The
most comprehensive option to deploy the Outlook client is Microsoft
System Center Configuration Manager 2007 (SCCM). With the powerful
software deployment functionality and management tools incorporated with
SCCM, this method becomes the best solution for deploying the Outlook
client software to medium and large organizations.
Planning and Preparing Outlook Deployments with SCCM 2007
To prepare the
Outlook client installation for use with SCCM 2007, 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 SCCM 2007:
Software distribution—
Plan and create administrative installation points to support software
pushes in remote locations and on separate subnets. SCCM site servers and 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 SCCM collections—
Leveraging the powerful functionality of SCCM collections,
administrators can perform detailed inventories of desktop hardware and
software and precise targeting of software deployments.
Deploying with System Center Configuration Manager
When deploying the
Outlook client with Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, SCCM
leverages the Windows Installer to enhance the functionality of the
deployment. Furthermore, SCCM incorporates the capability to report on
and recover from failed installations.
When leveraging Windows Installer and SCCM 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 SCCM Advanced Client or forcing the
installation without user intervention.
Configuring the SCCM Package for an Unattended Installation
Using the property
pages of the Outlook MSI package used with SCCM 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. | Open the SCCM 2007 Console.
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2. | Expand the Computer Management, Software Distribution, and select the Packages folder.
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3. | Right-click the Packages folder and select New, Package from Definition.
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4. | Click Next.
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5. | Click Browse and navigate to the Office 2007 Outlook MSI file.
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6. | Select the Outlook MSI and click Open.
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7. | Select Create a compressed version of the source files and click Next.
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8. | Click Next to accept the source directory.
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9. | Click Finish to create the package.
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Because the package
was created from the MSI, it already contains the deployment options for
the following deployment methods or programs:
Per-system attended
Per-system unattended
Per-system uninstall
Per-user attended
Per-user unattended
Per-user uninstall
You can use
these deployment methods to deploy the Outlook client to workstations in
a flexible manner. Now that the installation package has been prepared,
SCCM can be configured to push Microsoft Outlook clients to the
desktop. The package can be distributed to locations where it will be
installed from, targeted at collections of desktops or users, and the
progress of the deployments can be tracked and reported on in detail.
