Planning ICP Deployments

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You must plan for each significant event in the deployment. You must also plan for the sequence of events, staffing, scheduling, and system changes. You must analyze the ICP and your environment to assess the impact of the ICP. The procedure you use to deploy the ICP into production is also planned at this stage, and includes steps for monitoring the success of the deployment and for communicating with interested parties. Develop a test plan specifying what ICP functionality you intend to test and what the expected results are.

The following questions reflect some typical issues that you might face when you are planning to deploy the ICP:

  • Where do you need to install an ICP?

  • Are there steps you must take before applying an ICP?

  • Can you roll back an ICP after it is deployed?

  • Which method do you want to use to install an ICP?

  • Will the deployment of an ICP put a demanding workload on your network or servers?

  • How will an ICP affect users, including those who roam and dial in?

  • Are clients who dial into the SMS sites forced to upgrade before they can use the connection?

  • How can you ensure that the ICP deployment is proceeding successfully?

  • Will the application of the ICP regress any fixes previously applied?

  • How do you apply subsequent ICPs, service packs, or hotfixes to sites with an ICP already installed?

These questions are answered during the design and test phases of your ICP deployment. After your issues or concerns are addressed, you will be ready to move to the deployment phase.

When you are planning your ICP deployment, refer to the Release Notes that are provided with the ICP. In addition to the release notes, other documentation about changes introduced by the ICP might become available at the same time as the ICP, which might help you to better understand the ICP. Such documentation is included with the ICP and is in the SMS Web site at https://www.microsoft.com/smserver/default.asp.

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