S
Susan Ramlet
Again, as far as the push goes, I don't know whether GPO or SMS is better in
your situation. You have to evaluate the pros and cons in your own
environment. One thing to note:
"Note Group Policy bypasses Office Setup.exe and Setup.ini, so although
you can use Group Policy to deploy Office from a compressed CD image, you
cannot take advantage of new Setup functionality to create a local
installation source on users' computers."
I don't know if you can then subsequently create an LIS for use; you may
need to test that. See "Enabling the local installation source" in
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402361033.aspx for more
information.
Another thing that may help:
"A new enhanced version of the Office 2003 Setup program (entsetup.exe) is
available as a download. Setup.exe version 11.0.6176.0 helps ensure that
every desktop in the organization gets and keeps a complete local
installation source. The new Setup also allows administrators to deploy the
local installation source first, and then launch the installation of Office
2003."
See Microsoft Office Assistance: New Setup.exe Fine Tunes Local Caching:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402451033.aspx
for more details.
The only other recommendation reference I can find from Microsoft is this:
For large or complex organizations, Microsoft Systems Management Server
offers more sophisticated functionality, including inventory, scheduling,
and reporting features. However, using Group Policy to deploy Office 2003
can be a good choice in the following settings:
- Small- or medium-sized organizations that have already deployed and
configured the Active Directory® directory service.
- Organizations or departments that comprise a single geographic area.
- Organizations with consistent hardware and software configurations on both
clients and servers.
If you are managing large numbers of clients in a complex or rapidly
changing environment, consider using Microsoft Systems Management Server to
install and maintain Office 2003.
That's from here:
Microsoft Office Assistance: Using Group Policy to Deploy Office:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402011033.aspx
Do you already use AD and SMS? That might be another factor, if you have to
implement one or the other for Office deployments.
your situation. You have to evaluate the pros and cons in your own
environment. One thing to note:
"Note Group Policy bypasses Office Setup.exe and Setup.ini, so although
you can use Group Policy to deploy Office from a compressed CD image, you
cannot take advantage of new Setup functionality to create a local
installation source on users' computers."
I don't know if you can then subsequently create an LIS for use; you may
need to test that. See "Enabling the local installation source" in
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402361033.aspx for more
information.
Another thing that may help:
"A new enhanced version of the Office 2003 Setup program (entsetup.exe) is
available as a download. Setup.exe version 11.0.6176.0 helps ensure that
every desktop in the organization gets and keeps a complete local
installation source. The new Setup also allows administrators to deploy the
local installation source first, and then launch the installation of Office
2003."
See Microsoft Office Assistance: New Setup.exe Fine Tunes Local Caching:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402451033.aspx
for more details.
The only other recommendation reference I can find from Microsoft is this:
For large or complex organizations, Microsoft Systems Management Server
offers more sophisticated functionality, including inventory, scheduling,
and reporting features. However, using Group Policy to deploy Office 2003
can be a good choice in the following settings:
- Small- or medium-sized organizations that have already deployed and
configured the Active Directory® directory service.
- Organizations or departments that comprise a single geographic area.
- Organizations with consistent hardware and software configurations on both
clients and servers.
If you are managing large numbers of clients in a complex or rapidly
changing environment, consider using Microsoft Systems Management Server to
install and maintain Office 2003.
That's from here:
Microsoft Office Assistance: Using Group Policy to Deploy Office:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402011033.aspx
Do you already use AD and SMS? That might be another factor, if you have to
implement one or the other for Office deployments.