Deployment for Office Groove Server 2007
Microsoft Corporation
Published: June 2007
Author: Office IT and Servers User Assistance ()
Editor : Office IT and Servers User Assistance ()
Abstract
This book offers a structure for enterprise-wide Groove deployment, presenting installation scenarios and guidance for decision making. The audience for this book includes IT professionals, infrastructure specialists, and business decision makers responsible for designing and implementing software-based collaboration systems.
The content in this book is a copy of selected content in the Office Groove Server Technical Library ( as of the publication date above. For the most current content, see the technical library on the Web.
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The information contained in this document represents the current view of Microsoft Corporation on the issues discussed as of the date of publication. Because Microsoft must respond to changing market conditions, it should not be interpreted to be a commitment on the part of Microsoft, and Microsoft cannot guarantee the accuracy of any information presented after the date of publication.
This document is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, AS TO THE INFORMATION IN THIS DOCUMENT.
Complying with all applicable copyright laws is the responsibility of the user. Without limiting the rights under copyright, no part of this document may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), or for any purpose, without the express written permission of Microsoft Corporation.
Microsoft may have patents, patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property rights covering subject matter in this document. Except as expressly provided in any written license agreement from Microsoft, the furnishing of this document does not give you any license to these patents, trademarks, copyrights, or other intellectual property.
Unless otherwise noted, the example companies, organizations, products, domain names, e-mail addresses, logos, people, places and events depicted herein are fictitious, and no association with any real company, organization, product, domain name, email address, logo, person, place or event is intended or should be inferred.
© 2007 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Access, Active Directory, Excel, Groove, InfoPath, Internet Explorer, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, SharePoint, SQL Server, Visio, Windows, Windows Server, and Windows Vista are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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Contents
Introduction to Office Groove Server 2007 Deployment
I. Overview of Groove Deployment
II. Deployment Scenarios for Groove
Onsite Groove Manager and Relay Servers
Groove Enterprise Services
Additional Groove Management Options
Groove Auditing
Groove Data Bridge
Microsoft Sharepoint and Groove
Migration from Groove Enterprise Services to Onsite Servers
Multiple Groove Manager Front Ends
III. Groove Site Preparation
Decision Factors
Scale
Onsite Groove Servers vs. Hosted Services
Onsite Groove Server Benefits
Microsoft Hosted Services Benefits
Flow Chart of Decision Process
Additional Service Options
Site Planning Checklist
Recommended Best Practices for Groove Site Setup
Groove Manager and Groove Relay Performance Best Practices
Groove Manager and Groove Relay Security Best Practices
Groove Data Bridge Security Best Practices
Groove Client Best Practices
IV. Groove Server and Domain Setup
Assessing Readiness
Identify Users and Determine Readiness
Assess Network Readiness
Installing and Configuring Groove Onsite Servers
Design an Onsite Groove System
Design the Perimeter Network Infrastructure
Plan Groove Manager Implementation
Plan Groove Relay Implementation
Install and Configure the Servers
Anti-Intrusion Hardening
Acceptance-Testing the Production System
Configuring Groove Services and Domains
Optimize Network Infrastructure
Assemble Production Support for Groove Operations
Configure Groove Management Domains
Configure Relay Sets and Redundant Relays
Integrate an LDAP Directory with Groove Manager
Prepare Groove Software for Distribution
V. Groove Client Deployment
Recommended Measures
Best Practices for Onsite Servers
Best Practices for Servers and Services
Customizing Groove Installation
Automating and Standardizing Groove Installation
Using GPOs
Enabling Automatic Device Management
Preparing Groove Software for Distribution
Conducting a User Deployment Pilot
Deploying Groove Software for Production
Recommended Process for Deploying Groove in an Onsite Server Environment
Recommended Process for Deploying Groove in an Enterprise Services Environment
VI. Configuration with Multiple Groove Manager IIS Front Ends
VII. Deployment Worksheets for Office Groove Server 2007
Groove Manager IIS Front End Worksheets
Groove Manager IIS Front End Specification Worksheet
Groove Manager IIS Front End Installation Worksheet
Groove Manager IIS Front End Post-Installation Worksheet
IIS Memory and Processor Options
IIS SSL Support
IIS Web Site Authentication
IIS Web Services Extensions
IIS Application Pool Properties
IIS Virtual SMTP Server
IIS IP Port Filters
Complete this worksheet.
IIS Registry Backup
IIS Certificate Backup
Groove Manager SQL Back End Worksheets
Groove Manager SQL Back End Specification Worksheet
Groove Manager SQL Back End Memory and Processor Options Worksheet
Groove Manager SQL Back End IP Port Filters Worksheet
Groove Manager SQL Back End Authentication Options Worksheet
Groove Relay Worksheets
Groove Relay Specifications Worksheet
Groove Relay Installation Worksheet
Groove Relay Post-Installation Worksheet
Groove Data Bridge Worksheets
Groove Data Bridge Specifications Worksheet
Groove Data Bridge Installation Worksheet
Groove Data Bridge Post-Installation Worksheet
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Introduction to Office Groove Server 2007 Deployment
Strategies for deploying Groove in enterprise will vary, depending on each organization's resources, requirements, network infrastructure, and operating procedures. This book helps IT administrators formulate and implement a deployment plan tailored to their company's needs and environment. Information is also provided in the context of each of the major Groove system components: Manager, Relay, Data Bridge, and Auditing. Worksheets are provided to facilitate the process.
I. Overview of Groove Deployment
Microsoft® Office Groove® is a client-based software application designed to provide a dependable collaboration setting for people in a wide range of environments - corporate, small business, or nonprofit; at the office, en route, or in-the-field. Groove relay servers help make this possible by supporting virtual peer-to-peer connectivity regardless of network interruptions, heavy traffic, or client online status.
While collaboration is often a loose, spontaneous, ad hoc, and sometimes 'edge-based' activity, it requires oversight in an enterprise, where compatibility with existing network infrastructure and compliance with corporate security concerns are imperative. Office Groove Server Manager is a Web-accessed server application that provides comprehensive services for managing Groove clients in a broad range of enterprise environments.
Groove Server Manager and Relay run on server machines at a company site while Groove Enterprise Services offers Microsoft-hosted Manager and Relay services for organizations that do not want the overhead of managing onsite servers. The choice of whether to support onsite servers, or to engage Groove Enterprise Services, depends on an organization's management requirements and available resources. If servers are installed onsite, corporate directory server integration may be employed to further automate Groove management and play a part in establishing an efficient, customized, and secure collaboration framework.
This document set is designed for IT managers responsible for an enterprise-wide deployment of Groove clients and servers, presenting an approach that involves the following major steps:
Choosing a deployment topology
Preparing the site for deployment
Installing and configuring Groove servers
Defining Groove management domains
Deploying Groove clients
Upon completion, readers should be able to plan and implement a successful Groove deployment.
Note
The guidelines in this document set assume familiarity with the content of Planning and Architecture for Office Groove Server 2007.
See Also:
Deployment Worksheets for Office Groove Server 2007
II. Deployment Scenarios for Groove
Office Groove includes a suite of client and server applications designed to facilitate Groove client deployment and management in a business environment. Enterprises can choose whether to install Groove Server Manager and Relay onsite or engage Groove Enterprise Services, hosted by Microsoft. Integrating Groove with external applications is possible with Groove Server Data Bridge. The following sections provide an overview of Groove deployment options and outline the advantages and considerations associated with each.
In this section:
Onsite Groove Manager and Relay Servers
Groove EnterpriseServices
Additional Groove Management Options
Migration from Groove Enterprise Services to Onsite Servers
Multiple Groove Manager Front Ends
Onsite Groove Manager and Relay Servers
Office Groove Server 2007 provides organizations with the system software required to implement a management domain and relay system for enterprise-level Groove collaboration.
Figure 5-1 shows how Groove Server Manager and Relay systems can be incorporated into a corporate network, along with an existing LDAP server.
Figure 5-1. Onsite Groove Server Manager and Relay Scenario
Groove Enterprise Services
Enterprise Services offers a hosted services option for setting up a managed Groove domain and relay system without the capital investment or operational costs of implementing and operating on onsite server infrastructure.
Figure 5-2 shows a Groove scenario where an organization relies on Groove Enterprise Services to provide the administrative interface and relay infrastructure for overseeing Groove users and devices.
Figure 5-2. Groove Enterprise Services Scenario
See Also:
Deployment Scenarios for Groove
Additional Groove Management Options
You can enhance your Groove management environment and the scenarios discussed above with any of the optional services and applications described in this section.
In this section:
Groove Auditing
Groove Data Bridge
Microsoft Sharepoint and Groove
Groove Auditing
Groove auditing is a feature provided with Groove Server Manager, that allows you to collect audit events associated with Groove user accounts. The Groove auditing application must be installed in conjunction with Groove Manager and Relay applications and the device policy that enables audit logging of Groove client events must be turned on. The auditing application may be installed on the Groove Manager IIS front-end for smaller installations but installing Groove auditing on a separate, dedicated IIS front-end with a separate, dedicated SQL backend is recommended to minimize the impact of auditing activities on Groove Manager resources. When auditing is installed separately, an additional Groove Manager is then installed and configured for Groove auditing. See the Groove Manager Server Administrator Help for information about installing and configuring the Groove auditing capability.
Figure 5-3 shows a sample scenario with an onsite management server and a separate Groove client auditing server.
Figure 5-3. Groove Client Audit Server Added to Management Environment
Groove Data Bridge
Groove Server Data Bridge enables seamless integration of Groove data with external applications and processes via Web Service. External applications connect to Groove Data Bridge servers via SOAP/XML calls to Web Services on the Groove Data Bridge server. Data Bridge-to-client communications occur via Groove workspace synchronization. Groove Data Bridge is typically implemented in the context of a managed Groove environment. Groove Data Bridge should always be installed on a private corporate network or perimeter network, as shown in Figure 5-4.
Figure 5-4. Groove Data Bridge Server Added to Onsite Management Environment
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Microsoft Sharepoint and Groove
Enhancing the collaboration environment, Office Groove 2007 provides access to SharePoint document libraries where team members can store milestone documents and records of their work. Every Groove 2007 client includes the Groove SharePoint Files Tool, an enhanced version of the Files Tool that enables users to interact with and synchronize file content between Groove and document libraries held on SharePoint servers. For each team of Groove users, a Groove client is designated as SharePoint synchronizer.
The Groove SharePoint Files Tool provides the following benefits to organizations that store file content in SharePoint document libraries:
Access to file content for selected people outside of the enterprise. Groove and the SharePoint Files tool provide a convenient and efficient way to collaborate with people who are outside the corporate firewall. Additionally, the SharePoint Files tool provides a central working environment for teams that are widely dispersed geographically.
Offline access to file content. The SharePoint Files tool provides mobile workers, or those who have limited Internet access, with an environment in which they can access, view, and update file content while offline.
Figures 5-5 and 5-6 show a SharePoint-Groove configuration in the context of onsite Groove Server and Groove Enterprise Services, respectively.
Figure 5-5. SharePoint - Groove Connection with Onsite Groove Server
Figure 5-6. SharePoint - Groove Connection with Groove Enterprise Services
Migration from Groove Enterprise Services to Onsite Servers
Over time, you may decide to migrate from a Groove Enterprise Services to onsite servers. The migration process is fairly simple.
To move from Groove Enterprise Services to an onsite Groove Manager 2007 server, you start by creating a new domain structure on your newly installed server. If your onsite Groove Manager 2007 configuration includes LDAP directory integration and auto-account configuration, you can use the automated migration feature to migrate your Enterprise Services-managed Groove users to your newly defined onsite management domains. Alternatively, you can perform the migration process manually.
In the process of migration, managed Groove users will automatically be re-provisioned to their respective onsite Groove Relay servers.
For detailed information about migrating Groove users to another domain using the automated or manual method, see the online Help provided with the Groove Manager application.
Multiple Groove Manager Front Ends
If your organization is large enough to require multiple Groove Manager IIS front end servers, as discussed in Groove Site Planning Conditions and Requirements, you can configure your system to be fault tolerant and load balanced while sharing a SQL back end server. Guidelines for setting this up are provided in Configuration with Multiple Groove Manager IIS Front Ends.
III. Groove Site Preparation
This section is designed to help you prepare for Groove deployment in your enterprise, so that you can develop a site-specific deployment plan and implement it, as described in the next chapter. With this information and the more specific implementation guidelines presented in subsequent chapters, IT managers should be able to install and configure servers, set up Groove usage and security policies, assign relays to managed users, and have Groove running on targeted clients throughout an organization.
In this section:
Decision Factors
Scale
Onsite Groove Servers vs. Hosted Services
Additional Service Options
Site Planning Checklist
Recommended Best Practices for Groove Site Setup
Decision Factors
Decision factors to be addressed in planning a Groove deployment are varied and overlapping. They include the following:
Number of Groove users, current and projected
Feasibility of implementing and supporting onsite servers
Failover and server redundancy requirements (as discussed in Failure Contingencies and Disaster Recovery in the Site Planning chapter)
Use of LDAP directory synchronization
Need for automated account configuration
Use of in-house LDAP directories
Time frame allowed for Groove deployment
Groove internal Certificate Authority or Enterprise PKI for Groove domain
Corporate security requirements
Need for additional services:
Need for client auditing
Need for Groove Data Bridge
See Also:
Groove Site Preparation
Scale
Analysis of your organization’s resources and estimated work load, and the hardware capacity information in Groove Capacity Planning in the Site Planning chapter of this guide, can help you determine the scale of your Groove installation, the essential first step in planning. Your choice of employing onsite servers or hosted services will depend on the information amassed during your need assessments. To get the most value from your investment, make sure that your assessments scale; they should include both current and anticipated size and location (distribution) of the user population that you intend to support.
For deployments of 50 to a 1,000 users, Groove Enterprise Services is a practical alternative, especially for organizations without IT expertise in deploying network applications. See the Groove Enterprise Services in the Deployment Scenarios chapter of this guide, for an illustration of this setup.
For organizations with 1,000 or more users, onsite Groove Server deployment is recommended, in many cases, a single front-end IIS server accessing a SQL back-end. Larger enterprises, supporting 20,000 or users should consider running multiple front ends off the SQL server. Figure 6-1 diagrams an example of a mid-size business configuration of a Groove system. Figure 6-2 diagrams an example of a larger full-function configuration that incorporates multiple front-end and back-end Manager servers, a Groove Audit server (a Groove Manager installation option), and a Groove Data Bridge server.