Scripting Ninite using Datto RMM

IMPORTANT  This guide is for informational purposes only. Datto RMM does not directly offer support on any issues raised with third-party components.

SECURITY  Scripting Ninite for automated installs can only be done with a Ninite Pro account. There is a free version, but it doesn't have the same command line or unattended functionality.

Ninite is a service that allows you to install or update multiple applications on multiple endpoints through a single executable. The power of that functionality really increases, however, when you start to add the sort of automation, scheduling, and alerting that Datto RMM can deliver.

There are two functions that Ninite will commonly be used for alongside Datto RMM:

  • The installation or updating of a specific application or applications
  • Managing general application updates for all manageable apps on a device

How to...

To use Ninite and Datto RMM to install and update an application (or multiple applications):

  1. Download the Datto RMM Ninite - Install and Update Applications component.
  2. Import the component into your Component list. Refer to Importing a component.
  3. With the script component open, add your own ninitepro.exe (which is associated with your own Ninite Pro account) in the Files section. Refer to Attached files.
  4. You can edit the command line which is run here to change how Ninite should behave when it runs (for example, adding proxy details if your devices sit behind an authenticating proxy server). More details on the command line options for Ninite can be found in the Ninite Command Line Switch Reference.
  5. Click Save to add the component to your library.

NOTE  If you want to be able to use this component as a Quick Job, click the star icon next to it in the list.

When you run this component (either as a one time Quick Job, or as a Scheduled Job), you will be asked to enter the names of the applications you want to install or update. To see the list of applications which can be installed or managed, refer to Ninite Pro app list.

If you run this component as a scheduled job, the first time it runs, the applications will be installed from the web. Subsequent runs will check if the application is at the latest version currently available, and if not, it will update to that version.

If, rather than deploying and managing specific apps, you just want Ninite to control all of the updates for the applications it manages, you can use this component instead:

  1. Download the Datto RMM Ninite - Update Everything component.
  2. Import the component into your Component list. Refer to Importing a component.
  3. With the script component open, add your own ninitepro.exe (which is associated with your own Ninite Pro account) in the Files section. Refer to Attached files.
  4. You can edit the command line which is run here to change how Ninite should behave when it runs (for example, excluding some applications from being updated - by default, this component excludes Firefox, but you will probably want to add your own list of exceptions). More details on the command line options for Ninite can be found in the Ninite Command Line Switch Reference.
  5. Click Save to add the component to your library.

General advice

We recommend that, as with all new components, test this out on a couple of devices to make sure you understand what it's doing and how it works, then schedule it to run on a regular basis. Bear in mind that lots of applications updating in the background may make the user feel their device is running slowly, so be careful when you schedule it.

NOTE  You may also want to investigate using the cache feature in Ninite to reduce internet bandwidth usage, since 100 devices all downloading Google Earth at the same time will be quite a large download.