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Planning for Package Conversion Manager in Configuration Manager

 

Updated: February 1, 2012

Applies To: System Center 2012 Configuration Manager, System Center 2012 Configuration Manager

Use the information in this topic to help you plan to use Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager Package Conversion Manager in System Center 2012 Configuration Manager.

The following steps describe a typical plan for converting Configuration Manager 2007 packages into System Center 2012 Configuration Manager applications.

  • Define a Detailed Package Conversion Plan

  • Select and Prepare Packages for Conversion

  • Select Test Packages

  • Analyze, Investigate, and Convert Packages

  • Test and Deploy the Applications

Define a Detailed Package Conversion Plan

This section describes two sample package conversion plans; one for use in a high-resource test environment, and one for use in a limited-resource test environment. Your individual plan will need to accommodate other issues specific to your environment.

  • Sample Plan for a High-Resource Test Environment

    This topic describes a sample package conversion plan to use if you have a test environment with the resources, permissions, and architecture to fully replicate your production environment.

  • Sample Plan for a Limited-Resource Test Environment

    This topic describes a sample package conversion plan to use if you do not have a test environment with the resources, permissions, and architecture to fully replicate your production environment.

Sample Plan for a High-Resource Test Environment

If your test environment has the resources, permissions, and architecture to efficiently analyze and convert all of your Configuration Manager 2007 packages and test all of your Configuration Manager applications, then you can perform all of that work in the test environment. After completing that work, you can then export the converted applications from the test environment and then import them to the production environment. In this case, the steps in your package conversion plan would be similar to the following:

  1. Select the packages that you want to convert.

  2. Migrate the packages for conversion into your Package Conversion Manager test environment.

  3. Prepare the packages for conversion.

  4. Select the test packages.

  5. Analyze, investigate, and convert the test packages.

  6. Test the converted applications.

  7. Analyze and convert the remaining (non-test) packages.

  8. Export the applications from the test environment and import them into your production environment.

Sample Plan for a Limited-Resource Test Environment

If your test environment does not have the resources, permissions, and architecture to analyze and convert all of your Configuration Manager 2007 packages and test all of your System Center 2012 Configuration Manager applications, analyze, investigate, convert, and test only your test packages in this environment. Then, migrate the remaining test packages to the production environment to analyze and convert. In this case, the steps in your package conversion plan would be similar to the following:

  1. Select the packages that you want to convert.

  2. Select test packages.

  3. Migrate the test packages into your test environment.

  4. Prepare the test packages for conversion.

  5. Analyze, investigate and convert the test packages.

  6. Test the converted applications.

  7. Export the test applications from the test environment and then import them into your production environment.

  8. Migrate the remaining packages into the production environment and prepare them for conversion.

  9. Analyze, investigate, and convert the remaining packages in the production environment.

  10. Release the remaining applications to the production environment.

Select and Prepare Packages for Conversion

These sections describe issues to address when you select and prepare packages for conversion.

Select the packages that you want to convert

Not all packages are suitable to be converted into applications. Before you begin to convert packages, identify the packages that will not be converted, and move them in a separate folder in the Configuration Manager console.

The best types of package for conversion to applications are those that contain user-facing software, for example:

  • Windows update files: .msi and .msu.

  • Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) programs.

  • Windows executable files: .exe

The types of package that are best kept as packages and not converted to applications include:

  • System maintenance tools; for example, scripts or backup utilities.

  • End-of-Life Packages.

Note

After identifying packages that are not appropriate for conversion into applications, move them to a separate folder in the Configuration Manager console.

Tip

To create a package folder in the Configuration Manager console:

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, right-click Packages.

  2. Right-click Folders, and then, click Create Folder.

  3. Enter the folder name, for example Not Converted.

  4. Click OK.

Prepare the packages for conversion

For each package you want to convert, ensure that they conform to the following conditions:

  • The location specified for source files is a full UNC path, for example \\Server\Volume\File.

  • Windows update files, .msi and .msu, use only one unique Product Identification Locator (PID).

Select Test Packages

If possible, the group of test packages that you select should include packages that meet the following criteria:

  • At least one test package with a readiness state of Automatic.

  • At least one test package with a readiness state of Manual.

Ideally, your test packages should be core packages, as follows:

  • Packages that you know well.

  • Packages that are the most important to your business.

  • Packages that you can most easily test.

After identifying the packages that are appropriate for testing, move them to a separate folder in the Configuration Manager console.

Analyze, Investigate, and Convert Packages

Use the information in this section to help you analyze, investigate, and convert packages.

Analyze Packages

You can analyze packages using three methods:

Note

The Package Conversion Dashboard displays summary information about the analysis and conversion processes. Use the information in the Package Conversion Dashboard to help your analysis and conversion process.

Investigate Analysis Results

After analyzing the test packages, investigate the packages with a readiness state of Manual or Error. Determine the reasons why they have that state. Some common reasons for a readiness state of Manual or Error include:

  • The package does not contain the information required to create a detection method in an application deployment type.

  • The package does not contain the information required to convert collections to global conditions and requirements.

  • The package contains more than one program.

  • The package is dependent on another package that has not been converted to an application.

Also, review the error messages and fixes in Technical Reference for Package Conversion Manager Error Messages and review the log file PCMTrace.log for actions, issues, and errors generated by Package Conversion Manager. For more information, see Troubleshooting Package Conversion Manager in Configuration Manager.

Convert the Packages

For information about how to convert packages, see How to Analyze and Convert Packages in Package Conversion Manager.

Note

The Package Conversion Dashboard displays summary information about the analysis and conversion processes. Use the information in the Package Conversion Dashboard to help with your analysis and the conversion process.

Test and Deploy the Applications

Test the applications, either in your test environment or your production environment, according to your detailed package conversion plan.