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Choose the right installation method for your environment

Syteca supports multiple Windows Client installation methods to fit different deployment realities. Remote installation via the Management Tool is the fastest way to deploy across a domain-joined estate; local installation with an installation package covers workgroup computers and machines with heterogeneous administrator credentials; Group Policy and third-party tools cover organizations already using centralized deployment infrastructure; specialized methods cover virtual desktop infrastructure and cloud workspaces.
Method selection guide:
  1. All target computers in a domain, same admin credentials. Use remote installation via the Management Tool. Fastest and simplest.
  2. Workgroup computers, different admin credentials per machine. Use local installation with the installation package.
  3. Domain with existing Group Policy deployment infrastructure. Use Group Policy MSI deployment.
  4. Existing centralized deployment tool (System Center Configuration Manager, Active Directory scripts, etc.). Use third-party software deployment.
  5. Ad-hoc installation on a single machine or small cluster. Use PsExec remote deployment.
  6. Amazon WorkSpaces desktop-as-a-service. Use the Amazon WorkSpaces bundle procedure.
  7. Default settings, no INI file needed. Use local installation without an INI file.
SaaS constraint. In Syteca SaaS deployments, the Windows Client can be installed locally and remotely using different third-party tools (GPO, Intune). Remote installation via the Management Tool is not available. Additionally, SaaS uses SytecaClient.msi instead of SytecaClient.exe in the procedures below.

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Prerequisites

Before starting a Windows Client installation:
  1. Verify the target computer meets Windows Client system requirements.
  2. For remote installation, verify the Windows Client Installation Prerequisites (Server and RPC services, shared folders, firewall).
  3. Download the appropriate installation artifact from the Management Tool. The exact file depends on the method (see each method’s section below).

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Remote installation via the Management Tool

Remote installation via the Management Tool is the intended method during system deployment. It scales cleanly across a domain-joined estate where all target computers share the same domain administrator credentials.
NOT AVAILABLE IN SAAS.
The Management Tool user performing the remote installation must hold the administrative Client Installation and Management permission.

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Two-step process

The remote installation happens in two stages: selecting the target computers, then defining the installation parameters. Both are done from the Management Tool.
1

Select target computers

Navigate to the Computers without Clients page in the Management Tool — it also lists any computers where a previous installation attempt failed.Choose how to find computers:
  • Deploy via IP Range — scan a range of IPv4 or IPv6 addresses.
  • Deploy on Specific Computers — enter computer names or IP addresses directly.
1

Start a search

In the Choose Search Results pop-up, click Start New Search (or Previous Search Results to reuse an earlier scan, if available).
2

Enter the IP range

On the IP Range Scan page, enter the range in From address and To address — use the same address in both fields to scan a single computer. Click Scan.
Scanning runs automatically and the results list updates as computers are found — click Refresh if it stalls, or Stop to cancel. Once scanning finishes, select the checkboxes next to the computers to install on, then click Next.
If a computer’s hostname doesn’t appear next to its IP address (common in High Availability clusters), enable the Network Discovery (NB-Name-In) inbound firewall rule for the Domain profile on that computer.
Selected computers are added to the Computers without Clients list. Remove any with the Remove from list icon, or Remove All in the column header.
2

Start the installation

At the bottom of the Computers without Clients page, click Install.
3

Enter Client Configuration

On the Client Configuration page, enter the Server name / IP address of the Application Server the Windows Clients will connect to. Multiple names and IP addresses can be entered, separated by commas or semicolons. Define the Client configuration values, then click Install.
The Application Server IP address must be static for Clients to reach it. For cloud-based Application Servers, use unique external IP addresses.
4

Enter installation credentials

On the Installation Credentials page, enter the credentials of a user with administrator permissions on the target computers.Click Next to continue.
If the Domain field is left empty, the credentials entered are treated as local user credentials. The Client will be installed under <target_PC_name>\<user_name>.
If workgroup computers do not share the same administrator account credentials, remote installation cannot proceed. Use the local installation using the installation package method instead.
5

Monitor installation progress

Progress appears on the Client Installation page. If the progress does not refresh automatically, click the Refresh button to update.
6

Handle failed installations

If installation fails on any Client, Failed appears in the Status column along with the failure reason in the Details column. Click Retry (Failed Clients) to attempt reinstallation on those Clients.
If the connection with the Application Server fails during the install, the Client will not be installed.
7

Confirm completion

When installation finishes, Finished appears in the Status column. The installed Clients then appear on the Clients page and in the All Clients group on the Client Groups tab.

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Remote installation using PsExec

PsExec is a Microsoft Sysinternals tool that runs commands on remote Windows machines from the command line. It is a common alternative when the Management Tool remote install cannot be used (for example, in networks with strict administrative boundaries where per-machine execution is preferred).
1

Get PsTools and the Client installer

Download the PsTools package from Microsoft Sysinternals and unpack it. Then download the Client installation file from the Management Tool.
2

Place both in the same folder

Copy PsExec.exe and SytecaClient.exe to the same folder.
3

Open an administrator command prompt

Run cmd.exe as administrator, then change directory to the folder with the installer and PsExec:
4

Run the PsExec install command

Enter the following command:
The parameters mean:
If the target computer and the machine running PsExec are on different Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs), verify the target computer can ping the Application Server before starting the install.

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Group Policy installation using an MSI file

For domains already using Group Policy to deploy software, the Group Policy method installs the Syteca Client on all computers in a selected Group Policy Object (GPO). This requires generating an MSI transform (MST) file with Microsoft Orca to inject the Application Server parameters into the installer. The full procedure has two parts: creating the MST configuration file, and installing via Group Policy.

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1. Create the configuration file with Microsoft Orca

1

Open agent.msi in Orca

Right-click the agent.msi file and select Edit with Orca.
2

Create a new transform

On the Transform menu, select New Transform.
3

Open the Property table

In the Tables pane, click Property. Right-click in the main pane and select Add Row.
4

(SaaS only) Add silent install properties

For SaaS installations of EkranSystemClient.msi via GPO, add these properties:
5

Add the Application Server property (default settings)

To install with default Client settings, add this property:For Multi-Tenant deployments installing to a specific tenant, also add:
6

(Alternative) Add the INI file path for custom settings

To install with custom Client settings via an INI file, rename SytecaClient.ini to agent.ini, copy agent.ini to a shared folder accessible from all target computers, and add this property in Orca:
7

Generate and save the MST file

On the Transform menu, select Generate Transform. Save the MST file with a descriptive name, for example SytecaClient.mst.

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2. Install the Client via Group Policy

1

Prepare a shared folder

Create a shared folder accessible from all target computers. Copy agent.msi, the MST file (and the INI file, if used) to this folder.
Paths to agent.msi, the MST file, and the INI file must all be network share paths accessible from every target computer, not local paths or mapped network drives. Every user account participating in the install must have at least Read permission on the share.
2

Open Group Policy Management

On the domain controller, open Administrative Tools and click Group Policy Management.
3

Create the GPO

Right-click Group Policy Objects and select New. Enter a name (for example, Syteca Client installation) and click OK.
4

Link the GPO to the domain

Right-click your domain in the navigation pane and select Link an Existing GPO. Select the GPO you created and click OK.
5

Set the scope of the GPO

Click the GPO in the navigation pane. On the Scope tab, in the Security Filtering section, click Authenticated Users and click Remove.Click Add. In the Select User, Computer, or Group dialog, enter the name of the group whose members the GPO applies to, and click OK.
6

Configure the software package

Right-click the GPO and select Edit. In the Group Policy Management Editor, navigate to Computer Configuration > Policies > Software Settings. Right-click Software installation and select New > Package.Locate agent.msi on the network share.In the Deploy Software window, select Advanced. On the Modifications tab, click Add and locate the MST file on the network share.
7

Apply the GPO by restarting target computers

Restart the target computers to apply the GPO. It may require 2 or 3 restarts for the GPO to fully update across the domain.
If both an MSI and an INI file are placed in the same shared folder, the settings from the INI file are applied to the Client computers automatically. In that case the MST file does not need to be created; the INI file alone provides the Application Server parameters.

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Third-party software deployment

For organizations already running centralized deployment infrastructure (System Center Configuration Manager, Active Directory login scripts, and similar tools), the Client can be installed silently via a single command line. Download the Client installation file, then invoke your deployment tool with the following command:
The Client is installed with the default configuration. For Multi-Tenant deployments where the Client must go to a specific tenant, add the /TenantKey parameter:

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Generate the installation package

IN SAAS ONLY: this process differs slightly — see Getting Started with a SaaS Deployment instead.
1

Open Install Clients

Log in to the Management Tool as a user with the administrative Client Installation and Management permission, click Clients, then Install Clients in the top right.
2

Download the installation file

On the Computers without Clients page, click Download Installation File.
3

Select the package type

On the Installation File Download page, select Windows, then click Windows Client Installation Package (.ini + .exe).
4

Configure the package

On the Generate Installation Package page, optionally protect the package from modification, set the Server name / IP address Clients should connect to, and choose the Client configuration to apply. Click Next.
The server address must be static. Use a unique external IP address for cloud-based Application Servers.
5

Download completes

The package downloads to your computer, per your browser’s download settings.

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Local installation using the installation package

For local installation with predefined custom monitoring parameters, the Management Tool generates a ZIP installation package containing both the installer and an INI configuration file. This method suits deployments where administrators want to distribute a preconfigured package across all endpoints without configuring each installation individually.
1

Copy the installation package to the target computer

Extract the ZIP package. It contains SytecaClient.exe and SytecaClient.ini. Copy both files to the target computer.
In SaaS deployments, the installer is SytecaClient.msi instead of SytecaClient.exe.
2

Run the installer as administrator

On the target computer, log in with an administrator account. Double-click SytecaClient.exe to start the installation. The installer reads its configuration from the co-located SytecaClient.ini.
3

Confirm the Client appears in the Management Tool

After installation completes, the Client appears on the Clients page of the Management Tool.

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Local installation without an INI file

The simplest local installation. Only the SytecaClient.exe file is needed; the SytecaClient.ini file is generated automatically with default parameters. Suitable when the default Client configuration is acceptable.
In SaaS, the process for downloading the Client installer differs. See Getting Started with a SaaS Deployment for the SaaS-specific procedure.
There are two variants for this installation method:

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Variant 1: Interactive UI

1

Copy the installer to the target computer

Copy SytecaClient.exe to the target computer.
2

Launch as administrator

Launch SytecaClient.exe with an administrator account.
3

Enter the Application Server

In the window that opens, enter the name or IP address of the computer hosting the Application Server. Click Install.For Multi-Tenant deployments, select the Use Tenant Key for multi-tenant mode checkbox, then enter the Tenant Key for the target tenant.
The Tenant Key can be copied from the Management Tool (on the Tenants page) by the administrator of the built-in default tenant. If a Tenant Key is not specified, the Client is installed on the built-in default tenant.

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Variant 2: Command line

1

Open an administrator command prompt

On the target computer, open cmd.exe as administrator.
2

Run the installer with the ServerName parameter

Enter:
If no connection can be established with the Application Server, the installation fails and an error message is displayed. Verify network connectivity to the Application Server before starting.
Once installation completes, the Client appears on the Clients page of the Management Tool.

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Amazon WorkSpaces bundle deployment

Amazon WorkSpaces is a desktop-as-a-service platform. Installing the Syteca Client on every new WorkSpace individually is impractical. Instead, install the Client once on a template WorkSpace, create a bundle from it, and provision new WorkSpaces from the bundle. Each new WorkSpace inherits the Client and connects to the Application Server on first boot.
1

Download the Client installation file from the Management Tool

Download SytecaClient.exe from the Management Tool. See Downloading the Windows Client Installation EXE File.
2

Install the Client on the template WorkSpace

Connect to the template Amazon WorkSpace. Run the Client installation file with administrator permissions.
3

Remove the AgentGUID registry value

Open the Windows Registry Editor and navigate to:
Right-click AgentGUID and select Delete. Confirm the deletion.
Removing AgentGUID is what allows each new WorkSpace created from the bundle to register as a distinct Client. Without this step, all WorkSpaces created from the bundle would share the same GUID and collapse into a single Client entry in the Management Tool.
Deleting AgentGUID requires Protected Mode to be disabled on the Client. Protected Mode blocks registry edits by design.
4

Create the Amazon image and bundle

In the Amazon WorkSpaces management console:
  1. Create an image of the template WorkSpace.
  2. Create a bundle from the new image.
  3. Provision new Amazon WorkSpaces from the bundle.
New Amazon WorkSpaces created from the bundle automatically connect to the Syteca Application Server on first boot.
Ensure the Syteca Application Server accepts TCP connections on port 9447 for Client-to-Application-Server communication.

Windows install prerequisites

Verify Server and Remote Procedure Call (RPC) services on target Windows computers before remote install.

Install Linux Clients

Linux and SELinux Client installation from the command line.

Install macOS Clients

macOS Client installation, including hidden Client variant.

Clients overview

View and manage installed Clients from the Management Tool.