Deploy the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer
Updated: November 25, 2008
Applies To: Office Resource Kit
This Office product will reach end of support on October 10, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see , Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.
Topic Last Modified: 2016-11-14
In this article:
Planning the Terminal Services environment
Customizing the 2007 Office release
Installing the 2007 Office release onto a Terminal Services-enabled computer
Removing the default user name
To deploy the 2007 Microsoft Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer, you must:
Plan the Terminal Services environment.
Customize the 2007 Office system.
Install the 2007 Office system onto the Terminal Services-enabled computer.
Planning the Terminal Services environment
Use the best practices and recommended guidelines in the following sections to plan an effective Terminal Services environment for the 2007 Office system.
Evaluating licensing requirements
You cannot run all versions of the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer. Be sure that you understand and meet the following licensing requirements before you deploy the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer.
You can run the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer only if your version of the 2007 Office system uses a volume license product key and does not require activation. If you install a retail version, pre-installed version (PIPC), or original equipment manufacturer (OEM) version of the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer, you will see the following error when you try to run a 2007 Office system program:
This copy of Microsoft Office cannot be used on Terminal Server. Please contact your local authorized Microsoft retailer for more information.
In addition, the program that you try to open will close unexpectedly.
Evaluating software requirements
Be sure that you understand the requirements for the server and the client computer before you install the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer.
Server requirements
You can run the 2007 Office system on Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack (SP) 1 or later. You cannot install or run the 2007 Office system on a server operating system that was released earlier than Windows Server 2003, such as Windows 2000 or Windows NT 4.0.
Deploying on Terminal Services requires a review of the design changes within the 2007 Office system, and a review of the server requirements depending on the version of Windows Server (2003 or 2008) that you intend to use. Depending on the current server hardware, which will support multiple concurrent sessions, the performance will be dramatically impacted. Processor and memory requirements will vary depending on the workload. The following table shows the results of some recent tests.
Windows Server version |
Core processor |
Memory |
Concurrent sessions |
2008 |
32 |
256 GB |
1140 |
2008 |
16 |
256 GB |
860 |
2003 |
16 (does not support 32) |
||
2003 |
4 |
16 GB |
150 |
Terminal Services could be configured to load balance on a terminal server farm depending on the customer’s deployment needs.
As Windows Server 2003 Terminal Server capacity and scaling shows, the number of concurrent sessions depends on many factors, such as workload and configuration. To support thousands of concurrent sessions, a terminal server farm configuration should be used.
To view a report that analyzes the recent kernel timer processing and management improvements for Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services, see Kernel Timer Processing and Management Improvements on Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services (Update) (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=135707).
To view the Windows Server 2008 tuning guide, which now has a reference for general tunings of Terminal Server Knowledge Worker workload (the Office-based workload) on Windows Server 2008, see Performance Tuning Guidelines for Windows Server 2008 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=135703).
To learn about how Microsoft IT deployed Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services at Microsoft, see How MSIT Uses Terminal Services as a Scalable Remote Access Solution (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=135705).
Client requirements
One advantage of running the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer is that older, less robust client computers can access the Terminal Services-enabled computer. Specifically, any computer that supports the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) can connect to a Terminal Services-enabled computer. For example, although you cannot install the 2007 Office system on a computer that is running Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional, you can use a computer that is running Windows 2000 Professional to connect to a Terminal Services-enabled computer and run programs in the 2007 Office system if the computer is running RDP.
Evaluating recommended guidelines and best practices
Be sure that you review the following guidelines and best practices to plan an effective deployment of the 2007 Office system in a Terminal Services environment.
Single point of failure
Running the 2007 Office system on a single Terminal Services-enabled computer can create a single point of failure if the Terminal Services-enabled computer becomes unavailable or fails. In this event, all information workers who are connected to the Terminal Services-enabled computer could lose connectivity with their 2007 Office applications and could lose data. You can mitigate this risk by using Windows Clustering, which uses server clusters and Network Load Balancing to help ensure that Terminal Services-enabled computers safely fail over. For example, if you deploy a clustered and load-balanced server farm that consists of four Terminal Services-enabled computers and one of the Terminal Services-enabled computers becomes unavailable, the client connections will fail over to one of the other three Terminal Services-enabled computers.
Terminal server hardware
A Terminal Services-enabled computer requires significantly more memory and processing resources than a typical server. In addition, although Terminal Services is designed to be bandwidth efficient, the amount of data that the client exchanges with the Terminal Services-enabled computer can be considerable and can affect performance. Consequently, before you roll out the 2007 Office system in a Terminal Services environment, be sure you perform thorough capacity testing to ensure that your terminal servers have sufficient disk space, processing power, memory, and network bandwidth.
Office Outlook 2007
You can deploy Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 on a Terminal Services-enabled computer. However, you must be aware of several considerations. For more information, see Considerations when installing Outlook 2007 in a Terminal Services environment.
Terminal Services installation requirements
You must install the Terminal Server component on your server before you install the 2007 Office system. You must also add every user who logs on to the Terminal Services-enabled computer to the Remote Desktop Users group. Adding users to the Remote Desktop Users group enables the users to use Remote Desktop Connection to connect to the Terminal Services-enabled computer and run the 2007 Office system. If you do not add users to the Remote Desktop Users group, users are denied access to the Terminal Services-enabled computer. For more information about installing and configuring Terminal Services, see Guidelines for Deploying Terminal Server (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=88006\&clcid=0x409).
Stop the Microsoft Office Button from blinking
By design, the Microsoft Office Button blinks the first time that a user opens an application in the 2007 Office system. The blinking can cause a degradation of performance when users run the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer. To improve performance, we recommend that users click the Microsoft Office Button the first time that they start an application in the 2007 Office system. This will deactivate the blinking.
Customizing the 2007 Office release
Before you install the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer, you must be sure that the installation states are configured correctly for the features and applications that you are installing. Changing the installation state for a feature or an application does not require special tools and can be done during a manual installation or through the Office Customization Tool (OCT).
When users run the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer, they cannot install, configure, or uninstall features or applications. This is because the features and applications are installed on the terminal server and not on the client computer, and users do not have administrative rights to install, configure, or uninstall software on the terminal server. Consequently, you must be sure that the installation state for each feature and application is configured as Run from My Computer (that is, fully installed) or Not Available (that is, not installed). If the installation state for a feature or application is configured as Installed on First Use, users will see a warning if they attempt to use the feature or run the application. For example, if you configure the installation state for an application to Installed on First Use, the following error appears when a user tries to run the application:
Only administrators have permission to add, remove, or configure server software during a terminal services remote session.
Likewise, if you change the installation state for an add-in to Installed on First Use, the following error appears when a user tries to load the add-in:
Microsoft Office can't run this add-in. An error occurred and this feature is no longer functioning properly. Please contact your system administrator.
The 2007 Office system does not automatically detect that you are performing an installation on a Terminal Services-enabled computer. To prevent users from seeing these kinds of warnings, you must configure installation states for applications and features.
You can configure installation states during a manual installation by clicking Customize on the Choose the installation you want page. See the following section for more information about how to perform a manual installation on a Terminal Services-enabled computer.
You can also use the OCT to configure installation states during an automated installation. The following procedure describes how to configure installation states in the OCT.
Use the OCT to configure feature and application installation states
Start the OCT by running the following command at the command prompt:
setup /admin
In the left pane of the OCT, under Features, click Set feature installation states.
In the details pane, click an application or feature and change the installation state to either Run from My Computer or Not Available.
Set additional options that you want in the OCT.
Save the settings to an .msp file.
Installing the 2007 Office release onto a Terminal Services-enabled computer
There are two ways that you can install the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer:
By running the Setup program and manually stepping through the installation process.
By automating the Setup program with the customization (.msp) file, which you create with the OCT.
In either case, you must configure the Terminal Services-enabled computer for install mode before you install the 2007 Office system. Install mode ensures that an application's configuration (.ini) files are copied to the system directory so the files can be used as master copies for user-specific .ini files.
The first time that a user runs an application on a terminal server, the application searches the root directory for its .ini files. If the .ini files are not found in the root directory, but are found in the system directory, Terminal Services copies the .ini files to the root directory. This ensures that each user has a unique copy of the application's .ini files. The application creates new .ini files in the user's root directory. It is important that each user has a unique copy of the .ini files for an application. This prevents instances where different users might have incompatible application configurations (for example, different default directories or screen resolutions).
You can configure a Terminal Services-enabled computer for install mode by running the change user /install command before you run the Setup program for the 2007 Office system, or by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel to run the Setup program for the 2007 Office system. If you use the change user /install command, you must also run the change user /execute command when you are finished installing the 2007 Office system. This will configure the Terminal Services-enabled computer for execute mode. You do not need to configure the Terminal Services-enabled computer for execute mode if you run the Setup program by using Add or Remove Programs in Control Panel because the computer will automatically be put into execute mode when the installation is complete.
In addition, you must be a member of the Administrators group on the Terminal Services-enabled computer to install the 2007 Office system. Also, we do not recommend that you remotely install the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer. Instead, you should log on to the terminal server console session locally to install the 2007 Office system.
Manually install the 2007 Office release
The following procedure describes how to manually install the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer. It is assumed that you have installed Terminal Services and that you run the Setup program from a product disc or from a network installation point.
Manually install the 2007 Office release on a Terminal Services-enabled computer
Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
Double-click Add or Remove Programs, click Add New Programs, and then click CD or Floppy.
Click Next.
Click Browse.
Locate the Setup program (Setup.exe) for the 2007 Office system. This can be on a product disc or on a network installation point.
Click Setup.exe, and then click Open.
The Setup program for the 2007 Office system should open.
On the Enter your Product Key page, type your product key, and then click Continue.
On the Read the Microsoft Software License Terms page, click the I accept the terms of this agreement check box, and then click Continue.
On the Choose the installation you want page, click Customize.
On the Install Options tab, click an application or feature and change the installation state to either Run from My Computer or Not Available.
If you want to customize other settings, click the File Location tab or the User Information tab, and then make the changes that you want.
Click Install Now to start the installation.
When the installation is complete, click Close to close the Setup program.
On the After Installation page, click Next.
On the Finish Admin Install page, click Finish.
It is important that you perform the last two steps. These steps configure the Terminal Services-enabled computer for execute mode.
Perform an automated installation of the 2007 Office release
The following procedures show how to perform an automated installation of the 2007 Office system on a Terminal Services-enabled computer. It is assumed that you have created a configuration (.msp) file and have configured the installation states for features and applications as recommended earlier in this article. It is also assumed that you run the Setup program from a network installation point, which you have already created.
First, configure the Terminal Services-enabled computer for install mode.
Configure the terminal services-enabled computer for install mode
Click Start, click Run, type Cmd, and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:
change user /install
Next, run the automated installation exactly as you would on a client computer. For detailed instructions about how to perform an automated installation on a client computer, see Run Setup for the 2007 Office system on users' computers.
When the automated installation is complete, configure the Terminal Services-enabled computer for execute mode.
Configure the terminal services-enabled computer for execute mode
Click Start, click Run, type Cmd, and then click OK.
At the command prompt, type the following and press ENTER:
change user /execute
Note
With Interactive Installations, by default, the username field is populated with the currently logged-on user’s information. This is also true for the username set in config.xml.
Removing the default user name
Any user name that is provided during setup is written to the registry key HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\UserInfo.
Terminal Services mirrors this registry key to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\TerminalServer\Install\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\UserInfo.
Any new users then receive the defaults from the HKLM UserInfo key in their own user profile. Because a user name already exists, any new Terminal Services users will not be prompted to input their own names, and instead they get the default user name of the administrator.
To resolve this issue for new users in a current Terminal Services deployment, the administrator on the computer running Terminal Services should remove values from the registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\Install\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\UserInfo.
To resolve the issue for all users in a new Terminal Services deployment, the administrator on the computer running Terminal Services should perform one of the following tasks:
During installation, select Customize, and then clear the user name and initial values.
Use a config.xml file that has the user name and initials set to empty values.
After installation, remove the values from the registry key HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Terminal Server\Install\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\UserInfo.