Software - PDQ Inventory and Deploy

PDQ inventory and Deploy is a very poor version of SCCM and client-less at the same time.

I warmly prefer SCCM but due to fact that PDQ is easier, cheaper and with less server resources requirements PDQ can be good a choice as alternative. (there is a free version too with less features)

Download:

http://www.adminarsenal.com/download-pdq

Here they are some feature about that:



PDQ Deploy is a software deployment tool that allows admins to silently install almost any application or patch. 
Its features include:
- Integrates with Active Directory, Spiceworks, PDQ Inventory, and more
- Install to multiple computers simultaneously
- Real-time status
- Install just about anything
- Agentless 



PDQ Inventory scans and reports software, hardware, and OS configurations for your Windows network. 
Its features include:
- Scanning for installed software and hardware on each computer
- Create reports on what's installed on your network
- Organize computers into collections that make sense to you
- Really cool admin tools allow you to perform tasks on your computers
- Integration with PDQ Deploy

Here they are product comparisation.

PDQ Deploy Comparison

PDQ Deploy Free, Pro, and Enterprise Features

Features	Free Mode	Pro Mode	Enterprise
Deploy Applications and Patches
Works with MSI, EXE, Batch, and more.
Deploy PowerShell & VB Script
Deploy to PDQ Inventory, Spiceworks, AD
Basic level Package Library Access1
Schedule Deployments
Create Multiple Step and Chained (Nested) Packages
Integrate with Custom Tools & Scripts
Set Automatic Inventory Scan After Deployments 2
Throttle Bandwidth
Status Email After Deployments
Wake-On-LAN & Heartbeat Schedule
Setup Recurring Deployments
Independent Schedules
Multi-user capable (package sharing)
Full access to Package Library (See list)
Auto Deployment of Library Packages
Retry Queue

related pdq and sccm articles:

Tips - how to migrate PDQ deploy and PDQ inventory to another server

http://www.alessandromazzanti.com/2015/06/tips-how-to-migrate-pdq-deploy-and-pdq.html

Server - PDQ Deploy utility per monitorare la rete ed installare software

http://www.alessandromazzanti.com/2012/08/server-pdq-deploy-utility-per.html

Tips - how to migrate PDQ deploy and PDQ inventory to another server

I already mentioned on very old post about PDQ deploy and PDQ inventory that is SCCM 2012 in "very light" version but it work quite well.

http://www.alessandromazzanti.com/2012/08/server-pdq-deploy-utility-per.html

I take note about procedure to be done to migrate them to another server mantaining relative settings and licences.

The following keys and values are maintained under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.

Key	Value	Description
SOFTWARE\Admin Arsenal\PDQ Inventory	InstallDir	The folder where PDQ Inventory is installed.  This value is removed on uninstall and is needed for other applications to interact with PDQ Inventory. This value will be in SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Admin Arsenal\PDQ Inventory on 64-bit system.
	License	The Pro Mode license key, if it has been entered.  The key is stored exactly as it was sent to you so it can be exported or copied and pasted to a new computer.
	Secure Key	One of the keys used to encrypt sensitive information in the database.  This key is generated when the system is installed and will need to be copied to a new computer if the database is moved. Our support staff will never ask for this entry.
SOFTWARE\Admin Arsenal\PDQ Inventory Console	Disable Hardware Rendering	Used to troubleshoot issues with .NET GUI rendering on some systems.  When the application's windows aren't showing correctly, or at all, create this value as DWORD = 1.  This will cause the application to use only software rendering which fixes many of these issues.

http://documentation.adminarsenal.com/PDQInventory/5.2.0.0/?data_files.htm

Server - PDQ Deploy utility per monitorare la rete ed installare software

Segnalo un'interessante utility che ho scoperto oggi per caso.

Si trata di PDQ utility che esiste anche nella versione gratuita.

Si tratta di due utility:

1. PDQ Deploy che a grandi linee permette di avere uno strumento per effettuare installazioni "silent" sui client.PDQ Deploy non sfrutta agent ma solo l'SMB File Sharing basta infatti che i client permettano l'accesso alle Administrative Shares (C$, RPC$, ADMIN$) 
2. PDQ Reporting che permette di avere una reportistica dei client per quanto riguarda il software e l'hardware

Il link del download è il seguente:

http://www.adminarsenal.com/download-pdq

Il confronto fra la versione free e quella pro si può evincere dalla seguente tabella: Features Free Mode Pro Mode Software Deployment Deploy MSI, EXE, Batch, MSU, MSP Deploy PowerShell & VB Script Deploy to Non-AD Targets Deploy to PDQ Inventory Targets Schedule Deployments Multi-step Installations Integrate with Custom Tools & Scripts Integrate with Task Manager Inclusion & Exclusion filters Throttle Bandwidth Deployment Email Notifications Wake-On-LAN Target filters Pull file copy (targets of deployments will pull the installations files down) Link To dynamic target lists for recurring deployments