Enabling your organization to use the complete set of Office Communications Server 2007 R2 features requires that a combination of client applications are installed on each computer in your organization. For example, you can install Office Communicator 2007 R2 for IM presence and telephony, Office Live Meeting 2007 R2 for enhanced audio/video conferencing, and the Outlook add-in for application integration with Outlook 2007. The task of individually installing these applications for multiple users, locally or remotely, can be challenging.
One method for managing and deploying multiple client applications to individual computers is to use a Windows Script Host (WSH) script. The advantage of using an automated WSH script is that WSH is natively supported on computers running Windows XP and Windows Vista. Another method is to use a third-party tool to install these clients as an image to user’s desktop computers, which is a process that is outside the scope of this book.
On the Companion Media
For a list of Office Live Meeting 2007 R2 Group Policy settings, see Appendix C on the companion CD in the folder Appendixes,Scripts,ResourcesChapter 19Scripts.
Real World: Using the Multiple Client Installation Script
Senior Writer, Unified Communications
Here’s how to use the OCinstall.wsf script for silent installation of Office Communicator 2007 R2, Office Live Meeting 2007 R2, and the Outlook add-in for 2007 R2. The script does not require users to run installation wizards or perform manual installations. The script helps to reduce the introduction of user setup errors that result in calls to the technical support help desk. The OCinstall.wsf script detects whether a previous client version is installed and uninstalls Office Communicator 2007 before installing Office Communicator 2007 R2. It also configures Office Communicator 2007 R2 with the user’s sign-in address (SIP URI) and certain policy settings.
On the Companion Media
The OCinstall.wsf client installation script is available on the companion CD in the folder Appendixes,Scripts,ResourcesChapter 19Scripts. This script is useful for managing and deploying multiple client applications to individual computers.
To set up the configuration for this script to work in your environment and to help the installation on the client computers run smoothly, you must complete following steps.
Extract the Installer (.msi) files from the setup (.exe) files for the individual application.
Make the MSI files available to users on a read-only network file share.
Modify the OCinstall.wsf script to correspond to your environment.
Add the OCinstall.wsf script file as a logon script.
The following sections explain each of the previous steps in more detail.
Step 1: Extract the Installer Files
The first step is to extract the Installer files. You must first obtain the following Microsoft Installer (extension .msi) files:
Office Communicator 2007 R2 installer package (Communicator.msi)
Office Live Meeting 2007 R2 (LMConsole.msi)
Office Outlook Add-in 2007 R2 (LMAddinPack.msi)
To perform a silent install, you must use the MSI version of the installation file. For the previously mentioned clients, the Microsoft Installer file (for example, LMConsole.msi) must be extracted from the application setup file (for example, LMConsole.exe).
To obtain the setup file for these applications, please refer to your installation CD.
To extract each application’s Microsoft Installer file from the application setup file, use the following command:
<application>.exe -out
This will extract the following Microsoft Installer application file:
<application>.msi
Table 19-11 lists each application, its setup file, and its Microsoft Installer file.
Table 19-11. Unified Clients Installer Files
APPLICATION | SETUP FILE | MICROSOFT INSTALLER FILE |
|---|---|---|
Office Live Meeting 2007 R2 | LMSetup.exe | LMConsole.msi |
Office Communicator 2007 R2 | Communicator.exe | Communicator.msi |
Conferencing add-in for Office Outlook R2 | ConfAddins_Setup.exe | LMAddinPack.msi |
Step 2: Make the MSI Files Available to Users
The second step is to set up a network file share if you do not already have one. Copy the Installer files to this file share. The security properties on the files and network share must enable your target end-users read-only and execute permissions for the Installer files.
Step 3: Modify the OCinstall.wsf Script
The third step is to configure the default settings in the OCinstall.wsf script. It is necessary to modify the following entries located at the beginning of the script:
SIP domain name
Network file share location of the Microsoft Installer files (see step 2)
A URL that will appear in Office Communicator 2007 R2 and provide help and assistance locations for your organization
Branding resources
The following example uses the fictitious organization litwareinc.com to illustrate how to specify these entries in the OCinstall.wsf script.
' ----------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ ' SETTINGS THAT MUST BE CONFIGURED BEFORE RUNNING '------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------ # Organization SIP domain name Const c_strDomainName = "litwareinc.com" # Network share where the installation files are located Const c_strRoot = "\serversharedir # URL that users can click on within Office Communicator to get help Const c_strHelpURL = "http://help.litwareinc.com" # Branding resources Const c_strBranding = "Litwareinc Unified Communications" Const c_strBrandingXML = http://litwareinc.com/branding.xml
Step 4: Add the OCinstall.wsf Script File as a Logon Script
The fourth step is to add OCinstall.wsf as a logon script so that when users log on to their computers, the installation is automatically started. Because OCinstall.wsf detects whether Office Communicator 2007 R2, Office Live Meeting 2007 R2, and the Conferencing add-in are already installed, it will silently terminate without performing a reinstall. So, even if the user logs on multiple times and the script is run each time, it will install these clients only once.
Alternatively, you can use other methods to get the OCinstall.wsf script to run on users’ computers. For example, you can notify users by e-mail or the company Web portal to run this script.
If the installation failed or did not implement your configuration changes, you can view the OCinstall.wsf log file that is stored in %WINDIR%DebugOfficeCommunications.log to help you troubleshoot the problem.