Lake, Ben

NETWORK DEPLOYMENT OF MICROSOFT WINDOWS USING WINDOWS DEPLOYMENT SERVICES Technical Report for ******** Technologies Ben Lake December, 2012

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Lake, Ben

Table of contents
Introduction What is network deployment? Creating a reference image The server o Domain Controller o DNS o DHCP o Windows Deployment Services Who uses this method? Deploying on a large scale Software testing Past methods Legal ramifications Summary Page 3 Page 3 Page 4 Page 4 Page 4 Page 5 Page 5 Page 5 Page 6 Page 6 Page 6 Page 7 Page 7 Page 7 Page 8

References

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Lake, Ben

Network Deployment of Microsoft Windows Using Windows Deployment Services

Introduction This report will explain the principles behind using Windows Deployment Services to roll out a specific configuration of Microsoft Windows to multiple clients over a network. It will go through what happens when the reference operating system is copied, or imaged, for later deployment. The server configuration necessary for this process, involving four key components, will also be discussed. Some information about settings where this method is used will be included, and the report will conclude with a section detailing the legal aspect of the process. What is network deployment? Simply put, network deployment is the process of booting a computer by use of a LAN, rather than from a hard drive. Most computers are configured to look for boot files (the executable files required to load an operating system) on the local hard drive. If the BIOS menu is accessed (a menu that is accessed directly from the motherboard, independent from the hard drive or disc drives), one can select a device other than the hard drive to boot from. Among this are usually the CD/DVD and USB drives, as well as the LAN (or sometimes listed as Ethernet) port. Once the LAN port is selected as the boot device, the computer begins look for boot files via that port. Boot menus can vary in appearance depending on the manufacturer of the motherboard, but they are all simple to use as they make the available options quite plainly obvious. (see Figure 1) In order for a client computer to be able to perform this network boot operation, four key components are required; a reference image of the desired Windows configuration, a Windows Deployment Server to host the image file and facilitate deployment, a client computer (there can be and usually are multiple of these), and a LAN through which the server and client(s) will be connected (see Figure 2). (Cristie software, 2012)

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Figure 1. Boot Menu (Gateway) Creating a reference image By creating a reference operating system configuration image on a technician computer that computer is prepared for capture. This is achieved by installing the version of Windows that is to be deployed, and configuring it with all necessary software applications, hardware drivers, updates, service packs, and any other attributes that will be necessary for all workstations where this particular configuration is to be applied. Once the desired configuration has been completely finished, a reference image of it is captured using a WinPE boot disc. The WinPE disc is created using the Windows Automated Installation Kit and is crucial for the process because it allows an entire hard drive volume to be copied to another location as a single file in the .wim format that is suitable to be uploaded to centralized server and deployed remotely. It does this by loading a miniature operating system directly into the host computers flash memory and allowing access to all storage devices connected to the motherboard, including the hard drive. Using a utility contained in this miniature operating system called imagex, a series of commands are entered that specify the source volume that is to be copied (the hard drive containing the configuration that will become the reference image) and a destination for image file that will be created in the process (this can be either an external hard drive attached by USB, or else a network drive can be established to transfer files to a shared folder on another computer if available).

The server It is essential that the Windows server used for network deployment have four specific attributes in order to function as a deployment server. These attributes are referred to as roles in Windows Server configuration because each one denotes a specialized function that the server is configured to perform. One physical server can fill many roles. The four roles that are essential to this process are Active Directory Domain Controller, DNS Server, DHCP Server, and Windows Deployment Server. (Cristie software, 2012) Domain Controller The role of domain controller is necessary because it allows the server to assume complete control of the LAN, as well as give it a name for reference. An example LAN could be named test.local. An administrator account must be established to allow for further server configuration, as well as define a set of login credentials to allow clients to download files during a network deployment.

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Figure 2. Physical LAN Topology (Illustration by author)

DNS DNS is an acronym for Domain Name Service. This role allows a client to enter a text domain address, such as test.local, and translate it into a logical (IP) address.

DHCP In order for a client to establish a session with the server, the server must administer DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol). This is because the client has no IP address of its own by default, it must be given one by a DHCP server. It is required for the client to have an IP address in order for it to communicate with the server. IP addresses are numbers that every digital device must have to communicate on a network because they are the primary method of identifying individual devices. Windows Deployment Services Finally, the server must be configured with Windows Deployment Services. This role is the one that is directly responsible for deploying operating system images. It uses TFTP (Trivial File Transfer Protocol) to communicate with a specific logical port on the client. The client, when set to network boot, is configured to listen on this port for signal from the deployment
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server. Once the client receives this signal, it is presented with the option to receive the reference image from the server and commence network deployment. (Description of Windows)

Who uses this method? Network deployment is widely used by IT professionals in a variety of industries. Many companies use it to apply a standardized desktop environment for all employees, or to deploy many configurations to a single physical computer for the purpose of software testing. An educational institution would be likely to use this operation to apply standardized configurations to environments such as computer labs. Deploying on a large scale Any time a new version of Windows is released, the I.T. staff members of most organizations is inevitably charged with the daunting task of getting all workstations in the facility up to date. Although it is certainly possible to fulfill all computer configuration requirements in an organization by use of only CDs and DVDs, network deployment from a centralized server holds many advantages that make it a vastly superior method for doing installations on a large number of computers. CDs and DVDs are severely limited in their storage capacity, meaning that they can usually only be written with one installation file. This becomes problematic when one is tasked with setting up multiple computers in an identical or nearly identical configuration. Because discs are physical devices and singular, it takes a great deal of time to install operating systems and software with them on a multitude of computers. Of course it is possible to replicate discs, but this too is quite time-consuming considering the time required to write entire operating systems to DVD. This shortcoming is compounded by the fact that unless one has a multi-tray disc recorder the only option is to use the built in optical drive on ones desktop, of which there is usually one, or at the most two. Instead of installing each component of the desired configuration separately and sequentially, a network deployment can service multiple clients at once; as well complete the entire configuration through the installation of a single file. Software testing The software testing lab is another environment where network deployment is quite useful. Most software development companies today guarantee that their applications will work with many different versions of Windows. In order to make sure that this is the case, most companies have software testing departments that are dedicated to finding and reporting compatibility problems between their own software and Windows. Because individual technicians are frequently required to test the companys software with multiple versions of Windows at a single workstation, network deployment can save a great deal of time since the alternative is to supply each technician with a CD for each operating system, which will then
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require a further time investment to update each time it is used. Deploying from a server eliminates much of the waiting time for having a functioning testing station up and running. Legal ramifications It is important to realize that although it is only necessary to have one reference image to deploy to multiple clients, licensing requirements and copyright laws remain the same and must be observed. If an organization intends to use network deployment, it is imperative that they have paid the appropriate licensing for the number of computers that they will be deploying to. On a corporate scale, this is often achieved by subscribing to Microsofts MSDN service, which entitles the customer to various releases of Windows operating systems and Microsoft software suites such as Office, as well as corresponding licenses for their activation and use. If Windows is not properly activated it will cease to perform certain functions, thus greatly reducing workplace productivity and subsequently creating a large amount of unnecessary work for the I.T. staff. As long as the organization in question has an MSDN subscription that is appropriate for their needs, having the proper licensing should not present a problem. Summary By following this paper one should be able to gain a basic understanding of how network deployment works. The range of concepts covered here include preparation of a reference image for network deployment, configuration of a Windows Deployment Server, and the physical LAN setup that is used for this process.

References
Unknown author, (n.d) Description of Windows Deployment Services. In Utilize Windows. Retrieved on Monday, November 19th, 2012 from http://www.utilizewindows.com/pcfundamentals/installation/370-description-of-windows-deployment-serviceswdshttp://www.utilizewindows.com/pc-fundamentals/installation/370-description-of-windowsdeployment-services-wds Cristie Software, July 2012 WDS Network Boot Setup Guide. In Cristie software: Cristie Bare Machine Recovery Software. Retrieved on Monday, November 19th, 2012 from http://www.cristie.com/fileadmin/Documents/Windows_documentation/CBMR/CBMR-641WinPEDRRISNetworkBoot.pdf Retrieved on Monday, November 19th, 2012 from http://support.gateway.com/s/Mobile/Gateway/M275/3501734faq69.shtml

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Lake, Ben Henley, Chris, (April 2007) Windows Deployment Service Part 1. In TechNet Blogs. Retrieved on Monday, November 19, 2012 from http://blogs.technet.com/b/chenley/archive/2007/04/26/windowsdeployment-service-part-1.aspx Retrieved on Monday, November 19, 2012 from http://www.svrops.com/svrops/articles/winvistape2.htm

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