Deploy TeamViewer Host Modules to Thousands of Devices via Silent Host Rollout

Esther

TeamViewer Host Modules are a great way to enable access on all kinds of devices.

From now on, there’s a way to distribute them to any number of devices without hassle.

Is your company new to TeamViewer?

Or maybe it’s only now that you’ve decided to use its unattended access functionalities, e.g. to allow employees to work from home or to access servers at remote data centers?

In any case, you’ll want to install your custom TeamViewer Host module to a number of devices and, correct me if I’m wrong here, but I’m pretty sure you’d like an uncomplicated way of doing that.

Of course, when you roll out the module to hundreds or even thousands of devices, you don’t want the necessity to confirm the installation manually on every single one of them.

Ain’t nobody got time for that, right?

As luck would have it, we developed a new feature that enables you to roll out custom TeamViewer Host modules silently.

The Silent Host Rollout Saves You Hassle

Currently, the Silent Host Rollout is available for Windows and Mac.

With it, you can roll out your host modules to as many devices as you’d like without its user receiving a pop-up message that needs to be confirmed.

To do that, the Silent Host Rollout must be activated in the Management Console and, reasonably, can only be executed with admin rights.

You can roll out TeamViewer on Windows or Mac using any deployment system you like.

Also, it doesn’t require an Active Directory.

How to Use the Silent Host Rollout

For deployment with automated account assignment, it is recommended to use the Assignment Tool method. This method works on Windows with the MSI package as well as the executable version of TeamViewer Host.

Create your custom Host module

The custom Host module has to be created in the TeamViewer Management Console which is a web-based application.

1. To call up the TeamViewer Management Console, open the page https://login.teamviewer.com in a web browser and sign in with your TeamViewer account.

--> The user interface of the TeamViewer Management Console will load.

2. In the section Design & Deploy found in the left menu bar, click the Add Host button and select Host.

 

Define your individual Host preferences

1. To set up the silent rollout option, select the checkbox Allow account assignment without confirmation.

 

--> For the assignment, an additional tool is needed and can be downloaded after the option is selected in the preferences.

2. Click on Download assignment tool to do so.

 

3. Return to the Custom Host preferences in the Management Console and click on Save in the bottom right corner

Note: Custom Host modules can be configured in several ways. You can find further information in the TeamViewer Manual – Management Console.

Rollout your created Host module

After saving the custom Host module, a download link for the Assignment Tool is shown and the ConfigurationID as well as the API token that is needed for the account assignment are generated.

 

Note: The Assignment Tool must be accessible via a network share or be deployed together with the TeamViewer Host.

1. Deploy the custom TeamViewer Host with CustomizationID to all devices using your preferred deployment method.

2. Run the Assignment Tool after deployment of the TeamViewer Host as administrator on all devices that should be assigned. This could for example be done by making the Assignment Tool available via a network share and running a script to call up the Assignment Tool on the devices after successful deployment of the TeamViewer Host.

For additional information you can also visit a corresponding thread here in the TeamViewer Community.

Let’s Discuss the New Feature!

The Silent Host Rollout should make it so much easier to deploy your custom host modules to a large number of devices.

But let’s hear what you have to say about it.

How many devices did you supply with a host module at the same time so far? Let us know in the comment section below!

BengtDNilsson

A customer like to install the complete TeamViewer software on many computers using a script. Is that possible?

Jeremy

Hi @BengtDNilsson,

Yes, it's possible to deploy TeamViewer with a script. You would need to configure the script to first launch the TeamViewer installer - the EXE or MSI file - which you would obtain after creating your custom Host module (per the instructions in the blog post above), and afterwards the script should launch the Assignment Tool with its needed command line parameters, as explained in this Knowledge Base article.

Both the installer and the Assignment Tool could be placed on a shared network folder, or deployed to each target computer using some deployment tool for example. We support using Active Directory for this, but other tools could also be used.

CaspianJVC

Hi,

I have the following problem. When the Teamviewer_Assignment.exe is run straight after the install of the MSI the AssignmentData.json file is not in the directory. This file appears at some point in the future. Can this file be available straight away? I am not sure why you have gone down the path of creating an exe file instead of jsut adding a MSI switch and the apitoken can jsut be passed during the install?

James

ArieS

Hi,

Although the site states that this functionality is available for Business and higher licences, I'm asked for a Corporate licence????

Arie

HeinM

Hi

The following script sorts out the wait time for the JSON file:

Teamviewer_Host-idcxxxxxx.msi /quiet
timeout 180 > null
Teamviewer_Assignment.exe -allowEasyAccess=true -apitoken=xxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -datafile "${ProgramFiles}\TeamViewer\AssignmentData.json"

 

You can also use the following script:

Set fso = WScript.CreateObject("Scripting.Filesystemobject")
fso.CopyFolder "Teamviewer", "C:\"

Set oShell = CreateObject ("WScript.Shell")
oShell.run "cmd.exe /C c:\teamviewer\TeamViewer_Host-idcxxxxxxxxxxx.msi /quiet"
WScript.Sleep 60000
oShell.run "cmd.exe /C C:\Teamviewer\TeamViewer_Assignment.exe -allowEasyAccess=true -apitoken=xxxxxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx -datafile ${ProgramFiles}\TeamViewer\AssignmentData.json"
WScript.Sleep 15000
oShell.run "cmd.exe /C net stop Teamviewer"
WScript.Sleep 10000
oShell.run "cmd.exe /C net start Teamviewer"

jamesmackley

Hi,

 

Is Linux supported at all? - I am not sure how to deploy a linux host to multiple servers.

 

James

CChris

FYI, you can't get the APIKey in Chrome - Had to use Firefox to see it.  Wasted an hour trying to figure that out.

Jack_Jaegger

Dear reader(s),

Well to be blunt our corporation is new to teamviewer and we are currently considering to upgrade teamviewer. Until recently we managed about 600 android devices on a 3th party software which gave us remote access. We would like to see teamviewer to take over this role for remote access and file transfers. As shown in this thread there is a possibility to quick install teamviewer on all devices.

When we decide to roll out the module to hundreds of devices, we don’t want the necessity to confirm the installation manually on every single one of them. It's nice to have the silent host rollout for this procedure but the problem lies within the execution of this. We just don't seem to get it working... Is there anyone kind enough to give me some kind of advice regarding this matter? Is it possible to actually create a hostfile module inc. quickinstall of teamviewer, access delegations throughout a QR-code? We literally want to scan this QR-code and expect the device to automaticly install teamviewer and bind the device to our teamviewer platform.

Is there anyone who can give me valuable information regarding my question?
Thanks in advance!

Kind regards, Jack

LarsKlanderTR

Does this silent customized mode eliminate the small handle on the right-hand side of the screen? Or is that an option? We use the product to remote-service kiosks and having that handle on the screen creates a massive security hole -- massive enough that we will need to move to something else if I can't keep it from the displaying when the system is not being remotely accessed.

Thanks.

Scotty

Hi LarsKlanderTR,

No version of TeamViewer will connect without the connection panel on the right hand side of the screen.

It is our belief that the end user must always know that their computer is being viewed remotely. This window is to make sure that no connection can be made to snoop or spy on end users. TeamViewer is not Spyware.

-Scotty

LarsKlanderTR

Mate you misunderstand my question.

I am not talking about the panel -- i am absolutely 100% OK with the panel popping up when a connection is made.

I am referring to the little handle that sits on the screen all the time. Since we are doing remote support of machines that have a very controlled interaction methodology, having that little handle sit there on the host is a problem. I am simply trying to figure out how not to show the handle.

Let me reiterate: I am 100% in support of the pop-up connection panel. I just want that handle on the right to go down in the system tray or somewhere when no one is connected rather than floating on top of every window in the environment.

Thanks in advance for your response. It would be great if you could answer the question I am asking rather than providing a stock answer which is NOT what I am asking. Appreciate it.

udayse

Hello,

I am excited for the silent install feature. However, Its not available for Android. Can you please let me know if this is planned?

Thanks

Uday

tully

These instructions are lacking in detail.

For instance, what is this?

1. Deploy the custom TeamViewer Host with CustomizationID to all devices using your preferred deployment method.

Esther

Hi @tully - Please have a look into our Knowledge Base for the technical documentation. E.g., this article Mass deployment improvements  Thanks and best, Esther

Pat_Long_Denton

We are in a HIPAA and PHI environment and our machines are locked down. Only IT has admin rights. Every install option I can find requires that the end user have admin rights to install team viewer. Am I missing something? Is there a way to deploy this software without Admin rights on each computer? It's probably good to mention that our environment is locked down from SCCM, power scripting, etc. We do not remote install software typically, but the Team View support tool is important for us.

xasxbvb

Guys don't bother trying this if you don't have a corporate license. We have a premium license and it doesn't allow us do this. The author of this article should have mentioned this. See screenshot: https://imgur.com/zW1zxYm Also pretty silly that paid licenses other than corporate don't have access to this.

jamie-dev

when is this gonna be available for linux ? >.<