Deploying a Multilingual Enterprise | Introducing Microsoft Windows Server(TM) 2003

There are a number of important considerations to weigh in planning any deployment. Deploying worldwide brings additional challenges because of the sheer number of languages and locales that must be supported. A number of common factors must be taken into account when deploying and maintaining a multilingual enterprise:

Regional requirements.

The first step to a smooth international deployment is to determine the language requirements for the regions that your organization spans . You must also consider line-of-business applications that must accommodate multiple languages. For every region in your enterprise, determine exactly which languages, dialects, currencies, and calendar formats must be supported. Also note whether these regions require any alternative input devices. This information will be invaluable as you proceed through the deployment process.
Hardware requirements.

The Multilingual User Interface uses installable modules called language packs to supply support for individual localizations . These packages require additional hard disk space. For the complex and right-to-left language pack, which supports Hebrew, Arabic, and other languages, an additional 100 MB of hard disk space is required. The East Asian language pack requires 230 MB. You must also consider hardware requirements for any alternative input devices you are using.
Roaming users' needs.

The Microsoft Windows Server 2003 MUI pack allows you to support roaming users in multiple languages. If this is your goal, you must ensure either that the required MUI packs are installed on all desktops that support roaming users or that they are available for installation on demand on those desktops. See the upcoming section "Configuring Desktops" for more information about install-on-demand configurations.
Microsoft Office XP multilanguage deployments.

Microsoft Office XP is a premium class, world-ready productivity platform. If you are using Microsoft Office XP in your organization, consider deploying it at the same time you deploy the operating system. Microsoft has a number of powerful tools and technologies that can be used to make deploying Office simpler. Microsoft Office XP is available in localized versions or with the Microsoft Office Multilingual User Interface Pack.

More Information

For more information about Multilanguage Office XP deployment, see "Microsoft Office XP in a Multilingual Environment" at http://www.microsoft.com/office/evaluation/indepth/multilingual/.

Configuring Server Platforms

Because the MUI supports Microsoft Windows Installer technology natively, you can use any of the Microsoft tools that use Windows Installer to help you configure and maintain your servers. The MUI packages each supported language as a separate .msi package. These can be installed individually by double-clicking the package or by using Add Or Remove Programs in Control Panel.

Command prompt installation.

The MUI can be installed from the command prompt by invoking Msiexec. You can specify a number of switches, including options to install the package for the current user only, for all users on the current machine, or for the default user on the current machine. If you specify the default user, the MUI will be available for all subsequent users created on the same machine.
Unattended installation.

Windows Server 2003 with the MUI supports unattended setup. Use an unattended installation to automate the installation of the MUI either as a part of Windows Server 2003 setup or after Windows setup has completed. Because the MUI comes in several CDs, you need to create a network share containing all the language packages you want to include in your installation and an answer file specifying the configuration you would like to install.

Configuring Desktops

There are a number of considerations to take into account when configuring multilingual desktops for users. Microsoft offers several features that can make this task run much more smoothly:

Default user language settings.

After you have determined the language settings that are required within your organization, you can apply these as the default on your desktop computers. When the default language settings have been defined on a desktop computer, all subsequent users created on that computer will inherit those language settings. User accounts that already exist will not be affected. These settings can be defined through the UI on that computer or by means of an answer file during an unattended installation.
Group Policy.

Users' regional and language options can be centrally managed using Group Policy. An administrator can create a logon script that applies language settings, including default language and input methods , when the user logs on.
Install-on-demand deployment of MUI packages.

Administrators can define user and computer configurations using per-computer assigned installations by means of a Group Policy. This will allow them to install MUI packages on user computers before these users log on. When an administrator is installing MUI packages for East Asian or Complex Script languages, the installation will fail unless the required language packs for these languages are already installed on the user computer or the Windows Server 2003 installation CD is still in the CD drive. MUI packages in the Active Directory directory service are always per-user installations. MUI per-user installations are not recommended, although they work because only the installing user can uninstall the package from Add Or Remove Programs. Other users will be able to use the MUI packages installed in the computer but won't be able to uninstall them.
Configuring localized content.

You can configure your desktops to receive localized content such as news and weather from the Internet, or information from intranet- and extranet-based servers. This is configured by changing the Location setting on the Regional And Language Options control panel.
Microsoft Office XP multilanguage support.

Microsoft Office XP is the productivity suite of choice for a multilingual environment. Office XP is available in localized versions or with the Office XP Multilingual User Interface Pack based on the English-language version of Office XP, which includes proofreading tools for viewing and editing documents in multiple languages. When deploying Microsoft Windows XP in a multilingual environment, you should consider deploying Office XP at the same time. Microsoft has a number of powerful tools and technologies to help you deploy Office XP as simply as possible.

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