1. Deploying with Microsoft Systems Management Server
The most comprehensive option to deploy the
Outlook client is Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS). With the
powerful software deployment functionality and management tools
incorporated with SMS, this method becomes the best solution for
deploying the Outlook client software to medium and large organizations.
Planning and Preparing Outlook Deployments with SMS
To prepare the Outlook client installation for
use with SMS, administrators must plan and prepare the deployment in
many of the same ways as when using other options.
This section reviews and outlines the following options and deployment preparation tasks involved with using SMS:
Software distribution—
Plan and create administrative installation points to support software
pushes in remote locations and on separate subnets. SMS site servers and
remote distribution points can be used to support software
distribution, while preventing pushes over WAN links.
Evaluate client needs— Determine the specific client installation needs and document the deployment plan.
Inventory using SMS collections—
Leveraging the powerful functionality of SMS collections,
administrators can perform detailed inventories of desktop hardware and
software.
Deploying with Systems Management Server
When deploying the Outlook client with Microsoft
Systems Management Server, SMS leverages the Windows Installer to
enhance the functionality of the deployment. Furthermore, SMS
incorporates the ability to recover from failed installations.
When leveraging Windows Installer and SMS to push client software, the following options are available:
Predefined Configuration Support— Administrators can incorporate transforms and PRF files with the distribution of the MSI package.
Per System Pushes— Users can establish a connection to the website without providing credentials.
Unattended Installation— Using the /qb
option with the installation syntax for the MSI package, administrators
can force an unattended installation to the Outlook client.
Administrative Installation Points—
As with other options, remote locations and alternate locations can be
defined to support client pushes over slower connections.
Advertised and Silent Installation—
Administrators can choose between the options of advertising the
installation package in the SMS Advanced Client or forcing the
installation without user intervention.
Configuring the SMS Package for an Unattended Installation
Using the property pages of the Outlook MSI
package used with SMS to deploy Outlook clients, administrators can
define the options to be used and how the package will be installed.
In this scenario, an administrator can configure the basic installation package for an unattended installation with SMS:
1. | Select
the Outlook MSI file and open the Programs property page. Modify the
Installer package properties by adding the command-line switch /qn.
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2. | To
complete configuring the unattended installation for the MSI package,
click the Environment tab and uncheck the User Input Required check box.
Note
To add a PRF file for use with the SMS package, add this command:
/ImportPRF \\Outlook Files\Outlook.PRF
after the /qn switch (where Outlook Files represents the share location where the packages can be found).
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Now that the installation package has been prepared, SMS can be configured to push Microsoft Outlook clients to the desktop.
2. Managing Postdeployment Tasks
Overall, without deployment and management
software such as SMS, administrators are very limited in options for
managing and validating Outlook client deployments. This section reviews
methods and functionality of Exchange Server that can be leveraged to
help determine the overall success of a deployment and troubleshoot
common deployment issues.
Validating Successful Installations
When SMS is not available for managing and
determining the success of the Outlook client deployments,
administrators must use the standard tools and functionality available
with Windows Server and Exchange Server. Administrators can use several
methods to review and validate client installations and ensure that the
client can authenticate after the Outlook client is deployed into the
production environment.
Review the following options to determine
methods and tricks that can assist in validating Outlook client
functionality after the deployment is complete:
Installations can be validated by
reviewing the Application Event Logs of the client systems and
identifying MSI Installer events that are written into the event logs.
On the local machine, view Add/Remove Programs to see whether the Outlook update package is listed.
Enable diagnostic logging on the Exchange server to monitor MSExchangeIS events when deploying clients.
