Ok, so here's what i ended up doing... and no, this question did not have an answer/is not a duplicate.
In short, the answer to my question is this:
It can't be done/there is no easy and built-in way to know where the application is TRULY being run without taking into account the "User Domain/Profile/Context".
Therefore, a more complex and comprehensive solution had to be implemented in the following manner (pseudo-coded):
Make RunLocation = GetEntryAssembly!
IF RunLocation == ServerLocationAsUNC OR LocalServerLocation
{
//so here, if the location is \\SERVER\SharedFolder\App\ OR D:\Shares\MyAppSharedFolder\Loader\
PROMPT FOR INSTALL LOCATION/DO NOT RUN!
}
ELSE
{
IF RunLocation Starts With a "\\"
{
Extract the Server name from RunLocation
Get the IP Address of that server
IF RunLocationIP == KnownServerIP
{
PROMPT FOR INSTALL LOCATION/DO NOT RUN!
}
ELSE
{
ALLOW TO RUN!
}
}
ELSE (if RunLocation does NOT start with a "\\")
{
Get the DriveInfo for RunLocation (example: "E:\")
IF the DriveInfo is NOT a Network Location
{
ALLOW TO RUN!
}
ELSE
{
Using ManagementObject, Get the UNC path for that DriveInfo
Extract the Server name from UNCPath
Get the IP Address of that server
IF DriveLocationIP == KnownServerIP
{
PROMPT FOR INSTALL LOCATION/DO NOT RUN!
}
ELSE
{
ALLOW TO RUN!
}
}
}
}
so that's the Pseudo-Code version...
Here's the actual method i ended up building to check for this and use it everywhere i needed it... keep in mind that this is not flawless (for example, if the local PC has the same expected Local Server Path and that is chosen, it will prompt for an install location when it shouldn't, which i really don't mind myself), and it is built for my needs so i have some extra checks in there (like, cannot be the Desktop) that you may not need... but regardless, here's the actual coded version.
private enum I_Am
{
OnTheServer,
OnTheLocalPC
}
/// <summary>
/// This method returns whether or not the application is being run at an appropriate location.
/// </summary>
/// <returns>Enum I_Am - Either: I_Am.OnTheServer OR I_Am.OnTheLocalPC</returns>
private I_Am CheckLocation()
{
//decalre local vars...
string bs = Path.DirectorySeparatorChar.ToString();
string dbs = bs +bs;
string dir = MyBaseDir;
I_Am retval = I_Am.OnTheServer;
//if run location is the UNC Share Server Path OR the Expected Local Server Path, or the Desktop or at the Root of a drive
//consider this a server/invalid run location.
if (dir == ServerBaseDir ||
dir == LocalServerBaseDir ||
dir == DesktopDir ||
IsRootDrive(dir))
{
retval = I_Am.OnTheServer;
}
else
{
//if the location is a UNC path entered by the user (e.g.: "\\ServerName")
if (dir.StartsWith(dbs))
{
//extract the server name from the path
dir = dir.Remove(0, 2);
List<string> parts = dir.Split(new string[] { bs }, StringSplitOptions.None).ToList();
string servername = parts[0];
//get the list of possible IP addresses for that server
System.Net.IPHostEntry server = System.Net.Dns.GetHostEntry(servername);
//if that list of IPs contains our distribution server, consider this a server/invalid run location.
//else, all good/allow to run!
if (server.AddressList.Contains(System.Net.IPAddress.Parse(ServerIP)))
retval = I_Am.OnTheServer;
else
retval = I_Am.OnTheLocalPC;
}
else
{
//if this is a local drive, it could be mapped to a share/network location which we must check)
//get the drive info for the drive...
DriveInfo drive = new DriveInfo(dir[0].ToString());
//if it's NOT a network drive, all good/allow to run!
if (drive.DriveType != DriveType.Network)
{
return I_Am.OnTheLocalPC;
}
else
{
//if this is a network drive, we now have to check the UNC to IP mapping again...
//get the UNC path from the ManagementObject...
ManagementObject mo = new ManagementObject();
mo.Path = new ManagementPath(string.Format("Win32_LogicalDisk='{0}'", drive.Name));
dir = Convert.ToString(mo["ProviderName"]);
//extract the server name from the path
dir = dir.Remove(0, 2);
List<string> parts = dir.Split(new string[] { bs }, StringSplitOptions.None).ToList();
string servername = parts[0];
//get the list of possible IP addresses for that server
System.Net.IPHostEntry server = System.Net.Dns.GetHostEntry(servername);
//if that list of IPs contains our distribution server, consider this a server/invalid run location.
//else, all good/allow to run!
if (server.AddressList.Contains(System.Net.IPAddress.Parse(ServerIP)))
retval = I_Am.OnTheServer;
else
retval = I_Am.OnTheLocalPC;
}
}
}
return retval;
}
