Chapter 2: Automating the Windows Vista Installation

Choosing Automated Deployment Options To install multiple computers more easily, use Automated Deployment –Remote Installation (Using WDS) –Disk Imaging/Cloning –Unattended Installation 2/10

Overview of Windows Deployment Services Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is an updated version of Remote Installation Services (RIS) It is a suite of components that allows you to install Vista on client computers. Client can boot without an OS, connect to a WDS server, and begin receiving an image Requires Windows Server 2003 w/ SP1 to be used as the WDS server, AD, DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol, and DNS (Domain Name System). 3/10

Advantages of Using Windows Deployment Services Allows remote install Physical media does not have to be distributed More tolerant of different hardware Windows Vista installations can be standardized across a group or organization, and controlled using Group Policy. 4/10

Preparing the WDS Server Install WDS –Download and use WAIK: Windows Automated Install Kit Configure and start WDS –Configure the WDS server to respond to client computers (if this was not configured when WDS was installed) using WDSutil command line or MMC (Microsoft Management Console) snapin.WDSutil /? WDSutil /copy will copy an existing image 5/10

Preparing the WDS Client Client requires one of the following –PXE-based boot ROM –PXE-compliant network adapter Preboot Execution Environment, which allows a system to boot when no operating system or network configuration is installed. 6/10

Disk Imaging Overview Good for large numbers of computers with similar hardware and system requirements –Greatly reduces deployment time by copying the Operating System, applications, and desktop settings from a reference computer to an image which is then deployed to target computers. 7/10

Disk Imaging Overview Use SYSPREP to prepare the drive for imaging –Found in C:\windows\system32\sysprep –Strips away computer specific information such as the SID and event logs Sysprep /generalize –Detects plug and play differences and can adjust dynamically. 8/10

Disk Imaging Overview Use IMAGEX to create the disk image –Also installed from WAIK (Windows Automated Install Kit) –Once SysPrep is used to customize and image, IMAGEX is a software utility included with Vista that will capture that image for future deployment. ImageX /capture ImageX /apply 9/10

Overview of Unattended Installation Good for large numbers of non- PXE-compliant systems Answer file on distribution server can respond to installation configuration questions without user intervention 10/10

Answer Files Unattend.xml Can be used with the following installation methods –Unattended installations Setup /unattend –Disk image installations –WDS installations Can be created using Windows System Image Manager (SIM), which is installed from WAIK (Windows Automated Install Kit), or a text editor 11/10

Configuring Answer File Options Using Windows System Image Manager Can be used to configure the following component options: –auditSystem Sets firewall settings and additional drivers –auditUser Can run synchronous or asynchronous commands while in audit –Generalize Remove system specific info. such as SID –offlineServicing Specifies the language packs to use 12/10

Configuring Answer File Options Using Windows System Image Manager Can be used to configure the following component options: –oobeSystem (Out of Box Experience) Specifies the settings to apply to a system the first time it is booted to the Windows Welcome screen. –Specialize Domain and Network settings to apply –windowsPE Partitioning and Product Key Can also be used to validate that an answer file works 13/10