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Catalyst Deployment in the Enterprise

Like any enterprise software deployment, Catalyst deployment in the enterprise requires careful planning. This begins with Browsium Client, which is designed to be centrally deployed and managed by IT and be completely invisible to end users.

The Catalyst configuration required by Browsium Client is delivered by an independently deployed project file. Once Browsium Client is installed on all PCs in the enterprise, and configured with a pointer to the project file, no additional direct management is necessary.

To provide maximum flexibility for managing enterprise deployments, Catalyst supports a variety of methods for deploying Browsium Client and hosting project files (containing Catalyst rules and settings). In this section, we’ll examine the available deployment options, provide recommendations, explain the loading & caching behaviors, and offer specific deployment guidance for typical enterprise scenarios.

The Catalyst configuration is read from a Catalyst project file — a single, XML-formatted data file containing the browsers, rules, and settings that were created by Catalyst Configuration Manager. The file can be pushed out to a known location on end user PCs, stored on a shared network location, or hosted at an easily accessible URL. The project file can be updated easily and separately from Browsium Client executable code, making ongoing support and maintenance easy to integrate into existing organizational processes.

Each client system must be made aware of the location of the Catalyst project file containing the configuration that is relevant to that user’s web applications. Your organization may use one configuration for all end users or have separate configurations for various departments or geographic locations. As many enterprise organizations are standardizing on a single Windows image, standardizing on a single Catalyst configuration is a modern best-practice.

A client system loads its Catalyst configuration by reading the project file referenced in the LoadFromFileName registry value. As a Catalyst administrator, you determine the best way to deploy this registry value to your organization. You can do this using a variety of methods, ranging from scripted registry editors to Group Policy.

Many organizations prefer to use Group Policy to deploy this registry value. The registry preference extension for Group Policy is often the most efficient way to streamline the LoadFromFileName registry value deployment. Another option is to use Browsium’s ADM and ADMX templates, which can be easily customized for the location of your project file. These templates, with usage instructions, can be found in the Browsium Catalyst Knowledge Base. See section 5.4 for details on deploying project files and LoadFromFileName registry pointers.

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