Deploy Code42 apps silently with local authentication

Overview

For Code42 environments that control users with Code42 local authentication, this article describes how to configure deployment packages that install Code42 apps and start backups automatically, silently, with no user intervention.

Considerations

Step 1: Identify the deployment organization

In your Code42 console, create or identify an organization that:

• Uses local authentication
• Has at least one destination where backups can auto-start.

To verify the organization's configuration:

1. Sign in to the Code42 console.
2. Select Administration > Organizations > Active.
3. Select an organization.
   Note the organization name; you will need it later.
4. On the organization details page, scroll down to ORG INFO, and select Security.
   • The Authentication must be Local.
   • The Directory service must be blank.
5. Scroll down to DEVICE BACKUP DEFAULTS, and select Backup.
   • DESTINATIONS must list at least one destination name and Yes.
     
   • The other possible value, DESTINATIONS ... Auto-start, is not acceptable. It means silent deployment is not possible.
     
   • To set a destination to Yes, go to the organization's action menu and select Device Backup Defaults, then click Backup and scroll to Destinations.
6. In the DEVICE BACKUP DEFAULTS section, select Network. Note whether PROXY is enabled; you will need that information later.
7. If necessary, change organization configuration. In the action menu in the upper-right, select Edit.

Step 2: Create the deployment policy

Define the deployment policy for the organization you identified in Step 1.

1. In the Code42 console, select Administration > Client Management > Deployment.
2. Select Create New Deployment Policy or Create New Policy.
   The prompt differs depending on whether you see the initial welcome screen or your list of existing policies.
3. Enter a Policy Name to describe this policy.
4. At How should new users register select the organization you identified in Step 1 above.
   If your organization's name is dimmed in the menu, that organization already has a policy. You can edit or delete that existing policy.
5. At Do you want to automatically register users, select Yes.
6. At Which operating systems, select the systems you will deploy Code42 apps to.
7. For each operating system you select, select Add a custom batch/bash script
   Provide a script that identifies the username and home directory that the Code42 app will provide when it registers with your Code42 environment. For details, see the script reference. The script must end by echoing the username and user home directory:

   echo C42_USERNAME=<email@address.tld>
   echo C42_USER_HOME=<value>
   

8. At Do your clients need a proxy URL, select No or Yes, depending on what you determined in Step 1: Identify the deployment organization.
9. At Launch desktop app after initial install, select No for silent deployment.
10. Click Save.
    The Policy Saved dialog appears.
11. Click Done.
    You can return to the policy and copy the installation properties at any time.

Example username detection scripts for the Code42 cloud

Note the lines in the scripts that modify a username in order to match an email-address for the Code42 cloud. In those lines, replace @<yourcompany>.com with the suffix for your addresses.

Windows

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@echo off
rem Use sysnative when running 32-bit on a 64-bit processor
if "%PROCESSOR_ARCHITEW6432%"=="" goto native
   %SystemRoot%\Sysnative\cmd.exe /c %0 %*
   exit
:native
rem Change code page to UTF-8
CHCP 65001
for /f "TOKENS=2*" %%a in ('reg query "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI" /v LastLoggedOnUser') do set current_domain_user=%%b
echo current_domain_user = %current_domain_user%
for /f "TOKENS=1,2 DELIMS=\" %%a in ("%current_domain_user%") do set current_domain=%%a& set current_user=%%b
echo current_domain = %current_domain%
echo current_user = %current_user%
if "%current_user%" == "" (
   set current_user=%current_domain%
   echo current_user = %current_user%
)
if NOT "%current_user%" == "" (
   echo C42_USERNAME=%current_user%@<yourcompany>.com
   echo C42_USER_HOME=C:\Users\%current_user%
)

Mac

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function main() {
    local user=$(last | egrep 'console.*still' | egrep -v 'root|admin|reboot|shutdown|local|_mbsetupuser' | awk '{print $1}' | sort -u | head -n1)
    echo "C42_USERNAME=${user}@<yourcompany>.com"
    echo "C42_USER_HOME=$(dscl . -read "/users/${user}" NFSHomeDirectory | cut -d ' ' -f 2)"
}
main "$@"

Step 3: Deploy Code42 apps to user devices

Step 4: Verify success

Related topics

• Prepare to deploy Code42 client apps
• Deployment policies reference
• Deployment script and command reference