App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

The support forum for the App Genie plugin. Find how-to's, product announcements and reported issues and resolutions. Posting here should be for the App Genie plugin.
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Cubert
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App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by Cubert »

App_Genie-Banner_large.png
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This is a basic overview of the App Genie plugin Beta 1.0.0

What is App Genie?
App Genie is designed to make managing 3rd party updates to "Already Installed Software" literally brainless. The MSP just installs the plugin and selects a client console from the Automate Control center and enable the updates on workstations and/or servers. App Genie will look at the installed software lists of each agent and determine if it has a match that it can apply updates to. Then it goes out regularly to test and apply updates if needed.

That's it in a nutshell, the plugin handles the rest.

Nothing can be that simple right?

There is a lot taking place on the back end making the plugin fully automated. You do have some settings that you can add, modify or delete to fine tune App Genie if you need to. If our predefined list of application searches does not meet or exceed your needs then your able to modify or remove items from the search. You can add new items to the search and deactivate a search without deleting it. This makes App Genie very flexible with finding and updating installed applications.

Once the plugins is installed you will have two locations where you can view or modify the plugin. Under the View or Tools menus of either LabTech or Automate (depending on your usage). This is the main management window for the plugin.

Global manager.PNG
Global manager.PNG (71.45 KiB) Viewed 24105 times

The App Genie Search manager allows you to modify how App Genie sees installed software associations. Lets talk about associations for a moment, App Genie uses Chocolatey NuGet (Chocolatey.org) as its application management engine. This framework uses powershell to manage the install , updates and removals of thousands of software titles. Kind of like a librarian of software install and updates. App Genie leverages this framework to match installed applications with available packages on the Chocolatey repositories. The MSP does not need the MSP version from Chocolatey. The plugin has all it needs to do the job fully.

App Genie uses search terms to define a software and to associate it with the correct Chocolatey repo package. Once it finds matches then App Genie gets to work making sure that the Chocolatey framework exists and is functional on the agent and that the applications found are updated. Then App Genie repeats this on a regular basis to keep all agents software up to date.

In the App Genie Search manager you can select a search and on the right side of the search you will see what applications will be effected inside your environment and how many possible agents may be effected during an upgrade. this helps you better define your searches to include or exclude software titles and improve the deployment of updates to the end agents.

ClientConfig.PNG
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To have App Genie get started with a clients agents just open the client console and select from the check boxes which groups to start updating.

Allow App Genie a couple of days to get rolling with your updates. then forget about it! App Genie has your back.


This is a general overview of App Genie Beta 1.0.0, we expect to see new features , views, reports and options in the near future. Feel free to post things you would like to see in our forums!


Have a great day!

jasonrichmond
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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by jasonrichmond »

I'm interested in being a beta tester =)

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Cubert
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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by Cubert »

Beta is now open!

The beta period ends on June 30th 2019 automatically unless you decide you want to pick up the new product subscription. See our product portal for more information on price and subscription.

Below you can download the plugin and install it. It will auto license so you will not need to do anything but launch the plugin.

After following the install instructions here https://www.plugins4automate.com/pages/ ... to-labtech

App_Genie-1.0.20.0.zip
(92.98 KiB) Downloaded 919 times

If your upgrading from version 1.0.13.0 or earlier you will need to drop a SQL table first before upgrading and restarting the DBagent.

Execute in SQL YOG

Code: Select all

DROP TABLE plugin_p4a_app_genie_assoc;

The plugin should load up with a preset selection of applications. Your welcome to add as many as you like to the app search area. If you do nothing at all then no agents are effected. If you launch a client console and select to enable workstations or servers then the action starts. Over the next few days (Updates are a lifelong thing so whats a day or two?) the plugin will setup all the enabled agents and then start updating the applications on that agent. You will see this happening on the LabTech Server under the plugin_App_Genie.txt file in the server logs directory. (C:\program files\LabTech\logs\) This will tell you what and whom its doing stuff to. We will be adding more robust reporting to the plugin as we move forward so please tell where it makes since to see data about the updates and what data you want to see.

Here is the plugin download:




Enjoy!

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Cubert
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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by Cubert »

The Plugin is designed to be installed and clients enabled. That's it, the MSP forgets about the plugin and when or if the updates are happening, they are....

If you need to verify that its working then we will be adding some data views to show you its working. The idea behind the plugin is not to burden the MSP with management tasks but to allow them to deal with things they need to and not updates.

So Plug-IN to App Genie and let the magic happen!

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swmeyer
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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by swmeyer »

Quick note: The matching for 7-zip should be 7-zip. The chocolatey package name is correct though!

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Cubert
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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by Cubert »

Ok We just reposted an update above, we are already at 1.0.9 now. Lots of fixes and such. We had an issue in build 7 where it installed all apps in app search list. Believe we fixed that so run sparingly until we confirm.

You will need to drop the plugin_p4a_app_genie_agent_apps table, update the plugin and then restart the dbagent.

Run in SQLYog

Code: Select all

DROP TABLE plugin_p4a_app_genie_agent_apps;

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Cubert
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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by Cubert »

New in Build 1.0.9 is the Client view.

ClientConfig.PNG
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We added the successful application update listings to each selected agent. highlight the agent in the enabled agents list and see the applications App Genie has successfully updated.

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Cubert
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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by Cubert »

swmeyer wrote: Thu May 30, 2019 3:42 pm Quick note: The matching for 7-zip should be 7-zip. The chocolatey package name is correct though!
Thanks, fixed it in 1.0.10.0

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Cubert
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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by Cubert »

We have released 1.0.10.0 above. Looks like we got ourselves a winner!

In beta mode it will only do actual updates a couple of time during the day so that we can get some accurate testing done. We will slow this down to a normal daily check after the beta period.


What is "Running"

Every half hour we execute a few lines of SQL on the LT server that makes sure what we show in the App Genie data is consistent with the environment. Thus if an agent removes an application from the PC we don't go back and try to update and thus install the application back to PC. To prevent this we monitor the agents software installs and do any clean up before we launch any updates.

We also clean out deleted agents and retired clients for App Genie data.

3 times during the day starting at 8 am we fire off one of two processes (both are scripted.) The first runs to see if the agent has any new software we need to associate and the 2nd runs updates on associated softwares.


This is a bit excessive to run at 8 and 9; 12 and 1; 5 and 6 but we want to allow the beta testers to see and log actions during the day while they can monitor things. This will be changed in the released versions to something more realistic and manageable.

Enjoy!

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Re: App Genie 1.0.0 Overview

Post by Cubert »

Just release 1.0.11.0 resolving a script typo in a SQL statement causing script to die.

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