronics.com for further assistance.
Faronics Deploy for Mac only supports the ability to install and update pre-packaged apps on managed Mac machines. Whereas, the windows version supports a lot of additional features like ability to install custom apps, remotely run custom scripts, manage windows updates, OS deployment, analytics and remote control.
Sites are independent groups of computers within your organization that are managed by Faronics Deploy. You may create multiple sites for different categories such as physical location (for example, California or New York) or departments (for example Accounts and Sales). Further sites can be configured to be managed by specific administrators. Computers that are part of one site cannot be managed from another site or by an administrator who does not have the rights to manage that particular site.
To create a new Site, click on the dropdown with the name of the current Site displayed on top right corner in Deploy Console, then click in the “Create New Site” text field and enter the desired Site name and finally click on the “+” to add the new Site.
Type the name of the new site you wish to create in the CREATE NEW SITE field and click +.
Yes, to rename an existing site, click on the dropdown with the name of the current Site displayed on top right corner in Deploy Console, then click on the “edit” icon besides the current site name and enter the new name for the Site as desired.
Yes, to select multiple computers, click on the Computers column header in the grid to call out the Actions Toolbar. Then in the Actions Toolbar, you can select all the Computers or specific Computers from the drop-down list and click on Select Computers button once you have made your selection.
Alternatively, you can click on a particular Computer name to call out the Actions Toolbar for that Computer, then click on the + icon besides the Computer name and select the additional Computers from the drop-down list. Once the selection has been made, click on the Select Computers button to finalize your selection.
To view the Computers by their groups, click on the Group column header to call out the Actions Toolbar; then click the Grouped switch to enable the grouped view of the Computers. Alternatively, you can select the group from the drop-down list to display only the Computers belonging to that group.
To create a Group, click on a Computer name to call out the Actions Toolbar and click on the Group name or the drop-down arrow under “Change Group” option. Then type the name of the Group you wish to create in the Create New Group field and click the “+” to save the new group.
No, if a Computer is not online, it is not possible to create or add it to a group as it is not available in a manageable state.
Yes, Faronics Deploy cloud-console displays the reports and timestamps based on the timezone set in the logged in user’s profile. And on the workstation side, it utilizes the local time on the workstations for performing the scheduled tasks.
There is no maintenance mode available in Faronics Deploy.
There is no maintenance mode available in Faronics Deploy.
Clone User allows Faronics Deploy administrators to create a duplicate user with the same permissions for Sites and Features without defining them again.
Super Administrators have access to all Sites; whereas an administrator can be restricted to specific Sites.
By default, Faronics Deploy groups the 90+ pre-packaged apps based on their app category. To see the list of apps in a non categorised list, click on the “Grouped by Applications” switch to ungroup all the apps and see them listed individually.
Faronics Deploy by default groups the 90+ pre-packaged apps based on their app category. To view apps within a certain category/group, click on the name of the app category/group displayed on the header of the applications grid which will drill into the app list.
No. Custom Apps cannot be added to a predefined app groups, even if they may belong to the same category.
No. In the current version, Custom Apps that have been successfully created automatically belong to the Custom Apps group only.
No. Custom Apps need to be installed on at least one Computer for the first time to be saved in the Applications grid.
No. It is not possible to edit a Custom App once it has been deployed. You can delete and create a new one – if desired.
Custom Scripts can be run on managed machines, to do this the script must be stored in a location accessible to the computer using an HTTP/HTTPS connection and will need to be in a supported format. Currently, Faronics Deploy supports PowerShell, VBScript, and Batch Files as supported options.
To create the custom script first click on the Custom Script button on the Control Grid, then enter the URL for the script, set the type of script, and then enter any command-line parameters that need to be in place for the proper operation of your script.
Once complete you can either run the script on selected machines one time, or save the script to the Control Grid for future use. If saved to the Control Grid the custom script can be run in the future in the same way that any other update, by clicking on the appropriate field and then clicking on the run option on the Control Grid.
Custom Apps can be installed on managed machines, to do this the app installer must be stored in a location accessible to the computer using an UNC (Network path) or HTTP/HTTPS URL and should support silent installation features.
To create the custom app package, click on the Custom App button on the Control Grid, then enter the following information:
Package Name: Specify a name for your package to easily identify it.
Enter URL: It should be a UNC (Network path) or HTTP/HTTPS URL that is accessible from the workstation(s).
Architecture: Select if the installer is for a 32bit, 64bit or a common installer for both platforms.
Install Commands: Specify the silent installation or other command-line switches supported by the installer. If the installer does not support silent installation capabilities, then it would not be possible to install it via Faronics Deploy.
Uninstall Commands: Specify the silent uninstallation command line switch supported by the installer.
Restart: Specify if the installation requires a restart or not.
Install Timeout: Specify if you would like the installation process to fail if it has not been able to install after “X” amount of time.
Once the Custom App details have been specified, click Next to Select a Computer to install the custom app package. And once the installation on one computer has been successful, you can then save the Custom App to the Applications Grid and install it on other Computers as desired.
No. It is not possible to edit a Custom Script once it has been created. You can delete and create a new one – if desired.
No. You cannot delete preset apps. (Is this function going to be added in future releases?)
The Faronics Deploy Cache Server is a small utility that can be installed on machines in the local network. This cache server will download product updates and keep local copies of them available so that client machines are not all having to download the update from the web.
This can significantly decrease the time and bandwidth that it takes for a download to complete and for the updates to be applied to the client machines. This feature can be enabled by selecting a workstation in the Faronics Deploy Control Grid and turning the option on in the client properties as shown below;
Once enabled client machines will show a small icon next to the name indicating that the cache server is installed.
To select multiple computers, click on the Computers column header in the grid to call out the Actions Toolbar. Then in the Actions Toolbar, you can select all the Computers or specific Computers from the drop-down list and click on Select Computers button once you have made your selection.
Alternatively, you can click on a particular Computer name to call out the Actions Toolbar for that Computer, then click on the + icon besides the Computer name and select the additional Computers from the drop-down list. Once the selection has been made, click on the Select Computers button to finalize your selection and perform the desired action.
Clicking on the application in the list of applications will display details of a given application, custom application, or script and an option to install, or uninstall on all systems will be shown as appropriate.
The option for removal will only be shown if the application is installed on all systems in the Faronics Deploy Control Grid.
The Application Presets provide a quick way to define a group of programs that are likely to be deployed together so that they can be quickly applied to a client machine as needed.
Application presets can be accessed by clicking on an individual workstation in the Control Grid and then selecting the “Manage App Presets” option from the dropdown on the Install App Presets button.
This will allow groups of applications to be defined for quick deployment as needed.
OS Deployment is a solution for standardized deployment of new and refreshed equipment using the different features available during installation and configuration processes, facilitating a granular level of control over computers before, during, and after the installation phase.
There are 3 steps involved in imaging a computer.
Supported platforms include Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, and Windows Server 2019.
Set up the Imaging Server in your local network by downloading and installing the Imaging Server, and adding images and drivers to the Imaging Server. On the Cloud, create Install Settings and Deployment Packages
To be able to deploy Windows installation images to a computer or capture an image from a computer, you must enable Imaging in the policy assigned to that computer.
An Imaging Server contains Images of computers and Drivers for deployment on to multiple computers in the network.
A Deployment Package contains all the necessary components for a network-based deployment. These packages are used to push an image on to targeted machines.
* A Deployment Package can belong to only one Imaging Server.
No. (Please add a reason WHY or if this function will be added in future releases)
Images are discrete files containing a compressed set of information such as system files, applications, data, settings, and properties captured from a reference machine.
There are 2 types of images:
You can add images of selected computers through the Deploy console by clicking the CAPTURE IMAGE button.
You can add ISO images through Faronics Deploy Imaging installed on your local computer.
You can include all the software which supports imaging.
Install Settings are groups of pre-configured settings to automate the Windows Out-of-box experience.
No. (Please add a reason WHY or if this function will be added in future releases)
Yes, select multiple computers using the actions toolbar and then click on Image Computers.
No, it is not possible to schedule a deployment to start at a specific time.
No, if a computer is offline, it is not possible to image that computer. You can consider using PXE Booting feature supported via Faronics Imaging Server on a Windows Server OS machine.
Faronics Deploy and Deep Freeze cannot work together.
A Policy is a collection of settings that you want to enable for managing computers. Within a policy, you can set up when and how to update your Applications, which Applications are to be included in the Policy, and what type of Windows Updates are to be installed on the computer. You can also configure additional settings for Windows 10.
To apply a policy to a computer, click on the computer name from the APPLICATIONS page. In the ACTION TOOLBAR window, under CHANGE POLICY, select the policy you wish to apply to the computer.
To create a new policy, click the CREATE NEW POLICY button in the POLICIES page.
When creating a new policy, you can configure the GENERAL SETTINGS by assigning a POLICY NAME, selecting the APPLICATION UPDATE MODE, setting up a repeating schedule and password, and enabling proxy. You can also select which APPLICATIONS and WINDOWS UPDATES are to be included in the policy.
Yes. Select a policy from the grid and click EDIT POLICY or DELETE POLICY. Follow the instructions when prompted until you are finished.
For Windows 10, you can configure when feature updates or quality updates are to be installed and the targeted channel for which to install the updates.
Quality updates include security improvements. This update can be deferred until up to 30 days.
No. A computer can be assigned to only one policy.
No, custom apps cannot be included in the policy.
If caching of Windows Updates is enabled, then the updates are stored under the local Windows Updates repository of the local workstation.
Windows Updates can be deferred for a period up-to 365 days.
There are no updates which cannot be managed by Faronics Deploy. All the updates supported by the workstations are automatically synchronized with the Microsoft Windows Update catalogue and shown based on their availability in Faronics Deploy.
The ACTION TOOLBAR is a toolbar that displays information regarding computers, apps or updates, and actions which can be triggered on managed computers.
To view the ACTION TOOLBAR for a computer, click on a computer name.
To view the ACTION TOOLBAR for an app, click on an app name.
To view the ACTION TOOLBAR for failed updates, click on the cell of the app with the FAILED status.
To view the ACTION TOOLBAR for scripts, click on a script name.
To view the ACTION TOOLBAR for patches, click on a patch name.
APP PRESET is a group of selected preset apps for deploying to the computer. Click MANAGE APP PRESETS to create and edit app packages for deployment. Once an app package has been created, it is now available for deployment across all computers.
