Microsoft Systems Management Server

Microsoft Systems Management Server (SMS) can help you automate a large-scale deployment of Internet Explorer by distributing and installing the browser on your users' computers. This automated installation requires no intervention from you or your users.

To distribute Internet Explorer by using SMS, you will need to complete the following tasks:

• Create a package for Internet Explorer - A package consists of a package source folder, which contains all the Internet Explorer installation files, and a package definition (.pdf) file. The .pdf file describes the setup commands that define how Internet Explorer is installed on users' computers.
• Create and run a job to distribute the package - A job consists of a package and a list of destination computers where you want Internet Explorer to be installed. SMS copies the package to distribution servers and then executes the job on the destination computers.

Note Before you use SMS to install Internet Explorer, you must create an administrative installation point on a server. SMS uses the administrative installation point as the package source folder.

Creating a Package for Internet Explorer

You can use the SMS Administrator program to import your Internet Explorer .pdf file and create a package for Internet Explorer installation. You need to manually copy this file to the administrative installation point.

Note The standard Internet Explorer .pdf file supports only local installations; it does not support installations that are run from a network server or that require sharing Internet Explorer components over the network.

The Internet Explorer .pdf file contains command-line definitions for the installation types and for the uninstall options. Each of these command-line definitions contains a setup command line that directs Windows Update Setup for Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools to run in batch mode with the specific installation type (except for Custom installations, which always run interactively). For a description of the available command-line options, see Appendix C, "Batch Mode File Syntax and Command-Line Switches."

Creating and Running a Job to Distribute the Package

After you create your package, you must create a job to distribute it. This job includes the list of destination computers where you want Internet Explorer to be installed and the job schedule. When the job is executed, SMS copies all the files from the package source folder at the administrative installation point to a folder on one or more SMS distribution servers. These are the servers that support the users on your network. Windows Update Setup is then run from your distribution servers.

For More Information

For complete information about using SMS to deploy Internet Explorer, see the following:

• Microsoft Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide
• Microsoft BackOffice Web site
• Microsoft Internet Explorer Web site
• Chapter 9, "Planning the Deployment"
• Chapter 19, "Deploying Microsoft Internet Explorer 5"