Updated - Deploying the 2007 Office system by using System Center Configuration Manager

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Thank-you everyone for your feedback. I'm now posting the most recent draft copy of this article. The final copy of the article will be published in the 2007 Office Resource Kit on Microsoft TechNet, located here: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc303401.aspx.

Deploying the 2007 Office system by using System Center Configuration Manager 2007

February 2009 – Draft Copy

 

 

Summary

This article provides detailed technical guidance on the processes and procedures when using Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to deploy the 2007 Microsoft Office system in a medium to large enterprise corporate environment. This article includes the following sections:

· Overview

· Introduction to the deployment process

· Deploying the 2007 Office system in a test environment

· Resources for deploying the infrastructure

 

 

Overview

Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 is the solution to comprehensively assess, deploy, and update your servers, clients, and devices across physical, virtual, distributed, and mobile environments. This article provides detailed technical guidance for specifically deploying the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

Although this article illustrates the test network environment used for helping to describe the process of deploying the 2007 Office system by using Configuration Manager 2007, it does not provide information about how to set up the test network infrastructure, such as the Active Directory directory service, Microsoft SQL Server, and System Center Configuration Manager. However, it does provide links for setting up a similar network infrastructure. This information is located in the last section of this article, “Resources for deploying the infrastructure.”

Audience

The target audience for this article is IT professionals. These IT professionals could include network managers, consultants, and IT managers who work for or with medium to large enterprises.

Prerequisites

Prior knowledge and experience will help users understand and apply the information in this article, particularly experience in the following areas:

· Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 or Configuration Manager 2007

· Office Customization Tool (OCT)

· 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Office 2003, or Microsoft Office XP

Introduction to the deployment process

Once you have your supporting infrastructure in place for Configuration Manager 2007, the process for deploying the 2007 Office system involves creating and defining five primary areas:

· Collections

· Packages

· Programs

· Distribution points

· Advertisements

 

Collections Collections are groups of Configuration Manager 2007 resources, such as users, user groups, or computers, against which a software deployment is targeted. For additional overview information about collections, see “Collections Overview” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680321.aspx.

Packages A package is the set of installation source files that Configuration Manager 2007 manages and distributes for software deployment. Some of the information included within the package is the distribution points and programs. For additional overview information about packages, see “About Packages” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680855.aspx.

Programs Programs are part of the package configuration in Configuration Manager 2007. They contain any command-line switches and additional parameters to be run from the designated package source files, such as “Setup.exe”. For additional overview information about programs, see “About Programs” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb632775.aspx.

Distribution points Distribution points are Configuration Manager 2007 site systems that store designated packages for deployment to Configuration Manager 2007 clients. When the Configuration Manager 2007 client receives and processes a relevant advertisement, the client then contacts a distribution point to download the package and start the installation process. For additional overview information about distribution points, see “About Distribution Points” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680614.aspx.

Advertisements Advertisements tie packages and programs together with collections, enabling administrators to target software deployment of specific or customized applications to collections of computers or users. An advertisement specifies a package and program, and the collection to which it will be advertised or deployed. For additional overview information about advertisements, see “About Advertisements” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb694110.aspx.

Deploying the 2007 Office system in a test environment

This section provides a diagram and description of the test network environment for the Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure. It also includes procedural information of the steps for deploying 2007 Microsoft Office Enterprise by using Configuration Manager 2007.

Network environment

The test network environment for this article is shown in the following illustration.

All of the servers (A, B, and C) are running Windows Server 2008 and are members of the same domain (CPANDL.COM), including the client computers (D), which are running Windows Vista Enterprise. The applications and roles that each server is running, and the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for each client computer, are listed as follows:

A. Active Directory, DNS, DHCP <DC.CPANDL.COM>

B. SQL Server 2008 <SQLSRV.CPANDL.COM>

C. System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 (management point, distribution point) <SCCM.CPANDL.COM>

D. Windows Vista Enterprise, System Center Configuration Manager 2007 client <WVC01.CPANDL.COM>

Although in this simple test network environment the site server is performing multiple site system roles (such as management point and distribution point) simultaneously, this configuration is not recommended for production sites that have large numbers of resources.

Procedural steps for deploying the 2007 Office system by using Configuration Manager 2007

In this example, deployment scenario detailed information is provided for deploying 2007 Office Enterprise in the previously defined Configuration Manager 2007 test environment. By following these steps, you can use Configuration Manager 2007 to deploy a silent installation of the 2007 Office system, where the users do not interact with the installation process.

Note: In a production environment to minimize the load on your network, you can use Configuration Manager 2007 to deploy (precache) the local installation source of the 2007 Office system separately, before you deploy Office. Precaching allows most of the installation activity to occur on the local computer instead of over the network. Precaching also allows you to coordinate the upgrade to the new version. You can distribute the local installation source to groups of users over time and then schedule a simultaneous installation throughout the organization without over-taxing the network. For more information, see “Precache the local installation source for the 2007 Office system” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179231.aspx.

In this example, the first step is to create a customization file for the silent installation of the 2007 Office system.

Create a Setup customization file for the 2007 Office system

In the 2007 Office system, Setup controls the entire installation, including processes that Windows Installer handled in previous Office versions. Customizing the default behavior of Setup allows you to control the process. In this example, you customize the installation for a silent installation of the 2007 Office system.

The Office Customization Tool (OCT) is used to create a Setup customization file (MSP file). Setup applies this file when Office is installed on the computers.

Note: It is also possible to use the Config.xml file to configure a silent installation of the 2007 Office system. For more information about using Config.xml, see “Configure a silent install of the 2007 Office system with Config.xml” located at the following link: https://blogs.technet.com/office\_resource\_kit/archive/2009/01/29/configure-a-silent-install-of-the-2007-office-system-with-config-xml.aspx.

To customize Office Setup, you use the command line setup.exe /admin to start the Office Customization Tool. In this example, using Configuration Manager 2007 to deploy the 2007 Office system, at a command prompt you run setup.exe /admin from the package source directory, \SCCMOffice2007Enterprise.

To ensure that the 2007 Office system is silently installed, you need to modify and configure the settings as follows:

On the Licensing and user interface dialog box, set the Display Level to None, which will then enable the Suppress modal check box. Verify that the Completion notice and No Cancel options are not selected. Enter a valid 25-character volume license key in the Product Key box located under Licensing and user interface. Select the I accept the terms in the License Agreement check box.

Save and name the newly created MSP file and place it in the Updates folder for the 2007 Office system on the computer that contains the package source directory, which in this example is \SCCMOffice2007EnterpriseUpdatesCustomFileOffice2007SilentInstall.MSP.

For additional information about how to customize the default behavior of Setup for the 2007 Office system, see “Customize Setup before installing the 2007 Office system” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179121.aspx.

Create a collection

This section provides the details for using direct membership rules to create a collection in Configuration Manager 2007. This allows for selecting the computer resources of the targeted computers.

For additional information about the membership rules, including both query and direct, see “About Membership Rules” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb680821.aspx.

To create a collection, in the Configuration Manager Console, navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Computer Management / Collections.

Right-click Collections, and then click New Collection. On the General dialog box of the New Collection Wizard, enter a name for the collection. In this example, it is named “Target-Computers”.

On the Membership Rules dialog box, click the computer icon, which opens the Create Direct Membership Rule Wizard. Click Next.

On the Search for Resources dialog box, click the Resource class drop-down menu and select System Resource. Then, click the Attribute name drop-down menu and select Name. In the Value field enter % , and then click Next.

On the Collection Limiting dialog box, click the Browse button, select All Windows Workstation or Professional Systems, click OK, and then click Next.

On the Select Resources dialog box, select the check box for each of the targeted computer resources. In this example, TestComputer01 and TestComputer02 were selected. Click Next, and then on the Finished dialog box, click Finish. On the Membership Rules dialog box of the New Collection Wizard, click Next.

On the Advertisements dialog box, for now, do not assign an advertisement because it is not yet created. Click Next. On the Security dialog box, accept the defaults, click Next, and then click Close.

The next step is to prepare the source directory for the package.

For more information about collections, see “Collections in Configuration Manager” located at the following link: https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb693730.aspx.

Prepare the package source directory

The package source folder contains all the files and subdirectories needed to run the programs in a package. In this example, the source directory is \SCCMOffice2007Enterprise, which contains a copy of the 2007 Office Enterprise installation CD.

Note: It is possible to reduce the