Factotum: Documentation Handyman

One of the major complaints against Communications Suite has been the difficulty with the initial install/configure process. And that frankly, new customers who want to evaluate the product are often left holding the bits, literally, trying to find their way out of a fun-house tunnel.

One of our goals in Comms is to simplify installation. And I think what we need is an installer that provides the option of a quick evaluation mode. Okay, while we're waiting for that, I have to say that the Comms 6 installer is a real improvement over past releases. I just went through the Single Host Deployment Example and though the process is somewhat time-consuming, I successfully had all components running smoothly, installed and configured as documented.

Second improvement: If you don't have half a day or so to run through this deployment example, then consider downloading the Comms VMware image, which will enable you to evaluate Comms 6 without the installation and configuration required of a production deployment. (The VMware image runs on Linux and Windows platforms.) Running the VMware image is described here.

In either case, I think you'll find we're making improvements and lowering the barriers to evaluating and learning about a Comms Suite deployment.