Using the Outlook 98 Deployment Kit

ONE FRUSTRATION I HAVE with Windows applications today is that a majority of these applications still require that network administrators visit individual desktops for user configuration. In this age of sophisticated OSs and software, not to mention the enormous global demand for lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for PCs, configuration at individual desktops is a less-than-thrilling proposition. For an administrator of 1000 or 10,000 PCs to physically visit individual workstations to install or configure an application is not practical or cost-effective. Although some applications include customization options (e.g., .inf and .sif application setup file options), such support is inconsistent between applications, and often requires advance study time and effort for the administrator who wants to employ the options. System policy files can sometimes help automate software configuration. However, system policy files' limitations include OS dependency (e.g., Windows NT and Windows 9x systems need different policy files) and a steep learning curve requirement, and system policy files can address only the Registry-configuration portion of application setup. (For more information about the System Policy Editor—SPE—and system policy files, see Clayton Johnson, "Expanding Your System Policy Capabilities," December 1998, and Darren Mar-Elia, "Windows NT System Policies," July 1998.)

Windows 2000 (Win2K) promises to ease the problems related to application deployment with built-in Group Policy Objects (GPOs) and the GPOs' inherent ability to automatically assign user applications to groups of users. But Win2K can't help with the current reality of NT 4.0 and Win9x. Heeding the cries of administrators, Microsoft has come to the rescue with several new deployment tools for the company's major applications. One of these tools is the Zero Administration Kit (ZAK), with individual versions for the NT and Win9x OSs. ZAK is a bundle of files that includes both application-deployment documentation and a set of customized system policy template files (i.e., .adm files) that contain Registry configuration settings for various Microsoft applications. Another tool is the Internet Explorer Administration Kit (IEAK), which assists both network administrators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in automatically deploying and configuring customized versions of the Internet Explorer (IE) Web browser to their users. (For more information about the IEAK, see Doug Toombs, "Deploying IE with IEAK," page 75.)

Enter the ODK
Recently, Microsoft released the Outlook 98 Deployment Kit (ODK), a tool that lets you create customized Outlook 98 and IE 4.01 installations (i.e., CD-ROM or server-based installations) with a preconfigured set of program subcomponents and user options. The ODK combines the best of the IEAK with the ODK's predecessor, the Outlook 97 Network Installation Wizard utility. IEAK veterans will be glad to know that the ODK is a superset of the IEAK utility that includes Outlook 98 deployment capabilities in addition to the IE 4.01 deployment features. Outlook 97 Network Installation Wizard users will be glad to know that they no longer need to make tedious edits to profile files (i.e., .prf files) and setup information files (i.e., .sif files) to automate the selection of various configuration options during application setup. In effect, the ODK creates the equivalents of .prf and .sif files for you. Using a GUI-based wizard, the ODK lets you perform a five-stage configuration process to create a customized installation of Outlook 98 into your chosen directory. After you create this customized distribution point, you need to launch the customized setup version that the ODK creates for you from each workstation to complete the installation process, or you need to distribute the installation via CD-ROM to your users.

The ODK is a free software option available to Outlook 98 users, but you might have a problem obtaining the ODK. The ODK is available only through the Select Licensing, Open Licensing, Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN), and Microsoft Certified Solution Pro-vider (MCSP) channels. I hope that Microsoft makes the product available on the Web in the future. (For more information about obtaining the ODK, contact your local MCSP, or go to the Microsoft Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/outlook.)

After you have the ODK in hand, launch the main setup utility in the \ODK subdirectory (i.e., on the CD-ROM version). Setup launches a noninteractive installation process that automatically installs the ODK in a C:\Program Files\ODK subdirectory on your hard disk and creates an ODK menu in the Start\Programs folder. The Outlook 98 Deployment Wizard (ODW) is the utility at the heart of the ODK and the utility that does the work. The ODW operates on any system running NT or Win9x. To launch the ODW, simply double-click the ODW icon in the Microsoft ODK submenu. Screen 1 shows the initial ODW dialog box.

The ODW: Step by Step
The ODW guides you through five stages that let you create a customized installation for your users. In the first stage, the ODW gathers basic information about the customized Outlook installation that you want to create. This information includes company details, the application's language version, and the name of the destination folder for the network share point.

In the second stage, the ODW invokes the Active Setup portion of the installation, which searches the computer running the ODW for installed Outlook 98 components. This check is especially noteworthy, because some administrators might want to install and deploy the ODK directly from a network server. Although you can install and run the ODW from a server, server-based installations aren't always advisable: The ability to install an individual ODK component depends on whether the system running the ODW has that component installed. Because you don't want to clog a crucial server with unnecessary software, an administrative workstation is a better choice of platform for installing and running the ODK; the preferred choice is a workstation running the same options that you want your client workstations to inherit.

After the ODW begins Active Setup, the ODW analyzes your system's current Outlook 98 configuration and produces an onscreen report, which Screen 2 shows, that lists the installation status of each component the ODK can install on user workstations. Note that the available software options aren't limited to Outlook 98 and IE 4.01. The ODK also lets you install additional software, including Microsoft NetMeeting, Microsoft Chat 2.0, Microsoft NetShow, Microsoft FrontPage Express, Progressive Networks' RealPlayer, and a host of other accessories and options. When Active Setup determines that your system has missing or problematic components (e.g., an incomplete installation or an old version), the ODW notifies you via a symbol to the left of that component, as you see in Screen 2. Unfortunately, the only way to fix such problems is to abort the ODW, install the components in question (i.e., by using the customary Outlook 98 or IE 4.01 setup utilities), and restart the ODW.