Firefox:2.0 Institutional Deployment: Difference between revisions

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== Introduction ==
== Introduction ==
This document describes the feature requirements for corporate/enterprise deployment which includes large businesses (>10,000 users), small business, colleges and universities, etc.
This document describes the feature requirements for corporate/enterprise deployment which includes large businesses (>10,000 users), small business, colleges and universities, etc.
Currently, there is no "Mozilla approved" MSI package for Firefox for use with Active Directory Intellimirror or SMS.  There is a bugzilla entry about this.  Take a look at it.  If you really need this feature, get an account with bugzilla and vote for this bug.  Better yet, contribute to the development process and help solve the problem.
https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=231062
Further in this article are references to third-party efforts to create Firefox MSI packages.  These efforts, while useful and generous, are not part of Mozilla, so make sure you read their license agreements first.


== Deployment Process ==
== Deployment Process ==

Revision as of 14:15, 2 December 2005

Introduction

This document describes the feature requirements for corporate/enterprise deployment which includes large businesses (>10,000 users), small business, colleges and universities, etc.

Currently, there is no "Mozilla approved" MSI package for Firefox for use with Active Directory Intellimirror or SMS. There is a bugzilla entry about this. Take a look at it. If you really need this feature, get an account with bugzilla and vote for this bug. Better yet, contribute to the development process and help solve the problem.

https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=231062

Further in this article are references to third-party efforts to create Firefox MSI packages. These efforts, while useful and generous, are not part of Mozilla, so make sure you read their license agreements first.

Deployment Process

This section assumes you're running in a Windows environment:

Deploying the software is easy:

  • through re-imaging (not a good use of time, though not difficult)
  • push this MSI file via Active Directory GPO or scripts, landesk etc...

Problems that you'll run into:

  • Unable to deploy options for Firefox
  • Unable to deploy extensions/themes
  • Unable to deploy settings for extensions
  • Unable lock down all/some of the settings

Different configurations of your network can be:

  • no roaming profiles

Firefox's default behavior is sticking the extensions/preferences into the local users profile with a unique identifier. What is needed is a way to control/lock down the options at the server (via AD).

  • maybe a new firefox config option to specify alternate extensions path? (eg on windows/smb say "extensions path = \\server\firefox\extensions" or whatever) --porl
  • with regards to locking down firefox, maybe add options to disable option menus, or point to specific bookmark folders etc. an 'external options file' option would be extremely useful also, perhaps with an option to disallow users overiding it in their own user files. --porl

I'm documenting this as I'm doing it ... I'm trying to stick the extensions in the ALL Users section or the slightly worse Default user's section.

Useful Tools

  • FirefoxADM - Mark Sammons has given to the world a tool to be used in Active Directory environments called FirefoxADM. It allows Active Directory administrators to control Firefox Options in much the same way as you would IE. For more information on FirefoxADM, see the blog. For the ZIP file: Download Here
  • FFDeploy - Bob Templeton has created a tool for deploying profiles.

Related Links

  • Firefox:Preconfigured_Packaging - proposal for a tool to create installers/ZIPs/installation directory structures with preconfigured settings and probably also lockdowns

Functional Capability & Usability

Focus Area & Work Items Release Priority
Places (An Updated Approach to Bookmarks & History) 
    Firefox:Places:Scratch Pad
2.0 P2
Tabbed Browsing
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