How To Deploy Autodesk Software

[wizard_ettore]

I am busy "supplementary" IT person at an engineering consulting firm. My actual job is electrical engineer, but I "fill the gaps" with doing IT work. Almost 100% of my IT time is now spent installing AutoDesk software because all other software can be deployed and takes up 0 of my time. I see that there are basically 4 types of installers, and I've tried them all with varying modes of failure:

1. Web installer ("Install"). If I run this on a PC manually (user mode having to type admin credentials into UAC), I get the dialogue boxes so I just have to type a few things and it will install. This means I have to visit the PC a few times to babysit the dialogues otherwise the users will either never click "next" or will simply cancel it. To fix that issue, I tried the silent installation (-q) and that looks like it works (eventually there are no autodesk related processes running) but generally results in inoperable software (specifically with Inventor 2024+, and AutoCAD 2025). If it fails, its at least an hour of extracting random files so it will install again, so I never use -q meaning deploying with this type is unusable.
2. "Create" installer ("Download"). This one runs and creates an install folder without a consistent name; a bit annoying, but whatever. I find the setup.exe file and basically the same thing happens as with the "Install" type; if I try to make it run silently, it fails.

3. Deployment ("Custom Install"). If I create the deployment today, then run it today, this works. If I create this deployment 3 months ago and run it today, it consistently fails from what I assume are changes to some callback to the Autodesk servers. So, I tried silently running the deployment to a local folder so I have a current copy. I then search some XML files for the ODIS data, then re-create the installer command line found in the batch file that it USUALLY creates. It will then install but ONLY if I am not running as SYSTEM, which is what our RMM tool runs as. If I am running as SYSTEM, those deployments will always fail with error 4000.

4. Desktop Connector. This installer is hilarious. Running with -q? It will never end the install, I assume it's displaying a "click OK to complete" dialogue you can't see. If you use the switch to get it to create the installer, it creates a folder called "Autodesk_Desktop_Connector_(002)_(002)" or something like this, and no combination of commands can I get that installer to run. I tried to even monitor the install folder thinking the "DesktopConnector_x64.exe" application must stay running, but it actually hands off to the installer hiding somewhere else. At best I can get this to install, but the scripts will hang because it never completes. I then wait for the Desktop Connector application to re-start, wait 10 minutes, then kill all processes that have the word AutoDesk in them (except Desktop Connector).

Is there a secret? I have dozens of other pieces of software that happily install without issue, but not AutoDesk.  I'm really hoping for this to be pretty hands off because, if a user needs Revit (common), I have to install 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026 (we have a lot of projects in all versions, and our clients will not upgrade) ... that alone is easily an hour of my day.

We use Datto, and the handoff for installation is to a powershell script that does all the thinking. However, even if I have Datto run those installation commands directly (AutoDeskInstaller.exe -q), it will fail just the same as if PowerShell did it. We don't have InTune. We are in a Windows domain environment, and our users are not administrators. Antivirus status has no impact on these results. What DOES impact the results is if I run that powershell as SYSTEM vs a local administrator. If I run from ISE as administrator, the installers work.

[Simon_Weel]

But wait, there's more! There's a time you have to install updates. And those updates might need the original installer files. Option 3 is the most 'safe' one in this regard.

I don't know why Autodesk came up with their own ODIS installer, but it's no joy. If it works, it works fine. If there's a problem, your on your own. The method we use is option 3 - a deployment stored on a Server Share. I usually test it using the 'basic UI' mode. If this works ok, then you could try using a deployment tool, but success is not guaranteed...

[wizard_ettore · Accepted solution]

Speaking with some IT friends, it looks like the solution here that even AutoDesk shouldn't be able to break are to use gMSAs in AD. In this way, instead of my RMM tool running installers directly (SYSTEM), it schedules install tasks on the PC using those credentials pulled straight from AD (of which only SYSTEM can do), which functionally is the same as running the installer yourself and typing in admin credentials in the UAC prompt. I'd prefer if AutoDesk put the smallest effort in using the folders Microsoft has been recommending for 15 years like everyone else does, instead of temporarily using non-existent folders and offloading their problems onto me, but here we are.

Unfortunate for me, we are on an older AD so I can't yet do it, but we are upgrading soon so I can actually test this.