SOLIDWORKS Administrative Images assist with installing SOLIDWORKS products across numerous machines. In general, this is most beneficial with 5+ machines using network serial numbers. Images are also useful for controlling the installation setup and settings. Users are unable to modify the installation, only install or uninstall. The installation can also be specified to run as a different Windows user with full admin permissions.
Detailed information on setting up and deploying administrative images can be found in the SOLIDWORKS Installation and Administration Guide.
https://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/Administration_guides/ServicePacks.html
Creating Administrative Images
The main SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager is used to generate the administrative image. Download the required version from https://www.solidworks.com/sw/support/downloads.htm.
Two options are available when creating an image. The first option will create a new image without any customizations and requires a full download of requested products. The second option allows the selection of an existing image to copy settings and reuse files for a smaller download.
Enter applicable serial numbers for products. The serial numbers can be modified after the image is created but is used for entitlement check to download. Network serial numbers (starting with 9010 or 0010) are most beneficial as this applies to all users.
On the next screen, select desired the products to be included. Customization of products to install on client machines can be modified later on. However the product must be included on image creation otherwise it will not be available on customization.
The default installation path is C:\SOLIDWORKS Admin. It is recommended to create the image on the local machine for speed and stability. The image folder can then be copied to a network share.
When deploying an administrative image, the path to the root image folder must be fewer than 58 characters due to the subfolder structure. Instead of mapping network drive locations, use a UNC path (\\server_name\share_name) when specifying a network location for the administrative image installation directory. Mapped network drives are not compatible with the push and automatic install method, as well as with the Run As Different User in the pull and manual method.
The Administrative Image Type introduced with the 2023 version provides options for remote users to download a portion of the install files over the internet to save network bandwidth. A third option allows for a compressed version if file size is of concern.
https://www.javelin-tech.com/blog/2022/12/what-is-a-solidworks-remote-admin-image/
Setting Up Administrative Images
Once the administrative image is generated, clicking ‘Customize Image’ in the Installation Manager launches the Administrative Image Option Editor application. This can be manually launched from the root image folder by running sldAdminOptionEditor.exe.
The Setup tab provides customization options for Global Settings which is applied to all machines that do not have explicitly defined with overrides. Click the ‘Change’ button in the top right to modify settings.
Serial Numbers
Add applicable serial numbers for the various products. Standalone serial numbers are not recommended for Global Settings. Network serial numbers have the option to specify the SNL Server port@server.
Client Installation Options
Client options can choose to upgrade existing installs or install a new (separate) major version. The client installation folder path can be modified if needed.
Settings can be locked using the Settings Administrator. To define locked settings, the SOLIDWORKS application must already be installed on the machine using the Option Editor.
https://www.javelin-tech.com/blog/2016/09/solidworks-setting-administration/
https://www.javelin-tech.com/blog/2016/09/lock-solidworks-system-options/
The Activation options are only required for standalone serial numbers.
Administrative Options
The option to ‘Create a diagnostic log during each installation’ is suggested if there are problematic installations. The user account must have read/write permissions to [Administrative Image directory]\x64\logs as this is where the logs are saved for review.
‘Run the installation as a different user’ is important for users with restricted permissions and the image is deployed using the Manual method. An administrator account with full permissions can be added to be used during the installation.
Software to Install
Only products selected on image creation will be available in the list. If products are missing, the image will need to be recreated with the product included.
Toolbox/Hole Wizard Options
If using a shared Toolbox folder, the path can be pointed to the desired location. Ensure a shared Toolbox has been upgraded to match the major version as clients.
https://www.javelin-tech.com/blog/2024/02/manually-updating-solidworks-toolbox/
https://www.javelin-tech.com/blog/2021/04/upgrading-solidworks-toolbox-within-solidworks-pdm/
SOLIDWORKS PDM Client
Clients accessing PDM will need to define settings compatible with the vault. Ensure the appropriate Product and Client Type is selected.
Machine and Group Customizations
Additional customization can be applied to individual machines or groups of machines. The machines can be defined with Machine Name, IP Address or range of IP Addresses. All Global Settings will be applied with the exception of any overrides.
Deploying Administrative Images
Deploy Manually
The Deploy Manually tab provides an option to send an email with a link to the StartSWInstall.hta file within the root image folder. Scheduled availability to the image can help minimize network bandwidth.
The client user account must have full local administrative permissions, unless ‘Run as a different user’ was defined under Administrative Options.
IMPORTANT: Ensure user has Read permissions to the entire administrative image folder structure on the server. Read/write permissions may be required to [Image folder]\x64\logs if the option to create diagnostics logs was enabled.
The StartSWInstall.hta file is the default manual deployment method and provides a prompt to the user to begin the install. This can also be used for automatic client upgrades by controlling shared folder naming. For more information on automatic upgrades, review section ‘Upgrading Clients from Administrative Images‘ in the SOLIDWORKS Installation & Administration Guide.
Running the StartSWInstall.exe application from the image folder starts the installation without any user interaction, however this method prevents the ability for automatic upgrades.
Deploy Automatically
Deploy Automatically uses the Microsoft Task Scheduler to run the installation with the ‘LocalSystem’ account. Client credentials with administrative permissions are required. The account is represented on the network as a computer security principle. The computer security principle must have the following access:
- Read access to the Admin Images folder.
- Read and write access to the Admin Images folder\x64\logs folder
In Active Directory, when you add a computer to a group of a Shared Folder, select Object Types and Computers.
In addition, the computer serving the administrative image and the target client machines must be members of the same Active Directory domain.
An installation time can also be scheduled for network bandwidth control.
The ‘Test’ option is useful to determine if there will be any issues with connectivity and permissions prior to deploy.
https://www.javelin-tech.com/blog/2019/11/solidworks-administrative-image-test-deployment/
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