Deployment options

Network share

Description

A simple way to deploy Office 2010 is to create a network installation point and copy the contents of the Office CD onto the network share. Make sure that the network is accessible by the targeted resources (users/computers).

Advantages

• Easier for smaller IT departments to implement
• Network share and network access are the only infrastructure requirements.
• Flexibility — allows users to initiate the installation on an as-needed basis.

Limitations

•  Difficult to control and monitor who installs Office
•  Difficult to manage installation times by end users and consequent affects on network infrastructure

Recommendations

Using network file and folder sharing for installing Office 2010 can be a good alternative for smaller organizations that lack supporting infrastructure such as Microsoft System Center Essentials, Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), or available technical knowledge, such as scripting.

Tools

•  Network File and Folder Sharing
• Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

Group Policy startup scripts

Description

Administrators can use Group Policy to assign computer startup scripts to deploy Office 2010. A script can be written in any language that is supported by the client computer. Windows Script Host-supported languages, such as VBScript and JScript, and command files are the most common.

Advantages

• Leverages Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) and Group Policy infrastructure.
• AD DS handles the elevation of privileges required for application installation.
• Administrators can use a similar scripting process to apply security updates and service packs for each computer in the domain or organizational unit.
• A script can be written in any language that is supported by the client computer, such as VBScript and JScript, which are Windows Script Host-supported languages.

Limitations

• The product installation is not managed in the same way as Group Policy Software Installation (GPSI).
• Group Policy invokes the script and has limited awareness of the installation state thereafter.
• Product uninstalls and installs for multiple computers have to be done by using a command-line script or batch file.
• It might be difficult to determine exactly which updates and service packs were applied for each client computer.

Recommendations

Group Policy startup scripts is a solution for organizations that do not have a desktop management application, such as Microsoft System Center Essentials or System Center Configuration Manager, but that need an automated way to deploy Office 2010 to many computers.

Tools

• Group Policy Management Console (GPMC)
• Scripting languages, such as Microsoft Visual Basic Scripting Edition (VBScript) and JScript
• Sample Group Policy Startup Script
• Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

Managed Deployment

Description

Administrators can use change and configuration management software, such as Microsoft System Center Essentials and Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, to deploy Office 2010 applications. The choice of System Center Essentials or Configuration Manager depends in part on the size of your organization.

Advantages

· Applications are deployed to thousands of workstations in a short period of time. Managed deployment systems can first push the installation bits to the targeted workstations over a specified period of time (such as over a week), which helps distribute the load to the network and allows for a quick deployment once the installation bits are on the targeted workstations.

· Makes network bandwidth management easier.

· Centralizes control, monitoring, reporting, and issue resolution of deployment.

· Reduces the need of sending helpdesk personnel to workstations for troubleshooting.

Limitations

· Requires supporting infrastructure.

· Expertise is required to manage the change and configuration management software.

Recommendations

· Use managed deployment systems when applications are deployed to thousands of workstations in a short period of time.

· Put change and configuration management policies in place.

· Plan, test, and validate before rolling out to production.

· Roll out in a phased manner. This is especially true for unattended installs — the most common issue is people not creating/configuring a valid unattended install  experience.

· Schedule deployments for minimum network utilization times, such as evenings and weekends.

Tools

· Microsoft System Center

· Microsoft Deployment Toolkit

· Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

Application Virtualization

Description

Administrators can use Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) as part of a deployment option to allow users to run Office 2010 applications on their workstations. App-V streams applications on demand to the workstation, from which the application is run. However, the application is not installed on the workstation.

Advantages

· Centralizes management of applications, such as controlling application usage and license metering, which can help administrators ensure compliance.

· Supports end-user roaming experience and provides applications to end users quickly.

· Allows multiple versions of Office to run on the workstation and can run both virtual applications and installed applications.

· Office 2010 runs in an isolated virtual environment, which can enable previously incompatible applications to run on the same workstation.

· Uses available workstation processing power to run applications.

Limitations

· Requires supporting infrastructure and resources for App-V, which will vary depending on the infrastructure deployment option selection.

· Network bandwidth availability for streaming application to end-user device.

· Integration into existing infrastructure, such as patch management process.

Recommendations

· When application compatibility, such as running multiple versions of Office 2010, is required and you want to use the processing power of the workstation to run the applications, then application virtualization is a good solution.

· When you want to use the existing processing power of the workstation to run the application, then application virtualization is a good solution, as opposed to the use of presentation virtualization, where the running of the application takes place on the servers.

· When scalability is needed for the distribution of the virtualized application to many hundreds of computers and in different locations, such as remote offices, we recommend use of change and configuration management software, such as Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager, as the delivery mechanism.

· Ensure that redundancy is in place for application virtualization infrastructure to avoid having a single point of failure.

Tools

· Microsoft Application Virtualization

· Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack

· Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

Presentation Virtualization

Description

Administrators can use Windows Server® 2008 Terminal Services as a deployment option to allow users to operate the Office 2010 applications from their workstations. Terminal Services is run on a shared server and presents the application user interface on a remote system, such as a local workstation. Using Terminal Services to take advantage of App-V enables the optimization of the application through the sequencing process of application virtualization and then uses Terminal Services to deliver the application as a presentation virtualization.

Advantages

· Centralizes management of applications, such as controlling application usage and license metering, which can help administrators ensure compliance.

· Supports end-user roaming experience and to quickly make applications available to end-users.

· Provides thin-client support.

· Reduces network traffic because only keyboard, mouse, and display information is transmitted.

Limitations

· Application availability is dependent on both the network infrastructure and the servers running the application.

· Graphic-intensive applications might experience degradation in performance.

· Less flexibility of traditional end-user experience on a workstation.

Recommendations

· Presentation virtualization is a good solution if application compatibility, such as running multiple versions of Office, is required and you want to use the processing power of servers running Terminal Services to operate the applications.

· When older workstations do not support the operating system, presentation virtualization is a good solution.

· Ensure that redundancy is in place for presentation virtualization infrastructure to avoid having a single point of failure.

Tools

· Windows Server Terminal Services

· Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

· Microsoft Application Virtualization for Terminal Services