How To Deploy Lync 2010 Client Using SCCM 2012 R2

How To Deploy Lync 2010 Client Using SCCM 2012 R2

In this post we will see how to deploy Lync 2010 client using SCCM 2012 R2. The Lync server 2010 client is a single unified communication client that replaces previously released Office Communicator and Live meeting client, single client performs all the functions of the previous clients including instant messaging (IM), web conferencing, white boarding, desktop sharing, and enterprise voice. I have seen most of the users asking questions in Technet on how to deploy Lync 2010 client using SCCM 2012 R2, since the Lync Communicator comes as an executable file you cannot deploy it like the way you do for a .msi file. We will see step by step method on how to deploy Lync 2010 client using SCCM 2012 R2 and also we will see the uninstallation of Lync 2010 client.

You can deploy Lync 2010 in a managed-desktop environment by using the following methods:

1. SCCM – You can use Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager to deploy the Lync 2010 Client to the systems.
2. Group Policy – You can create a Group Policy object to deploy Lync 2010 to specific users or computers based on group memberships.
3. Logon Script – To deploy Lync 2010 client you can use a logon script that performs an unattended installation of Lync 2010 when a user logs on.

As mentioned earlier, in this post we will see the deployment of Lync 2010 client using SCCM 2012 R2.

When you deploy Lync 2010, you can use the Lync 2010 setup program command-line arguments listed in the following table.

Command Line Argument	Description
/Silent	Suppresses the installation user interface
/Install	Installs the client
/Uninstall	Removes previous versions of Office Communicator and add-ins
/Repair	Reinstalls the client to repair any installation issues
/InstallDir	Specifies the installation directory
/fulluisuppression	Enables Lync 2010 to run in user interface suppression mode

Once you have downloaded the Lync 2010 client setup file, you can copy it to a folder on the ConfigMgr server. Launch the Configuration Manager console, click Software Library, under Application Management right click Applications and click Create Application.

Choose Manually specify the application information and click Next.

Specify some information about the application such as Name, Publisher etc. Click Next.

You can specify more information about the application here, the information specified here will be seen by user in the Application Catalog. Click Next.

Yes, we will configure the Deployment Type for Lync 2010 client setup. Click on Add.

Let the deployment type be a Windows Installer (*.msi), choose Manually specify the deployment type information. Click Next.

Specify some information about this deployment type and click Next.

For the Content Location, provide the path where the Lync 2010 setup file is present, in my case I have copied the setup file to a folder named LyncSetup on SCCM server. The next step is to specify install and uninstall command.

Specify the Installation Program as LyncSetup.exe /silent

Specify the Uninstall Program as msiexec.exe /uninstall “C:Program Files (x86)OCSetupLync.msi”

Click Next.

Detection Method – Detection methods allow the administrator to check if application is already installed. It can also prevent an install of an application if it conflicts with another application that is already installed. In this step you configure the rules to detect whether the application already exists on the client machine. Click Configure rules to detect the presence of this deployment type and click on Add Clause.

On the Detection Rule window, choose Setting Type as File System. Under Specify the file or folder to detect the app, set the following

Type – File

Path – C:Program Files (x86)Microsoft Lync

File or Folder name – communicator.exe

Click OK and then Next.

Selection the Installation behavior as Install for system, Logon requirement as Whether or not a user is logged on and Installation program visibility to Normal. Click Next.

We will not specify any installation requirements for this deployment type so click Next.

We will not specify any software dependencies for this deployment type so click Next.

Click Close.

Under the Deployment types we see the Lync 2010 application. Click Next.

Click on Close.

Right click the Lync application (Lync 2010 (x64)) and click on Distribute Content.

Add the Distribution Point and complete the wizard.

After you distribute the application to DP, right click on the Lync application and click on Deploy. Choose the Collection where this application is to be deployed and click Next.

Deployment Settings – Set the Action as Install and Purpose as Available. Click on Next.

Click on Next and complete the wizard.

After few minutes the Lync 2010 app can be seen in the Software Center under Available Software. Select the app and click on Install Selected. The app is downloaded from the DP and installed.

The Lync 2010 client has been installed on the computer.

If you want to what’s going in the background during the client installation, you can open the AppEnforce.log file on the client computer using CM Trace tool. If the app fails to install you can check this file for troubleshooting purpose.

While we were creating the deployment type for this app we had specified the Uninstall Program command. Let’s see if the app gets uninstalled without any issues, click on Uninstall.

We have uninstalled the Lync Client 2010 successfully.

I hope this post will help you when you plan to deploy Lync client using SCCM 2012. If you have questions do write in comments.