Deploy Office 2010 by running Setup from a network share

 

Applies to: Office 2010

Topic Last Modified: 2011-08-05

Banner stating end of support date for Office 2010 with link to more info

Learn how to run Setup from a network installation point to deploy Microsoft Office 2010 and how to test it in a nonproduction environment before deploying it to a production environment.

One of the options that organizations can use to deploy Office 2010 is to run Setup from a network installation point. A network installation point is a network shared folder that contains the Office 2010 source files, language packs, and any Setup customization (.msp) files that you want to deploy. If you are deploying Office 2010 after product updates are released, you can also store the updates in the Updates folder of the Office 2010 source so that users receive the updates with the product installation.

This article provides information about the test environment used to test the network share deployment method. It does not provide instructions for how to install the server and client computer operating systems. For more information, see Resources for configuring the test computers later in this article.

In this article:

  • Deploying in a test environment

  • Running Setup from the network installation point

The Office 2010 activation method uses Office Activation Technologies, based on the Software Protection Platform introduced in Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. Microsoft policy requires the activation of all editions of Office 2010 client software. When you prepare to deploy Office 2010 to your production environment, you need to decide which activation method to use:

  • Key Management Service (KMS)   This method uses a KMS host key to activate a KMS host computer and establish a local activation service in your environment. Office 2010 connects to the local KMS host for activation.

  • Multiple Activation Key (MAK)   With a MAK, clients activate Office 2010 online with the Microsoft hosted activation servers or by telephone.

  • A combination of KMS and MAK.

Volume License editions of Office 2010 are preinstalled with a KMS client key. If you only need to verify that Office 2010 and the customizations that you configure are deployed to client computers in your test environment, you do not need to install a product key. Users will not see reminders to activate the first 25 days after installation. If Office is not activated by the 25th day of the 30-day grace period, dialog boxes inform the user that activation is required every time that an application is started. If you want to prepare a MAK deployment, you will need to enter your MAK key in the Office Customization Tool (OCT).

Office 2010 introduces native 64-bit versions of Office products to take advantage of the larger capacity of 64-bit processors. This lets users work with much larger data sets than they previously could and to analyze and solve large computational problems. This additional capacity is only needed by Office users who require Microsoft Excel spreadsheets that are larger than 2 gigabyte (GB), for example. The 32-bit version of Office 2010 provides the same functionality and is also compatible with 32-bit add-ins. This is why Office 2010 installs the 32-bit version by default. We recommend this option. For more information, see 64-bit editions of Office 2010.

Office 2010 includes two architecture-specific folders: one for 32-bit and one for 64-bit. Each of these folders contains the following:

  • A separate Config.xml file and Updates folder.

  • An architecture-specific Office Customization Tool (OCT). The OCT files are located in the Admin folder for the x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) folders, respectively. The 64-bit version of the OCT provides the same user interface, capabilities, and configurable settings as the 32-bit version. Office 2010 introduces XML versions of OPA files: OPAX files (.opax) for nonlanguage-specific resources and OPAL files (.opal) for language-specific resources.

We recommend that you read the following articles before you customize Office 2010: Plan volume activation of Office 2010, Deploy volume activation of Office 2010, Customization overview for Office 2010, Create a network installation point for Office 2010, Office Customization Tool in Office 2010, Config.xml file in Office 2010, Customize Office 2010, and 64-bit editions of Office 2010.

Deploying in a test environment

To deploy Office 2010 by running Setup from a network installation point requires the use of a network shared folder for the network installation point, with access to the source files set as read-only.

The following graphic shows an example of a test network environment that has a server that runs Windows Server 2008 R2 with a shared folder (figure A), and client computers that are running Windows 7 (figure B).

Network share environment

Resources for configuring the test computers

The following resources provide information about Windows Server 2008 R2 and shared folders, and Windows 7:

In this section:

  • Preparing the infrastructure

  • Customizing the installation

Preparing the infrastructure

These instructions assume that you have installed the Windows Server 2008 R2 server and Windows 7 client computers, and you have configured a shared folder on the server.

To prepare the infrastructure for Office 2010 deployment, you create a network installation point on the network shared folder that you created previously, such as \\server\share. To do this, copy all the files and folders from the Office 2010 DVD to the shared folder on the network, and copy all the language packs that you want to deploy.

To create a network installation point

  1. Create a folder for the Office source files at the network share location that you created previously. For example:

    \\server\share\Office14

    Note

    Do not create the network installation point at the root of the server.

  2. Insert the Office DVD into the CD drive.

  3. In Windows Explorer, select all the files and folders on the DVD. Copy the DVD contents to the folder on the network. This location becomes the network installation point.

  4. If you deploy multiple language versions of Office 2010, copy each language pack that you want from the source media to the installation point. When you are prompted to overwrite duplicate Setup files, click No.

    Note

    In Office 2010, core Setup files are shared among all Office products and language packs. Because these core Setup files are identical, there is no reason to overwrite the files if you add language packs, for example. Additionally, by not overwriting Setup files, the network installation point remains online and available to users while you add files.

  5. If you deploy multiple Office 2010 products, copy those files from the DVD to the installation point. When you are prompted to overwrite duplicate Setup files, click No.

Note

In some enterprise organizations, the network installation point is the location from which users first install Office. After Office 2010 is installed, users do not typically have to rely on the network installation point to update, modify, or reinstall Office. Setup automatically creates a local installation source on each user's computer when it installs Office 2010. However, if the local installation source is corrupted or deleted, Setup returns to the original network installation source to re-create the local source on the user's computer.
We recommend that you replicate the network installation point to multiple locations for the following reasons:

  • Availability   If you create multiple network installation points (which can be in the same physical location), you help ensure that users always have access to a network source. Ideally, the duplicate network installation points are managed by Distributed File System (DFS) technologies and are transparent to users.

  • Proximity to users   Many companies have high-speed LAN networks that are connected to other subsidiaries or branch offices by much slower WAN connections. If you set up a duplicate network installation point at the remote locations, Office source files travel over the slow network connection only one time, and after that, users have access to a closer network source.

  • Consistency   If you create one network installation point with all the customizations that you want and then duplicate that installation point as needed, you help ensure that the same configuration is deployed throughout your organization.

  • Flexibility   If the primary network installation point installs a standard corporate configuration of Office 2010, different organizations can apply additional customizations to the replicated network installation points and can customize Office 2010 for their specific requirements.

You can specify additional network installation points by using the Office Customization Tool (OCT). For information, see To customize the installation and specify additional network sources.

To help secure the network installation point, we recommend the following:

  • Ensure that access to the Office source files is read-only. (The Setup.xml and Package.xml files, such as ProPlusWW.xml for Office 2010, are digitally signed and cannot be modified.)

  • Ensure that the file properties for the customization files that you create are set as read-only. These include Setup customization .msp files and custom Config.xml files.

  • If you are centralizing log files on the network, make sure that users have read/write permission to that location.

  • Make sure that all users who will install Office 2010 have administrative privileges.

Customizing the installation

You can use the OCT to customize Setup, and configure additional customizations and installation options. This creates a Setup customization file (.msp file). The OCT is the primary tool that administrators use to customize the installation of products in Office 2010. For a complete description of the areas that you can configure by using the OCT, see Office Customization Tool in Office 2010. For step-by-step instructions for configuring customizations, see Create custom configurations of Office 2010.

When you complete the OCT customizations, store the Setup customization .msp file in the Updates folder at the root of the installation point. As mentioned previously, if you are installing Office 2010 after product updates are released, you can also store those .msp files in the Updates folder.

To customize the installation and specify additional network sources

  1. From the root of the network installation point that you created previously, run the following command-line option to start the OCT: setup.exe /admin. For example, use the following: \\server\share\Office14\setup.exe /admin.

  2. In the Select Product dialog, select Create a new Setup customization file for the following product to create a new customization file (for example, for Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010). Click OK.

    The OCT user interface is displayed, and you can then configure settings in the following areas: Setup, Features, Additional content, and Outlook.

  3. Customize Setup to specify how you want Setup to manage the installation. The Setup section of the OCT is used to configure options such as the default installation location, default organization name, additional network locations that contain the Office 2010 sources, product key, Microsoft Software License Terms, level of user interface to display, previous versions of Office to remove.

    Note

    The product key option depends on the Office 2010 licensing method that you use. For the purpose of testing and verifying that Setup installs Office 2010 and that customizations are applied to client computers, in this example, we accept the default option for volume activation, Use KMS client key.

    The following options are available in Licensing and user interface:

    • Use KMS client key   Product key entry is not required for enterprise deployments that are using Key Management Service (KMS) activation because all Volume License editions of Office 2010 have a KMS client key preinstalled. KMS is one of the methods that are provided by Office Activation Technologies for activating products licensed under Microsoft Volume Licensing programs. Only a KMS host computer needs a KMS host key to be activated and to establish a local activation service in your environment. Office 2010 connects to the local KMS host for activation. Use KMS client key is the default. In this example, we accepted the default. For information about how to configure the KMS host, see Configure the Office 2010 KMS host in Deploy volume activation of Office 2010.

    • Enter another product key   You can enter a valid Multiple Activation Key (MAK) key in the OCT by using the Enter another product key entry. A MAK key is another method that Office Activation Technologies provide for activating products licensed under Microsoft Volume Licensing programs. By using a MAK, client computers activate Office 2010 online by using the Microsoft hosted activation servers or by telephone. If you choose to use a MAK key in your production environment, you would enter the MAK key (25 numbers or characters) without spaces in the Enter another product key text box. For more information about how to use a MAK key, see Deploy volume activation of Office 2010.

    • Display level   Expand the Display level menu to set the behavior of the user interface during installation. In enterprise deployments, we recommend that you set Display level to None to ensure that Setup runs silently, to prevent prompting users to enter information, and to prevent the installation from waiting for any user interaction, including when files are being used. Setting Display Level to None assumes that the Suppress modal and Completion notice options are silenced and that the Microsoft Software License Terms is accepted. As an alternative, you can also configure display level options by using the Config.xml file; see Display element in Config.xml file in Office 2010

  4. In the Setup section, click Additional Network Sources, and then click Add. In the Add Network Server Entry dialog box, enter the path of the location where you plan to copy the network installation point, and then click OK.

    You can add as many additional source locations as you want.

  5. When you complete the customizations that you want to make, save the Setup customization .msp file that is generated by the OCT in the Updates folder at the root of the network installation point.

    Note

    If you plan to deploy multiple Setup customization .msp files, you can place only one customization .msp file per product in the Updates folder for an initial installation. You must deploy the rest of the customization .msp files after the Office installation is complete. Only one Setup customization file for each Office 2010 product that you are installing in the Updates folder is supported. The customization .msp files that you place in the Updates folder will be deployed first. Therefore, they must include any Setup customizations that cannot be changed after the installation, for example, the installation location.

  6. Copy the complete folder structure of the network installation point to the locations that you specified in the Setup customization .msp file.

    Users who install Office 2010 from any of these network installation points have access to the backup network sources. Setup checks these sources automatically when an alternative source is required.

If you want to deploy additional languages for users who use Office in more than one language or for users who require an Office language that does not match the language of their operating system, you use the Config.xml file. The Config.xml file is used to configure installation tasks and is used only when you run Setup. Config.xml is not installed or cached on users' computers. Administrators can edit the Config.xml file to customize the installation. By default, the Config.xml file that is stored in the core product folders (core_product_folder_name.WW folder; for example, ProPlus.WW) directs Setup to install that product. For example, the Config.xml file in the ProPlus.WW folder installs Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010.

For information about Config.xml, see Config.xml file in Office 2010. For information about how to add languages, see Customize deployment of language setup and Proofing Tools in Office 2010.

In the following example, the Config.xml file is used to specify that Setup install both English and French, and to configure the default installation language and the Shell UI to match the operating system language.

To use Config.xml to customize the installation

  1. In the core product folder for the product that you are installing, locate the Config.xml file. For example, if you are installing Office Professional Plus 2010, the Config.xml file is in the ProPlus.WW folder.

  2. Open the Config.xml file by using a text editor, such as Notepad.

  3. Add the AddLanguage element. For information about AddLanguage, see AddLanguage element in Config.xml file in Office 2010.

  4. Set the value of the Id attribute to the language tag that corresponds to the language that you want to install. You can specify more than one language by including additional AddLanguage elements and attributes. If you use more than one language, you must also specify the language to use for the Shell user interface (Shell UI) by setting the ShellTransform attribute of the AddLanguage element. For a list of the language ID attributes in Office 2010, see Language identifiers and OptionState Id values in Office 2010.

    In this example, we set the default installation language and the Shell UI to match the operating system language, and specify that Setup install both English (en-us) and French (fr-fr). The syntax is as follows:

    <AddLanguage Id="match" ShellTransform="yes"/> <AddLanguage Id="en-us" /> <AddLanguage Id="fr-fr" />

  5. Save the Config.xml file.

Running Setup from the network installation point

The following procedure provides instructions for running Setup from the network installation point. Setup installs the product that resides in the network installation point and applies the customizations that you entered in the Setup customization .msp file and in the Config.xml file.

To run Setup from the network installation point

  1. To run Setup.exe from the root of the network installation point, click Start, click Run, and type the following at the command prompt:

    \\server\share\Office14\setup.exe

    If there are multiple Office products on the network installation point, Setup prompts you to select the product that you want to install. You can also identify the product to install by using the /config command-line option to specify the Config.xml file that resides in the core product folder for that product. For example, to install Office Professional Plus 2010, run the following command:

    \\server\share\Office14\setup.exe /config \\server\share\Office14\ProPlus.WW\Config.xml

    Setup installs the product associated with the Config.xml file that you specify without prompting you to select the product. For information about the /config setup command-line option, see /config [path] in Setup command-line options for Office 2010.