Deploying

Article
03/05/2008

Figure 5 illustrates the primary activities that occur during the Deploying Phase. In this phase, the Application Compatibility feature team’s ultimate deliverable is to deploy the application mitigation packages to the target computers. Before it can do that, however, the team must perform user training on any changes to the user experience. In addition, the team must incorporate the packages into core application images or deploy the packages after deploying the core applications.

Figure 5. Activities during the Deploying Phase

Roles and Responsibilities

All six role clusters from the MSF Team Model play a role in the Deploying Phase of the initiative. Table 10 lists those roles and defines the focus areas for each role cluster relative to the deployment process in the Deploying Phase. For more information about MSF Role Clusters, see Microsoft Solutions Framework at https://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/msf/default.mspx.

Table 10. Team Roles and Responsibilities in the Deploying Phase

Role	Focus
Product Management	Business requirements analysis Communications plan
Program Management	Budget Master project plan and master project schedule
Development	Development plan and schedule Establishing the lab Logical and physical design Technology evaluations
Test	Test plan and schedule Testing requirements definition
User Experience	Localization/accessibility requirements Schedules Training plans Usage scenarios/use cases User documentation User requirements
Release Management	Application and hardware inventory Interacting with IT Operations and the Security feature team Network discovery Operations requirements Pilot and deployment plan/schedule

Performing User Training

Any changes in the user experience necessitates user training. Deliver the training by the most appropriate method (such as online training, instructor-led training, or self-paced documentation provided to users). Training topics include:

Changes in application behavior. During the mitigation process, the steps in common user tasks may change (such as requiring additional information or changes in providing user credentials). Document these changes in the training.
New applications. One of the possible mitigations is to replace earlier applications that are incompatible with applications that are compatible with Windows Vista. Provide training for any new applications.
Running existing applications in virtual machines or remote desktop sessions. One of the possible mitigations is to run incompatible applications on an earlier version of Windows in virtual machines (VMs) or remote desktop sessions. Although the behavior of the application remains the same, the Application Compatibility feature team must provide training on how to initiate the VM or Terminal Services session.

Incorporating Updates into the Core Application Deployment

One of the common methods of deploying application mitigation updates is to incorporate the software updates into the core application image that will be deployed to all desktop computers. As a part of the desktop deployment process, create images that will be used to deploy Windows and the organization’s suite of applications. The application mitigation updates should be installed automatically after the core application installation is complete.

Deploying Packages with Supplemental Applications

In some instances, the Application Compatibility feature team must deploy the application mitigation packages after it has deployed the core applications on new installations or to existing desktop computers after deploying Windows Vista.

In these instances, deploy the application mitigation packages by using:

SMS 2003. Use the software distribution feature in SMS 2003 to deploy the mitigation packages when the organization has an existing SMS 2003 infrastructure.
Group Policy Software Installation. Use the Group Policy Software Installation feature in Active Directory to deploy the mitigation packages when the organization has an existing Active Directory infrastructure.
Logon scripts. Use logon scripts to deploy the mitigation packages when the organization has an identity management and authentication infrastructure other than Active Directory (such as Windows NT 4.0 domains).
Non-Microsoft software distribution. When the organization has a non-Microsoft software distribution infrastructure, use that method for deploying the mitigation packages.

For each method, create an installation package (such as an .msi file) to automate the installation of the mitigation package. Then, deploy the installation package per typical processes.

Selecting the Appropriate Deployment Strategy

In an ideal situation, the Application Compatibility feature team would simultaneously deploy the new desktop configuration standard to all client computers in the organization. But in most instances, this option is impractical because of the number of computers to be deployed and the capacity of the Support and Deployment teams.

The Application Compatibility feature team may need to incorporate any combination of these strategies for deploying your application mitigations:

Rolling upgrades. The Application Compatibility feature team should use this method if it is more concerned about side-by-side coexistence among business groups, workgroups, and computers than about coexistence on the same computer. For example, the team may deploy a new version of an application that creates file formats incompatible with earlier versions. In this case, upgrading an entire business group allows users to share documents with one another.
Phased upgrades. The Application Compatibility feature team should use this method if the application mitigations require server-side dependencies (such as upgrading existing computers running SQL Server to the most current version). In this case, the team can deploy clients only after performing the necessary server-side dependencies.

Milestone: Application Mitigations Deployed

Milestones are synchronization points for the overall solution. For more information, see the Plan, Build, and Deploy Guide.

At this milestone, shown in Table 11, the Application Compatibility feature team has incorporated the mitigation packages into the larger deployment project.

Table 11. Deploying Phase Deliverables

Deploying Phase milestone	Deliverable description	Owner
User Training Performed	Users must be trained on any changes in the user experience as a result of any application mitigation.	User Experience
Application Mitigation Packages Incorporated into the Core Application Deployment	Application mitigation packages are incorporated into the core application deployment images to ensure that images include updated versions of the applications.	Development
Application Mitigation Packages Deployed After Core Application Deployment	Application packages are deployed after the core application deployment as an additional process to new computers or as an update process to existing computers before Windows deployment.	Development
Strategy for Deploying Images to Production Environment Selected	Determine whether rolling upgrades or phased upgrades are appropriate for the organization.	Development