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Abstract
This guide provides an introduction to Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server® 2008.
It includes an overview of features and procedures to follow to setup the technology.
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Contents
Step-by-Step Guide for Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server 2008.........................5
In this guide............................................................................................................. ....................5
What is Windows Deployment Services?........................................................... .........................5
What’s new in Windows Deployment Services?............................................................... ........6
Who should use this guide?............................................................................... ......................7
Benefits of Windows Deployment Services.............................................................. ................7
Upgrading from a server running RIS on Windows Server 2003 SP1 or SP2..............................7
Installing Windows Deployment Services................................................................. ...................9
Prerequisites for installing Windows Deployment Services....................................... ...............9
Steps for installing Windows Deployment Services........................................................ ........10
Configuring Windows Deployment Services........................................................ ......................11
Known issues with configuring Windows Deployment Services.............................................11
Steps for configuring Windows Deployment Services........................................ ....................12
Steps for adding images..................................................................................................... ....12
Configuring the boot menu.............................................................................. ..........................13
Known issues with configuring the boot menu........................................................................ 14
Steps for configuring the boot menu.................................................................................... ...14
Creating custom install images........................................................................................ ..........15
Prerequisites for creating custom install images............................................. .......................15
Known issues when creating custom install images....................................................... ........15
Steps for creating a capture image....................................................................................... ..16
Steps for creating an install image................................................................. ........................17
Creating discover images...................................................................................... ....................18
Prerequisites for creating discover images........................................................................ .....19
Steps for creating discover images............................................................... .........................19
Installing an install image........................................................................................................ ...20
Prerequisites for installing an install image................................................. ...........................20
Steps for installing an install image..................................................................... ...................21
Performing an unattended installation............................................................... ........................21
Prerequisites for performing an unattended installation............................... ..........................21
Known issues with unattended installations..................................................... ......................22
Steps for performing an unattended installation.................................................... .................22
Configuring an unattended installation for Windows Deployment Services........................22
Configuring an unattended installation for Windows Setup...................................... ...........23
Creating a multicast transmission................................................................................... ...........24
Prerequisites for creating a multicast transmission........................................ ........................24
Known issues in creating a multicast transmission............................................................... ..24
Steps for creating a multicast transmission............................................................ ................25
Using the Windows interface............................................................................................. ..25
Using WDSUTIL............................................................................................................... ...27
Using the Transport Server role service................................................................................... ..28
Uninstalling or uninitializing Windows Deployment Services................................. ....................28
Additional references.................................................................................................... .............29
Step-by-Step Guide for Windows Deployment
Services in Windows Server 2008
This guide contains step-by-step guidance for how to use the Windows® Deployment Services
role in Windows Server® 2008. This guide does not pertain to the Windows Deployment Services
Update for Windows Server 2003. For more information about the update, see
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=66145.
To download a .doc version of this guide, see http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=89381.
To provide feedback about this guide, e-mail wdsdoc@microsoft.com.
Note
This guide focuses on the functionality of the complete installation of Windows
Deployment Services (Deployment Server role service). For information about the
Transport Server role service, see Using the Transport Server role service later in this
guide.
In this guide
• What is Windows Deployment Services?
• Upgrading from a server running RIS on Windows Server 2003 SP1 or SP2
• Installing Windows Deployment Services
• Configuring Windows Deployment Services
• Configuring the boot menu
• Creating custom install images
• Creating discover images
• Installing an install image
• Performing an unattended installation
• Creating a multicast transmission
• Using the Transport Server role service
• Uninstalling or uninitializing Windows Deployment Services
• Additional references
• The ability to deploy Windows Vista • The ability to transmit data and
and Windows Server 2008. images by using multicast functionality.
• Windows PE is the boot operating • The ability to transmit data and
system. images using multicast functionality on
• Image-based installation, using the a standalone server (when you install
Windows image (.wim) file. Transport Server).
7
Method 1: Upgrade the RIS servers. Method 2: Install Windows Deployment Services
on new servers.
With this method, you install Windows With this method, you install Windows
Deployment Services on your existing RIS Deployment Services on new servers in your
servers. The three server modes and the ability environment while continuing to maintain the
to convert RIPREP images enable you to existing RIS servers. Eventually, after
transition seamlessly from RIS to Windows completely transitioning to Windows
Deployment Services. This is the Deployment Services, the RIS servers are
recommended method of moving RIS retired. This method is not recommended
infrastructure to Windows Deployment because it requires additional hardware and
Services. administrative overhead.
• Hardware. Each new Windows
Deployment Services instance is
running on a server separate from RIS.
• Administrative overhead. Having
two PXE servers that are configured
differently on the same network
segment can lead to unpredictable
results. Generally, for this scenario to
be predictable, you must prestage each
computer and specify whether or not
the client should be answered by the
Windows Deployment Services server
or the RIS server.
There are three modes of operation for Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server 2003:
Legacy, Mixed, and Native. Your server must be in Native mode to upgrade to Windows
Server 2008. Your upgrade will be blocked if RIS is configured, or if your server is in Legacy or
Mixed mode. To determine which operating mode the server is currently in, run the command
WDSUTIL /get-server /show:config.
Specifically, consider which of the following scenarios applies to you:
• If RIS is currently running on the server but you do not have Windows Deployment
Services installed, you must install it before upgrading. Windows Deployment Services is
included in the Windows AIK and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. For more
information about how to install and configure Windows Deployment Services, see the
Windows Deployment Services Update Step-by-Step Guide for Windows Server 2003
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=94643). Then use the following procedures to
switch from Legacy mode (the default setting) to Native mode.
• If RIS was installed on the server when you installed Windows Deployment Services,
it will be in either Legacy or Mixed mode; you will need to change it to Native mode
before upgrading.
8
• If RIS was not installed on the server when you installed Windows Deployment
Services, the server will be in Native mode and therefore ready to be upgraded to
Windows Server 2008.
Use one of the following procedures to change the server mode to Legacy.
9
Deployment Server Transport Server
10
During the installation, you have the following two role services to choose from. For a detailed
comparison of these options, see the Comparison of Deployment Server and Transport Server
chart in the Transport Server topic.
• Transport Server. To install this option, clear the Deployment Server check box on
the second installation wizard screen. This option provides a subset of the functionality of
Windows Deployment Services. It contains only the core networking parts. You can use
Transport Server to create multicast namespaces that transmit data (including operating
system images) from a standalone server. You should use this option if you want to
transmit data by using multicasting, but you do not want to incorporate all of Windows
Deployment Services. For more information, see Transport Server.
• Deployment Server. To install this option, ensure that both Deployment Server and
Transport Server are selected on the second installation wizard screen. This option
provides the full functionality of Windows Deployment Services, which you can use to
configure and remotely install Windows operating systems. With Windows Deployment
Services, you can create and customize images and then use them to reimage
computers. Note that Deployment Server is dependent on the core parts of Transport
Server.
Note
If you want to manage Windows Deployment Services on a remote server that is
runnning Windows Server 2008, you can install the Remote Server Administration
Tools. To do this, open Server Manager, right-click the Features node, click Add
Features, and locate Remote Server Administration Tools. This will install
WDSUTIL and the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in on the server.
Note
Help for the WDSUTIL command is available by typing WDSUTIL /? at a command
prompt; it is also available online at WDSUTIL.
11
• 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 IP Helper tables. All DHCP broadcasts by
client computers on UDP port 67 should be forwarded directly to both the DHCP
server and the Windows Deployment Services PXE server. Also, all traffic on
UDP port 4011 from the client computers to the Windows Deployment Services
PXE server should be routed appropriately (these requests direct traffic, not
broadcasts, to the server).
• Add DHCP options 66 and 67. For more information, see the Managing
Network Boot Programs topic.
12
• Install images. Install images are the operating system images that you deploy to
the client computer. You can also use the Install.wim file from the installation DVD, or you
can create your own install image by using the steps in Creating custom install images
later in this guide.
To add the default images, use the following procedures. After you have a boot image and an
install image on the server, you can perform a PXE boot on a client computer to install an
operating system.
To add the default boot image included on the product installation DVD
1. In the left pane of the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in, right-click
the Boot Images node, and then click Add Boot Image.
2. Browse to choose the default boot image (Boot.wim) on the Windows
Server 2008 DVD, located in the \Sources folder.
3. Click Open and then click Next.
4. Follow the instructions in the wizard to add the image.
To add the default install image included on the product installation DVD
1. In the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in, right-click the Install
Images node, and then click Add Install Image.
2. Specify a name for the image group, and then click Next.
3. Browse to select the default install image (Install.wim) on the Windows Vista or
Windows Server 2008 DVD, located in the \Sources folder, and then click Open.
4. To add a subset of the images included in the Install.wim file, clear the check
boxes for the images that you do not want to add to the server. You should add only
the images for which you have licenses.
5. Follow the instructions in the wizard to add the images.
6. Now that you have a boot image and an install image on the server, you can
perform a PXE boot on a client computer to install an operating system.
13
• Contain the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE) that you want to use
when a computer fails to start.
• Contain the Windows Deployment Services Image capture wizard, which creates an
install image from the client computer's operating system.
• Include a Windows PE image for administrators who want to perform other
operations within Windows PE.
In addition, x64-based computers can run x86-based or x64-based boot images. Therefore, for
each of these tasks, you could have two boot images — one for x86 and one for x64. The boot
menu on x86-based computers will display only x86 boot images (because x86-based computers
cannot run x64 boot images).
Note
The default behavior is for x64-based computers to display both x86-based and x64-
based boot images when both are available. To change this default setting, run the
command WDSUTIL /Set-Server /Defaultx86x64ImageType:{x86|x64|both}.
For detailed information, see the Managing the Boot Menu[role] topic.
14
4. Follow the instructions in the wizard to add the boot image.
5. When you have completed this procedure and you perform a PXE boot on a
client computer, a boot menu will appear that shows both images (if both apply to that
computer).
Note
Help for WDSUTIL is available by running the WDSUTIL /? command at a
command prompt; it's also available online at WDSUTIL.
You can now make additional changes to the boot menu, using the Bcdedit.exe tool to edit the
Default.bcd file located at %REMINST%\boot\<architecture>. For more information, see the
section "How to Use Bcdedit to Modify the BCD File" in the Managing the Boot Menu[role] in the
topic.
15
• You will only see drives that contain operating systems prepared with Sysprep. If you
do not run Sysprep on the computer before you boot into the image, you will not see any
drives to capture.
• You must enter a local location to save the new image; otherwise, you will not be able
to capture the image. This requirement is enforced to avoid image corruption if there is a
network malfunction.
• You must use the .wim file name extension in the image capture wizard when
specifying where to save a copy of the image; otherwise, the operation will fail with an
error.
• If you add an x64 boot image and make a capture image from it, you will be able to
boot only x64-based computers to it (not 32-bit computers).
16
an install image section to boot a client computer into the capture image and capture
the operating system.
Note
Help for WDSUTIL is available by typing WDSUTIL /? at a command prompt; it's
also available online at WDSUTIL.
4. After you have created the capture image, follow the instructions in the Installing
an install image section to boot a client computer into the capture image and capture
the operating system.
17
• On computers running Windows XP, run sysprep -mini -reseal.
5. When the computer restarts, perform a network boot on the computer by
pressing F12.
6. In the boot menu, select the capture image that you created in the preceding
procedure, and then click Next.
7. Choose the appropriate drive, and then provide a name and description for the
image. Click Next to continue.
Important
You will see only drives that contain operating systems prepared with Sysprep. If
you do not run the command in step 4, you will not see any drives to capture.
8. Click Browse and then browse to a local folder where you want to store the
captured install image.
Important
You must enter a local location to save the new image; otherwise, you will not be
able to capture the image. This requirement is enforced to avoid image corruption
if there is a network malfunction.
9. Type a name for the image, using the .wim file name extension, and then click
Save.
Important
You must use the .wim file name extension when specifying the name; otherwise,
the operation will fail with an error.
10. Select Upload image to WDS server.
11. Type the name of the Windows Deployment Services server, and then click
Connect.
12. If prompted for credentials, provide a user name and password for an account
with sufficient permissions to connect to the Windows Deployment Services server.
13. In the Image Group list, select the image group in which you want to store the
image.
14. Click Finish.
18
environment, you can create a discover image for each one, and then name them based on the
name of the server.
19
To create media that contains the discover image
1. Download and install the Windows AIK
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81030).
2. Open a Command Prompt window, and then type the following command to
switch to the PETools folder:
Cd C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools
3. To create a Windows PE build environment, type:
CopyPE <architecture> C:\Winpe
4. To copy the discover image that you created in the preceding procedure, type:
Copy /y c:\boot.wim c:\Winpe\ISO\Sources
5. To change back to the PETools folder, type:
Cd C:\Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools
6. To create the bootable .iso image, type:
Oscdimg -n -bc:\winpe\ISO\boot\etfsboot.com c:\winpe\ISO c:\winpe.iso
7. Use a utility that can create a CD or DVD to transfer the .iso image to the
appropriate media.
Note
Using the Windows copy command to copy the image to media will not create a
bootable disk.
8. Boot the client computer to the media. You may need to change the boot order in
the client BIOS to do this. When the client boots to the media, your experience will be
exactly the same as if you had booted to the network.
20
Steps for installing an install image
To perform a PXE boot on a computer to install an image, use the following procedure.
21
Known issues with unattended installations
Windows Deployment Services management tools assign install image unattend files only for
Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 images. For images for older operating systems, you
must use your existing Sysprep.inf files and manually create a $OEM$ directory structure.
22
/Architecture:[x86|x64]
• To associate the file for a computer, type the following, where <relative
path>is the path from the C:\RemoteInstall shared folder to the folder that
contains the client unattend file:
WDSUTIL /Set-Device /Device:<computername> /ID:<GUID or MAC address>
/WDSClientUnattend:<relative path>
Note
The Unattend.xml file will be saved to the following location:
\RemoteInstall\Images\<imagegroup>\<imagename>\Unattend\ImageUnatte
nd.xml.
23
is the path and file name of the unattend file you want to associate with the
image:
WDSUTIL /Set-Image /Image:<imagename> /ImageType:install
/ImageGroup:<imagegroupname> /UnattendFile:<unattendfile>
Note
The Unattend.xml will be saved to the following location:
\RemoteInstall\Images\<imagegroup>\<imagename>\Unattend\ImageUnatte
nd.xml.
24
that do not overlap to ensure that each server is using a unique IP address or Multicast
Address Dynamic Client Allocation Protocol (MADCAP). To specify this option, right-click
the server in the MMC snap-in, click Properties, and then click the Network Settings
tab.
• After you configure Windows Deployment Services server, if you modify the Multicast
IP Address, the UDP port range, or the RPC port number (by running wdsutil /set-server
/rpcport:<portnum>), you must restart the service before the changes will take effect. If
you do not restart the service, the server will use the old values and may not answer
clients. To restart the service, you can do either of the following: right-click Windows
Deployment Services in the MMC snap-in, and then click Restart; or run wdsutil /stop-
server and then run wdsutil /start-server in an elevated Command Prompt window.
• Each transmission can be run only as fast as the slowest client. That is, the entire
transmission will be slow if there is one slow client. To resolve this issue, first determine
the client that is holding back the transmission (this is called the master client). To do this,
view the output of the following command: WDSUTIL /Get-MulticastTransmission
/Show-clients. Next, disconnect the master client. This will force the master client to run
the transmission by using the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol, and the other
clients' multicast performance should speed up. If they do not speed up, there is a
problem with the client's hardware (for example, a slow hard drive) or a network problem.
25
start it. Note that in addition to these criteria, you can start a transmission manually at any
time by right-clicking it and then clicking Start.
Note
Content is transferred over the network only if clients request data. If no clients are
connected (that is, the transmission is idle), data will not be sent over the network.
Configuring transmissions
After a transmission has been created, you can perform any of the following actions:
• Start the transmission. If the transmission is the Scheduled-Cast type, there is at
least one client, and the transmission has not started yet, you can right-click the
transmission and then click Start.
• Delete the transmission. If you right-click the transmission and click Delete, the
multicast transmission stops and each client installation will fall back to using unicast
transmission. That is, the client installations will not be deleted or stopped, but they will
not use the multicast transmission to complete the installation.
• Deactivate the transmission. If you right-click and then click Deactivate, each client
that is currently installing will continue, but no new clients will be joined to the
transmission. After each current client installation is completed, the transmission will be
deleted. If there are no clients when you click this option, the transmission will be deleted
instantly.
• View the transmission's properties. To view the properties, right-click the
transmission and then click Properties. Note that you cannot edit the properties of a
transmission after it is created. To make a change after you have created a transmission,
you need to delete it and then recreate it.
• Refresh the transmissions and data. To do this, right-click a transmission and then
click Refresh. You can also refresh the data by pressing F5.
26
Using WDSUTIL
Creating a multicast transmission for an install image
You have two options for transmission type: Auto-Cast and Scheduled-Cast. You must run all
WDSUTIL commands from an elevated Command Prompt window.
• To create an Auto-Cast transmission
Syntax: WDSUTIL /New-MulticastTransmission /Image:<image name>
/FriendlyName:<friendly name> /ImageType:Install /ImageGroup:<Image group name>
/TransmissionType:AutoCast
• To create a Scheduled-Cast transmission
Syntax: WDSUTIL /New-MulticastTransmission /Image:<image name>
/FriendlyName:<friendly name> /ImageType:Install /ImageGroup:<Image group name>
/TransmissionType:ScheduledCast [/Time:<yyyy/mm/dd:hh:mm>][/Clients:<no of clients>]
Configuring transmissions
After a transmission is created, you can start it, delete it, deactivate it, and view its properties.
• To start the transmission
Syntax: WDSUTIL /Start-MulticastTransmission /Image:<image name> /ImageType:Install
/ImageGroup:<image group name>
Note
You can start the transmission only if it is the Scheduled-Cast type, there is at least
one client, and the transmission is not already started.
• To delete the transmission
Syntax: WDSUTIL /Remove-MulticastTransmission /Image:<image name> /ImageType:Install
/ImageGroup:<image group name> /Force
• To deactivate the transmission
Syntax: WDSUTIL /Remove-MulticastTransmission /Image:<image name> /ImageType:Install
/ImageGroup:<image group name>
• To view the transmission's properties
Syntax: WDSUTIL /Get-MulticastTransmission /Image:<image name> /ImageType:Install
/ImageGroup:<image group name>
Note
You should use this option with caution because the installation will fail and the
computer could be left in an unusable state.
• To disconnect a client from a multicast transmission but continue to transfer
the image by using unicasting
Syntax: WDSUTIL /Disconnect-Client /ClientID:<id>
• To view the client <id> for each transmission
Syntax: WDSUTIL /Get-MulticastTransmission /Image:<image name> /ImageType:Install
/ImageGroup:<image group name> /show:clients
Note
Any debug log files that were created by the server will remain after you uninstall the
component.
You can uninitialize the server if you want to reset the server to a nonconfigured state but you do
not want to uninstall Windows Deployment Services. This is helpful if you want to start over but
would like to retain existing settings. For example, if you want to move the RemoteInstall folder
(perhaps you got a new hard disk for your server and wanted to move this folder to it), you would
uninitialize the server, copy the folder to the new location, and then reinitialize the server by using
the new path. To uninitialize the server, run the command WDSUTIL /uninitialize-server in an
elevated Command Prompt window.
28
Additional references
• For detailed documentation for Windows Deployment Services, see
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=88439.
• For a newsgroup about Windows Deployment Services, see Setup and Deployment
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=87628).
• See the Windows AIK (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=54863).
• See the Windows AIK documentation (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=96016).
• See the Sysprep Technical Reference (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=87732).
• For more information about the Windows Deployment Services Update for Windows
Server 2003, see the following resources:
• Windows Deployment Services Update Step-by-Step Guide for Windows
Server 2003 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=66145)
• Deploying and Managing the Windows Deployment Services Update on
Windows Server 2003 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81031)
29