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Using Microsoft Systems Management Server to Deploy Office

Microsoft® Systems Management Server (SMS) is a software distribution tool designed for medium- and large-sized organizations that manage large numbers of clients in a complex and rapidly changing business environment. Unlike Group Policy, SMS does not require that you have an Active Directory® directory service structure set up, and you can use SMS to deploy software applications to a mixture of Microsoft Windows® clients.

When you use SMS to install and maintain Microsoft Office 2003 and Microsoft Office 2003 Multilingual User Interface Packs (MUI Packs), you can help to set a precise control over the deployment process. For example, by using SMS you can query client computers for software requirements before you install Office, and you can target the installation only to computers that meet your criteria.

Systems Management Server features span the full range of deployment tasks, including the following:

                       Creating an inventory of hardware and software already deployed across the organization.

                       Deploying Office 2003 with or without MUI Packs to a large number of clients or across multiple sites.

                       Scheduling and tracking the status of application deployment.

                       Pushing, or forcing, installation of Office 2003 on client computers.

                       Deploying to users who do not have administrative rights on the local computer.

                       Reporting and troubleshooting installation processes.

Note    You must have Systems Management Server 2.0 with Service Pack 2 to deploy Office 2003.

If your organization has deployed Systems Management Server 2.0 with Service Pack 2 and you plan to use it to install Office 2003, you can install the package definition files (PDF files) from the Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit. PDF files contain the information required for Systems Management Server to create a software distribution package. The PDF files for Office 2003 have been consolidated into two files: Office11.sms (for all Office editions) and MUI11.sms (for Office MUI Packs).

Toolbox   The Office 2003 PDF files are available as part of an Office 2003 Editions Resource Kit install. See Package Definition Files for more information. Microsoft Office Project 2003 uses the same PDF file as Office 2003 (Office11.sms); Microsoft Office Visio 2003 uses its own PDF file (Visio11.sms).

In a small- or medium-sized organization, Group Policy may be the preferred tool for managing software deployment, particularly if you have already deployed the Active Directory directory service and you have clients with consistent software and hardware configurations. For more information about using Group Policy to deploy Office 2003, see Using Group Policy to Deploy Office.

For a comparison of application software deployment features in Systems Management Server 2.0 and Windows 2000, see Application Deployment Using Microsoft Management Technologies on the Windows 2000 Web site.

For more information about using Systems Management Server to deploy Office, see Using SMS 2.0 to Deploy Microsoft Office XP on the TechNet Web site. Note that this white paper references Office XP. Procedures specific to SMS 2.0 have not changed for Office 2003; however, some Office XP requirements are no longer relevant for Office 2003. For example, the system file update for Office XP is no longer required for Office 2003.

For more information about Systems Management Server 2.0, including information about upgrading to the latest version, see the Systems Management Server Web site.

SMS Information:

(SMS), is a systems management software product by Microsoft for managing large groups of Windows-based computer systems. Configuration Manager provides remote control, patch management, software distribution, operating system deployment, and hardware and software inventory.

There have been three major iterations of SMS. The 1.x versions of the product defined the scope of control of the management server (the site) in terms of the NT domain that was being managed. Since the 2.x versions, that site paradigm has switched to a group of subnets that will be managed together. Since SMS 2003, the site could also be defined as one or more Active Directory sites.

The major difference between the 2.x product and SMS 2003 is the introduction of the Advanced Client. The Advanced Client communicates with a more scalable management infrastructure, namely the Management Point. A Management Point (MP) can manage up to twenty five thousand Advanced Clients.

The Advanced Client was introduced to provide a solution to the problem that a managed laptop might connect to a corporate network from multiple different locations and should not always download content from the same place within the enterprise (though it should always receive policy from its own site). When an Advanced Client is within another location (SMS Site), it may use a local distribution point to download or run a program which can conserve bandwidth across a WAN.

Microsoft announced the next generation of the product, "V4" (formally named System Center Configuration Manager 2007) at the Microsoft Management Summit in April 2005. The product was released to manufacturing in August of 2007 and was available for general release in November of 2007. A free evaluation edition of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 is available on the Microsoft download center

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