Ion Deployment in the Enterprise
Like any enterprise software deployment, Ion deployment in the enterprise requires careful planning. This begins with the Browsium Client, which is designed to be centrally deployed and managed by IT and be completely invisible to end users.
The Ion configuration required by the Browsium Client is delivered by an independently deployed Ion project file. Once the 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, Ion supports a variety of methods for deploying the Browsium Client and hosting project files (containing Ion Profiles, 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 Ion configuration is read from an Ion project file — a single, XML-formatted data file containing the Profiles, rules, and settings that were created by Ion 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 the 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 Ion 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 Ion configuration is a modern best-practice.
A client system loads its Ion configuration by reading the project file referenced in the LoadFromFileName registry value. As an Ion 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 Ion Knowledge Base. See section 5.4 for details on deploying Ion project files and LoadFromFileName registry pointers.
Topics
Section titled “Topics”- Deploying Browsium Client
- Managing the Browsium Client Browser Extensions
- Understanding Ion Project Registry Locations
- Deploying Ion Configurations
- Readying End User PCs to Use the Browsium Client
- Verifying Deployment Settings
- Understanding the Ion Project File Caching Process
- Managing Browsium Client Logging Settings