Module 2: Windows Deployment Services

Module Overview Describe Windows Deployment Services benefits Describe Windows Deployment Services (WDS) components

Lesson 1: Introducing Windows Deployment Services Describe the history of Operating System deployment Describe the WIM format List Windows Deployment Services components Describe Windows Deployment Services benefits This key focus of this lesson is to provide a background to imaging deployment solutions and the progression to Windows Deployment Services.

History of Operating System Deployment Remote Installation Services Automated Deployment Services SMS Operating System Deployment Key message: Discuss operating system deployment options leading up to Windows Deployment Services. RIS At boot time,The workstation that has been set to boot from PXE will issue a BOOTP request via the network. Once the request is received, the DHCP Server will supply an IP address to the machine, and the DNS server will point the client computer to the RIS server, which in turn will issue a disk boot image (often called the "OS Chooser"). Once the OS Chooser environment has been booted, the user must authenticate against the Domain Controller, and can then select a Windows image to install. The source files for each image can be customized with a utility such as nLite to slipstream updates and service packs, apply tweaks, perform unattended installations, and include software with the operating system. Remote Installation Services was introduced with Windows 2000 as an optional component when installed on Windows 2000 Server. Initially, it supported only the distribution of Windows 2000 Professional, but with Service Pack 3 allowed for the remote installation of Windows 2000 Server. RIS was updated twice; once to support Windows XP, and again to support Windows Server 2003. With the release of Service Pack 2 for Windows Server 2003, RIS was replaced with Windows Deployment Services. ADT Windows Deployment Services is a technology from Microsoft for network-based installation of Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Remote Installation Services. WDS is intended to be used for remotely deploying Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, but also supports other operating systems because unlike its predecessor RIS, which was a method of automating the installation process, WDS uses disk imaging, in particular the Windows Imaging Format (WIM). WDS is included as a Server Role in all 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2008, and is included as an optionally installable component with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. SMS / SCCM System Center Configuration Manager, formerly Systems Management Server (SMS), is a systems management software product by Microsoft for managing large groups of Windows-based computer systems. Configuration Manager provides remote control, patch management, software distribution, operating system deployment, and hardware and software inventory. There have been three major iterations of SMS. WDS Windows Deployment Services

WIM Format WIM file Key message: The WIM format provides a single deployment format with a single set of tools that could be used across all Windows deployment solutions. Additional information: Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista ship in the WIM format. Like other disk image formats, a WIM file contains a set of files and associated filesystem metadata. However, unlike sector-based formats (such as .ISO, .CUE/.BIN used for CD and DVD images), WIM is file-based, which means that the smallest unit of information is a file. The primary advantages of it being file-based include hardware independence and unique storage of a file referenced multiple times in the filesystem tree (single instance storage). Although the architecture is file based, the files are nevertheless stored inside a single WIM database, thereby reducing the SMB overhead of opening and closing many individual files at that end of the data transfer. The cost of reading or writing many thousands of individual files on the local disk is negated by hardware and software based disk caching as well as sequential reading and writing of the data. WIM images need to be deployed to an existing volume or partition as the toolset does not create low-level disk structures such as partitions, nor does it format them. Microsoft provides a command-line tool called diskpart for creating and formatting new volumes. WIM files can contain multiple disk images, which are referenced either by their numerical index or by their unique name. Due to the use of single instance storage, the more each successive disk image has in common with previous images added to the WIM file, the less new data will be added. A WIM can also be split (spanned) into multiple parts, which have the .swm extension. ImageX ImageX is the command-line tool used to create, edit and deploy Windows disk images in the Windows Imaging Format. It is distributed as part of the free Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). Starting with Windows Vista, Windows Setup uses the WAIK API to install fresh as well as cloned installation of Windows. The first developed prototype of ImageX allowed Microsoft OEM Partners to experiment with the imaging technology and was developed in parallel with Longhorn alpha prototypes. It has added significant advantages like read-only and read/write folder mounting capabilities, splitting to multiple image files (SWM), a WIM filter driver and the latest LZX compression algorithms. Customizing images A WIM image can also be mounted as a new volume under Windows with a drive letter associated in order to facilitate easier extraction or updating of its contents. (For example, a WIM image can be converted into an ISO image using this approach). A device driver named WimFltr.sys needs to be loaded before a WIM image can be mounted using ImageX however. Lastly, a set of public APIs for manipulating WIMs have also been released, with the required functionality contained in WIMGAPI.DLL, thereby allowing developers to write their own tools too. A number of third party applications have therefore included the capability to read or write WIM files. WIM images can be made bootable, as is the case with Windows Vista's setup DVD. In this case, BOOT.WIM contains a bootable version of Windows PE from which the installation is performed. Other setup files are contained in the file INSTALL.WIM

WDS Overview Windows Deployment Services Microsoft Management Console RIS WDS Windows Deployment Services is a technology from Microsoft for network-based installation of Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Remote Installation Services. WDS is intended to be used for remotely deploying Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, but also supports other operating systems because unlike its predecessor RIS, which was a method of automating the installation process, WDS uses disk imaging, in particular the Windows Imaging Format (WIM). WDS is included as a Server Role in all 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2008, and is included as an optionally installable component with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. Windows Deployment Services Microsoft Management Console Native support for Windows PE as a boot operating system New client menu for selecting boot operating systems 6

Support of Mixed Environments Benefits of WDS WDS Lower TCO Extensibility Support of Mixed Environments 7

Lesson 2: WDS Components Describe the WDS environment Describe the WDS server and client Explain the function of the Windows Pre-Installation Environment with WDS Describe the image capture process Identify ways to perform WDS management This key focus of this lesson is to delve further into Windows Deployment Services, by detailing the WDS components and image capture process.

Management Components WDS Environment Server Components Client Components Management Components Key message: The three components of the WDS Environment are server, client and management components. Windows Deployment Services is the updated and redesigned version of Remote Installation Services (RIS). Windows Deployment Services assists with the rapid adoption and deployment of Microsoft Windows operating systems. Use it to set up new computers through a network-based installation without having to be physically present at each computer and without having to install directly from CD or DVD media. The Windows Deployment Services components work together to enable you to deploy Windows images, including Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008. The components of Windows Deployment Services are organized into the following three categories: Server components: These components include a Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) server and a Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) server for booting a client from the network. Also included is a shared folder and image repository that contains boot images, install images, and files that you need. There is also a networking layer, a multi-cast component, and a diagnostics component. Client components: These components include a graphical user interface (GUI) that runs within the Windows Pre-Installation Environment (Windows PE). When a user selects an operating system image, the client components communicate with the server components to install the image. Management components: These components are a set of tools that you use to manage the server, the operating system images, and the client computer accounts. 9

WDS Server and Client WDS Server Service Client Setup Application TFTPD File Share Client Setup Application Special IBS Mode Language Selection Automation Key message: Give details of the server and client components. Known issues with configuring Windows Deployment Services Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is not supported for Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2008 R2 does not support IPv6 for network booting, but does support IPv6 for deploying images. If you are running Windows Deployment Services and a non-Microsoft DHCP server on the same computer, in addition to configuring the server to not listen on port 67, you will need to use your DHCP tools to add Option 60 to your DHCP scopes. If DHCP is installed on a server that is located in a different subnet, you will need to do one of the following: - (Recommended) Configure your router to forward broadcast packets. All DHCP broadcasts by client computers on UDP port 67 should be forwarded directly to both the DHCP server and the Windows Deployment Services server. Also, all traffic on UDP port 4011 from the client computers to the Windows Deployment Services server should be routed appropriately (these requests direct traffic, not broadcasts, to the server). - Add DHCP options 66 and 67. Option 66 should be set to the Windows Deployment Services server, and option 67 should be set to boot\x86\wdsnbp.com. For more information, see Managing Network Boot Programs (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=115304). If Windows Deployment Services and DHCP are running on the same computer, configuring Windows Deployment Services to not respond to any client computers will not work. This is because although Windows Deployment Services will not respond, DHCP will. You can try to work around this issue by disabling DHCP option 60 on the DHCP tab 10

Windows Pre-Installation Environment with WDS WDS Server Key message: An IT department could configure a Windows Deployment Services remote deployment infrastructure, create a configuration script, and build a custom Windows PE image to enable a highly automated deployment process. How the Client Applies Install Images When you perform a Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot on a computer and select a boot image, the Windows Deployment Services client performs the following actions: Determines that Setup should start in Windows Deployment Services mode. Starts Windows PE networking (if it is not already started). Discovers a Windows Deployment Services server (this may be from the PXE registry key or by using a discover image). Establishes an unsecured session to the Windows Deployment Services server. Determines the Windows Deployment Services client logging level (if specified) and starts the logging process. Checks to determine whether there is an unattend file for the Windows Deployment Services client. Proceeds through the Windows Deployment Services client UI screens (UI language selection, keyboard layout, and credentials). Establishes a secure session to Windows Deployment Services server by using the user's credentials. Receives a list of images from the server and displays it to the user. Receives a list of external language packs (for images for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008). Proceeds through the Windows Deployment Services client UI screens (image selection, disk configuration, and progress). Applies the image. When performing multicast deployments, the image is copied and then applied. However, when using unicast functionality, the image is applied over the network and is not copied to the client computer. All data is sent in compressed blocks of data. When these data blocks are received, the data is expanded and written to the disk. Services the offline image (for example injects drivers). Sets boot parameters (for example, the Boot Configuration Data (BCD) display language). Copies the $OEM$ folder (if it exists) for the image. Applies a language pack (if necessary). Retrieves the value of unattend variables (for example, timezone) from the server. Checks for a per-image unattend file and copies it (if it exists). Checks domain join settings in the unattend file (for example, whether or not to join the domain, what computer name to use, what domain to join, what credentials to use, and so on). Creates an account in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) for the computer, if necessary. If an account already exists, the client resets the account. Performs variable replacement on the unattend file (including time zone, domain join settings, and so on). Restarts the computer. Diskpart 11

Image Capture Process New Image Create a WDS Capture Image Install OS on Reference Computer Customize OS Run Sysprep Boot into WDS Capture Image Create Image and Upload to WDS Server Key message: Outline the image capture process with WDS. New Image 12