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PDQ Deploy

Deploying WhatPulse Professional with PDQ Deploy

PDQ Deploy is a popular third-party tool for automating software installations on Windows PCs. It excels at pushing silent installs for both MSI and EXE packages. Using PDQ Deploy, you can create a deployment package for WhatPulse Professional that runs the installer with no user intervention. Below are step-by-step instructions.

Prerequisites​

  • PDQ Deploy Installed: Ensure you have PDQ Deploy set up on an admin machine and have the Pro/Enterprise mode if you need advanced features (free mode works with some limitations).
  • WhatPulse Installer: Download the latest WhatPulse Professional installer from the downloads page – either the MSI or the EXE. An MSI is available on the official site and is recommended, but you can deploy the EXE as well if you supply silent parameters that are documented here. Place the installer file on the PDQ server or a network share (PDQ can also copy from a local path during deployment).

Deployment Steps​

  1. Create a New Package in PDQ:

    • Open PDQ Deploy and click New Package (top-left corner of the console).
    • Name the package WhatPulse Professional (or similar) for clarity.
    • By default, the Run As mode will be "Deploy User", which is fine in most cases (this means it will run under PDQ's service account with admin rights on targets).

  2. Add Install Step (MSI):

    • In the package window, you'll see a blank Step 1.
    • Select Step 1 and set the Step Type to Install (should be default).
    • In the Install File field, browse to and select the WhatPulse MSI file.
    • PDQ will automatically populate the Command Line with the appropriate msiexec command and silent switches for an MSI. For example, it typically adds something like /QN (completely silent) by default. You can verify that the Parameters field includes the necessary quiet flags (PDQ usually uses /QN and /norestart by default for MSIs).

If using the WhatPulse EXE instead:

  • Still use an Install step.
  • Browse to the whatpulse-win-latest.exe file.
  • Since PDQ won't know the silent arguments automatically for a custom EXE, you must enter them.
  • In the Parameters field for the step, input WhatPulse's unattended install switches. For example:
--root "C:\Program Files\WhatPulse" --accept-messages --accept-licenses --confirm-command install InstallForAllUsers=true

These parameters will be added to the command line that PDQ executes. Ensure you include --accept-licenses so that the NPCAP driver's license and WhatPulse EULA are accepted automatically, and InstallForAllUsers=true to install for all users. The above command line will install WhatPulse quietly with default settings. (You can omit InstallForAllUsers=true if you only want per-user installation.)

  1. Conditions (Optional): Click the Conditions tab of the package. By default, PDQ will deploy to any Windows OS. If needed, you can restrict the package to certain OS versions or 64-bit/32-bit. For WhatPulse, which supports modern Windows, you likely don't need to change these.

  2. Automatic Activation (Org ID): To fully automate client enrollment, add a second step to create the wp-pro-org-id.txt file after installation. Click New Step and choose PowerShell (or Command). In that step, add a script to create the file with your organization ID. For example, a PowerShell step with:

New-Item -Path "$Env:ProgramFiles\WhatPulse\wp-pro-org-id.txt" -ItemType File -Force -Value "<Your Organization ID>"

This will run on each target machine right after the install step, writing the org identifier that WhatPulse uses for activation. Make sure to place this step after the install step in the sequence. (In PDQ, you can drag steps to reorder.)

  1. (Optional) Default Settings Overrides: If you want to pre-configure certain WhatPulse settings (like enabling specific logging features), you can add another PowerShell step to deploy settings-overrides.ini files. See this documentation for details on the format and options.

  2. Save the Package: Click Save to save the WhatPulse deployment package in PDQ Deploy. Review the package steps to ensure everything is correct (the install file path, parameters, and any additional steps).

  3. Deploy the Package: Select the new WhatPulse package and click Deploy → Deploy Once (or schedule it for later). In the deploy prompt, choose the target computers or PDQ Inventory collection containing the PCs you want to install to. Ensure "Run As" is set to Deploy User or an account with admin rights on the targets. Start the deployment.

  4. Monitor and Verify: PDQ will copy the WhatPulse installer to each target and execute it.

    • You can watch the progress in PDQ Deploy's interface – it will show each computer's status (e.g., "Installing" then hopefully "Success").
    • Because we used silent parameters, targets should install WhatPulse without any user prompts.
    • If the org ID file step was included, that will run immediately after installation on each machine.
    • After deployment, verify on a couple of PCs that WhatPulse is installed (check Start Menu or running processes) and that the wp-pro-org-id.txt exists in C:\Program Files\WhatPulse.
    • Within the WhatPulse Pro web dashboard, the new computers should appear under Pending Computers ready for activation by an admin.