Do you need to run the installer or could I just copy over the spark folder from a server to a workstation and just run spark without running the installer?
We are looking for a way to push this to stations and I was just thinking of using the folder copy option in group policy to copy the folder to the computers.
The installer does some nice things like creates proper directories in correct location based on the OS version, creates proper desktop shortcuts, sets default configs, etc. It also registers the application with Windows so it’s visible in the add/remove programs, so it does add/change some registry keys in that regard…
I have not attempted to execute a Spark installation after copying the directory to another system… it may work… only way to find out would be to try.
If you have some dev skills and feel comfortable compiling your own Spark version, in the target directory (compile output directory) there is a bin/ directory and inside are a batch script and shell script for windows and linux respectively. if you copy that target directory and then launch spark from those scripts, it is portable as this is pre-packaging with the installer and such.
Another option would be to compile and package your own Spark with Advanced Installer which will create an MSI – which should be deployable via GPO (and advanced installer happens to have a freebie version).
There’s some How-To’s on this site someplace…
It should work without the installer. Or you can use -q switch for silent installation with the installer and put this into startup or shutdown scripts in gpo.