The method I am using assumes you are using a Volume License or KMS licensed copy of Office 2010. This scenario is based on a single site network using Active Directory and no deployment tools. The script assumes a mixture of 64-bit and 32-bit systems installing the 32-bit version of Office 2010 Professional Plus. The example server names and shares are purely fictional and may need to be changed to meet your own environment. This article you are familiar with Active Directory management.
The first thing we need to look at is what kind of deployment tools are at your disposal? Do you have a nice system like System Center Configuration Manager, Numara's Asset Management Platform, ScriptLogic's DesktopAuthority, or something else, even a manual deployment option? If you don't have any of these nice deployment tools, it's ok. You can get this done without them. It will just take a little more effort and you won't have the nice reporting that comes with some of those other systems. I'm going to assume you have no spiffy tools other than your extremely talented and creative Network Admin brain.
We also need to look at storage space for the source files and also ensure your systems can handle the Microsoft Office 2010 system requirements. Unfortunately, I cannot help you with this aspect. I have to expect you know your network better than me. So, moving along we need to look at the storage space required on the server. Make sure you have at least 1.5GB of free disk space on a network server that can store the source files.
So far, we have identified the best recommendation is to use a Volume License or KMS License copy of Microsoft Office 2010 for this installation method. The next step is to identify the deployment tools available to use in your location. For the benefits of those without, I am writing from the point of view without a tool to use. Following our deployment tool selection step is to identify the server that will house the installation source files. To create the installation source simply copy the entire contents of the Office 2010 DVD to a network share. For example, if you server name is SERVER1 and you create an installation share called Office2010 then copy the contents to the Office2010 folder on your server. Once the copy is complete the files should be viewable from \\SERVER1\Office2010. Your actual server name and share may be different.
Let’s look at the options for modifying your setup. Office 2010 includes a setup customization tool and a config.xml file to customize your setup. The setup tool can be accessed by running \\SERVER1\Office2010\Setup.exe /admin from the Run command. The Config.xml is located in ProPlus.WW folder. Go to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179195.aspx#ConfigxmlElementReference to learn the available elements of the config.xml file for Office 2010. The areas of the Administrative Setup tool I am going to cover are the minimum recommended options to change for a successful network deployment.
1. Set the program installation folder and company name. The default path is C:\Programs Files\Microsoft Office. I recommend using this path so as to reduce any complexity in the future when dealing with upgrades, replacements, and general management of Office from a remote stand point. Populate the Company Name with your company information.
2. Set the Licensing Information and interface during installation. This area also allows you to set the user interface during installation. The default option is to display the full user interface. Other options include completely hidden and a basic interface. The options I typically set for my clients are as follows:
a. Enter a Product Key
b. Enable the I accept the terms in the License Agreement
c. Set the Display level to Basic.
d. Clear the checkbox on Completion Notice.
e. Enable the option for No Cancel.
Additional options can be applied as necessary. These will need to be set according to your specific environment needs. Once complete click on File > Save As and save the new MSP file in the location where your Office installation files are stored. If you have multiple MSP files to create you can create a folder called Customizations and store them here. They can each be called when needed from installation scripts.
Here’s a thought for our installation. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could include Service Pack 1 for Office 2010 and any updates released since Service Pack 1 in this installation? Just think how much time that would save by having all of these updates installed right with the product. You could install Office 2010, have it service packed, and updated to the latest security updates all in one shot and with no intervention. “Brian, how is this possible!?” you ask. Well, I’ll tell you. There is a folder called Updates in the sources files location you copied. Simply place all MSP update files in this directory. All MSP files will automatically be executed during the installation and performed silently.
To do this you must first download and extract the Office 2010 Service Pack 1. It can be located here - http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26622 for the 32-bit edition and here - http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=26617 for the 64-bit edition. The 64-bit edition is only for 64-bit editions of Office 2010. Keep in mind just because you may have a 64-bit edition of Windows does not mean automatically mean you have a 64-bit edition of Office. Know your software.
After your service pack has been downloaded, simply extract the contents and copy them to your Updates folder. To extract the service pack perform the following steps.
1. Download the service pack and save it somewhere on your computer. Make sure to remember you saved it.
2. Go to the Run command and type in the following command
C:\Office2010SP1.exe /extract:C:\OfficeSP1x86
Substitute your file name and extract path to match your environment needs
C:\Office2010SP1.exe /extract:C:\OfficeSP1x86
Substitute your file name and extract path to match your environment needs
3. After the extraction is completed move the extracted files to the Updates folder of your Office 2010 Installation source location
4. Done!
You can perform this same process for any other updates that need to be applied to the Microsoft Office 2010 installation. Simply download the necessary updates, extract them, and save the contents to the Updates folder. You do not need to create subfolders within the Updates folder. Just copy them into place. They will automatically be executed during the installation.
Let’s recap where we are in the process. We have copied our source files to a network location, we have created a customized MSP file for a silent deployment, and now we have included Service Pack 1 and any other updates we want to execute during installation. It looks like we have a fully functional installation source that meets our needs. Now we get to look at deployment methods. I have written an article in the past about software installation best practices in four major steps. If you have not read this before, take an opportunity to do so now.
Now we can talk about our deployment script. If you have a deployment tool of some sort in your network, I recommend taking full advantage of it. If not, this section will be helpful to you. The steps I am about to provide will prevent the need to walk from desk to desk installing software.
***************************BEGIN SCRIPT*****************************
setlocal
REM *********************************************************************
REM Environment customization begins here. Modify variables below.
REM *********************************************************************
REM Get ProductName from the Office product's core Setup.xml file, and then add "office14." as a prefix.
set ProductName=Office14.PROPLUS
REM Set DeployServer to a network-accessible location containing the Office source files.
set DeployServer=\\SERVER1\Office2010
REM Set AdminFile to the custom MSP file to be used for deployment (required)
set AdminFile=\\SERVER1\Office2010\Customizations\MyCustomDeployment.MSP
REM Set LogLocation to a central directory to collect log files.
set LogLocation=\\SERVER1\Office2010\LogFiles
REM *********************************************************************
REM Deployment code begins here. Do not modify anything below this line.
REM *********************************************************************
IF NOT "%ProgramFiles(x86)%"=="" (goto ARP64) else (goto ARP86)
REM Operating system is X64. Check for 32 bit Office in emulated Wow6432 uninstall key
:ARP64
reg query HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432NODE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\%ProductName%
if NOT %errorlevel%==1 (goto End)
REM Check for 32 and 64 bit versions of Office 2010 in regular uninstall key.(Office 64bit would also appear here on a 64bit OS)
:ARP86
reg query HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\%ProductName%
if %errorlevel%==1 (goto DeployOffice) else (goto End)
REM If 1 returned, the product was not found. Run setup here.
:DeployOffice
start /wait %DeployServer%\setup.exe /adminfile %ConfigFile%
echo %date% %time% Setup ended with error code %errorlevel%. >> %LogLocation%\%computername%.txt
REM If 0 or other was returned, the product was found or another error occurred. Do nothing.
:End
Endlocal
************************************END SCRIPT*****************************
This script can be utilized in a GPO as a startup or shutdown script. That way Office can installed at the computer startup or computer shutdown. You may need to make modifications in the script to match your environment.
This should be enough information for now to get started in identifying your needs for deploying Office 2010 in your own networked environment. If you require assistance or have questions about this process, please post a comment. I will be monitoring these regularly and can provide assistance when possible.
Be on the lookout for a future article on deploying Adobe Acrobat products and customizing the deployment options.
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