The following questions and guidelines help you determine which of the automated installation and customization tools is most appropriate for your environment. The guidelines describe baseline requirements for each of the tools.
Before you can determine which tool to use, you have to find out if the client computers have Hardware Abstraction Layers (HAL) that are compatible with the reference computer. If the client and reference computers do not have compatible HALs, you cannot use Sysprep or the Remote Installation Preparation tool (Riprep.exe), which is a component of RIS. For example, if the reference computer has a Standard PC HAL, the destination computer must have the same Standard PC HAL. If the reference computer has an Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) PC HAL, the destination computer must have the same ACPI PC HAL.
Note | Standard PC and ACPI PC are the names of HALs that are detected during the initial phase of a Windows XP Professional installation, before Sysprep.exe or Riprep.exe are run. |
If the client and reference computers have compatible HALs, you have to determine if the network connections are fast and reliable enough to enable you to use RIS. If the client computers are not connected to a network, you cannot use RIS. If the network connections are not fast and reliable, RIS is not the appropriate tool to use.
Determine whether there is a Windows 2000 Server based network infrastructure in place. Identify existing network protocols. Determine the speed of network links.
Table 2-1 lists key issues related to assessing your network infrastructure and describes how these issues can help you determine which tool to use.
Issue | Effect on Your Plan |
---|---|
Network infrastructure | Network protocols determine how you customize the networking sections of the answer file, including [NetAdapters], [NetProtocols], and [NetServices]. |
Network bandwidth | Network bandwidth might affect your choice of installation tool and method. For example, locations that do not have a high-bandwidth connection to a network server might use a CD-ROM or other local installation method instead of RIS for clean installations. |
Windows 2000 Server network infrastructure | Remote Installation Services (RIS) is a good option if you have an existing Windows 2000 Server infrastructure that is combined with the following: High-bandwidth network connections. Client computers that have remote boot-compliant network adapters that support Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE) technology. You can use a Windows 2000 Server that is configured as a RIS server to copy and automatically distribute customized images of a Windows XP Professional installation to client computers over a network connection. |
If you are planning to perform a clean operating system installation on the client computers, you can use any of the installation tools. However, if you are planning to perform an operating system upgrade to the client computers, you cannot use RIS or Sysprep. Client computers running Microsoft Windows 3.x and Microsoft Windows 95 cannot be upgraded to Windows XP Professional. You must perform clean installations on these client computers. Windows XP Professional supports upgrades from the following operating systems:
Microsoft
Windows NT Workstation, version 4.0
Microsoft
Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft
Windows 98
Microsoft
Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me)
Choosing to perform a clean installation is a good course of action if you plan to standardize the desktop computers across your organization. If you decide to perform a clean installation, you cannot migrate customized settings from the currently installed operating system.
Depending on the status of your deployment, you might have to upgrade many of your computers in addition to installing Windows XP Professional on new computers. If you plan to use currently installed applications on existing hardware, you must perform an upgrade.
Table 2-2 provides a brief overview of tool support for upgrades and clean installations.
Tool | Upgrade | Clean Installation |
---|---|---|
Unattended Installation | X | X |
System Preparation Tool (Sysprep.exe) | X | |
Remote Installation Services (RIS) | X | |
Systems Management Server (SMS) | X |
The number of client computers in a deployment can help you determine which installation tool to use. For example, if you have a large number of computers, Remote Installation Services (RIS), Systems Management Server, or third-party disk-imaging utilities in conjunction with Sysprep are good choices. For a small number of computers, using the Winnt.exe or Winnt32.exe Setup tool in unattended mode might be sufficient.
Unattended installations use setup scripts to answer installation questions and to automate the Setup process. This simplifies the installation of the operating system. Use Setup Manager to create or customize answer files that contain setup scripts.
You can use Winnt32.exe on computers that are running Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT Workstation 4.0, Windows 2000, or Windows XP Professional. Use Winnt32.exe to automate the upgrade process for numerous computers without user intervention.
Winnt.exe is a less versatile tool than Winnt32.exe. You cannot use Winnt.exe to perform an operating system upgrade, and you can only use Winnt.exe from within the MS-DOS preinstallation environment. To use Winnt.exe from a network boot floppy disk, run winnt /u:unattend.txt /s:source path.
Use the Winnt32.exe unattended installation tool to upgrade a large number of client computers that have different hardware and software configurations. Unattended installation uses an answer file called Unattend.txt. You can rename Unattend.txt to reflect different installation configurations.
Unattended installations save time and money because users do not have to attend to each computer and answer questions during installation. Unattended installations can also be configured to enable users to provide input during the installation process. You can perform unattended installations to upgrade many computers at once or to automate clean installations of the operating system.
You cannot use the unattended installation tools (Winnt32.exe and Winnt.exe) to create reference configurations that include applications and that replicate the configurations across your client computers.
Unattended installation must be initiated by someone who has direct access to each client computer.
Use a Windows XP Professional operating system CD to initiate the installation of Windows XP Professional on client computers that are not connected to a network or on computers in low-bandwidth environments.
You can use a Windows XP Professional CD to install the operating system, fully configured for a network, on client computers that are not connected to a network.
Using a Windows XP Professional Operating System CD is fast. It can save the time that is required for downloading system files from a network. Using a Windows XP Professional CD simplifies deployment of the operating system on computers that do not have high-speed connectivity.
To use a Windows XP Professional operating system CD to initiate the installation of Windows XP Professional on client computers, you must be able to implement the following configuration requirements:
The client computers must support the El Torito No Emulation CD boot specification.
Installation must be initiated by someone who has direct access to each client computer.
You must name the answer file Winnt.sif and place the Winnt.sif file in the root directory of a floppy disk. You must insert the floppy disk in the floppy disk drive of the client computer as soon as the computer starts from the CD.
Disk imaging, which is also referred to as cloning, is a timesaving way to deploy Windows XP Professional. To clone a system, first configure a reference computer with the operating system, standard desktop settings, and applications that users need; then make an image of the reference computer s hard disk. Next, transfer the image to other computers, installing the operating system, settings, and applications quickly and without the need to configure each computer.
The System Preparation tool (Sysprep.exe) prepares the reference computer for cloning. Sysprep creates a unique security identifier (SID) for each cloned client computer, which makes this process secure. Sysprep detects Plug and Play devices and adjusts for systems with different devices.
You can run Setup Manager to select the screens you want displayed during Windows Welcome (Msoobe.exe) or during MiniSetup (if you use the -mini parameter).
These screens can be used to solicit user-specific information, such as user name or time zone selection. You can also provide these answers by using an answer file to deploy fully automated installations.
Warning | Sysprep performs the preparation of the system image; however, a cloning utility from a third party is required to create the image. |
Use Sysprep to deploy clean installations in large organizations where hundreds of computers need the same applications and desktop configurations. Use Sysprep if the computers in your organization have only a few standard hardware configurations, rather than many custom configurations.
Sysprep enables you to duplicate a custom image from a reference computer to destination computers. The reference computer and the destination computers must have the same Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL).
Sysprep greatly reduces deployment time because nearly every component, including the operating system, applications, and desktop settings, can be configured without user interaction. The reference image can be copied to a CD and physically distributed to client computers, saving the time and network capacity required to load files across a network. Using Sysprep to deploy Windows XP Professional on numerous desktops in a large organization enables you to implement standardized desktops, administrative policies, and restrictions. Additionally, by default, Sysprep does not perform full hardware Plug and Play redetection, reducing this part of the installation process to just a few minutes (instead of 20 to 30 minutes for each computer).
Note | Sysprep detects any new Plug and Play hardware during the MiniSetup Wizard; however, Sysprep does not detect hardware that is not Plug and Play. |
If you use a third-party disk-imaging utility with Sysprep to copy a reference image onto physical media, you must be able to distribute the physical media to remote client computers. The size of the reference image is limited by the capacity of the CD (approximately 650 MB). Sysprep cannot be used to upgrade earlier versions of the operating system. To preserve existing content, you must arrange to back up data and user settings prior to the installation, and then restore the data and user settings after the installation.
Remote Installation Services (RIS) enables you to perform a clean installation of Windows XP Professional, or a clean installation of any version of Windows 2000 except Microsoft Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, on supported computers throughout your organization. You can simultaneously deploy the operating system on multiple clients from one or more remote locations.
Warning | To deploy Windows XP images from Windows 2000 RIS Servers, you must install the Windows 2000 Remote Installation Services update. For more information about the Windows 2000 Remote Installation Services update, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base link on the Web Resources page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources Search the Microsoft Knowledge Base using the keywords Risetup.exe, RIS Servers, and Windows XP Images. |
System administrators can use RIS to create and store one or more images of a supported operating system on a RIS Server. A RIS image can then be downloaded over a network connection by a client computer that supports the Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE). You can completely automate the installation of the downloaded RIS image or you can require users to provide input by typing a computer name or an administrator password, for example.
To use Remote Installation Services, Windows 2000 Server must be deployed with Active Directory configured. Then, you can deploy Windows XP Professional by using the Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE) technology that enables computers to boot from their network adapters. Administrators working with a RIS server can make a preconfigured image of Windows XP Professional available for installation on a client computer.
For computers that do not support Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE) technology, Remote Installation Services includes a tool called the Remote Boot Floppy Generator (RBFG.exe) that you can use to create a remote boot disk to use with RIS. You can use the RIS remote boot disk with supported network adapters that comply with the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) specification.
Use Remote Installation Services (RIS) on desktop computers that are newly added to a network or on which you want to perform a clean installation of the operating system. Use RIS when you want to standardize a Windows XP Professional configuration on new desktop computers or on computers with an existing operating system that you want to replace with Windows XP Professional.
Remote Installation Services offers a simple way to replace the operating system on a computer. RIS uses the Single Instance Store (SIS) method to eliminate duplicate files and to reduce the overall storage that is required on the server for system files. You can also use the Riprep option to install and configure a client computer to comply with specific corporate desktop standards.
The following list describes some of the important advantages of using RIS:
You can standardize your Windows XP Professional installation.
You can customize and control the end-user installation. You can configure the end-user Setup Wizard with specific choices that can be controlled by using Group Policy. For more information about Group Policy, see Connecting Clients to Windows Networks in this book.
You do not need to distribute physical media, and image size is not constrained by the capacity of distributed physical media.
You can use Remote Installation Services only on client computers that are connected to a network that is running Windows 2000 Server with Active Directory. RIS is restricted to working on computers that are equipped with PCI-compliant network adapters that are enabled for PXE technology, or with the Remote Boot Floppy Generator (Rbfg.exe) that is used to create a remote boot disk that can be used with supported PCI-compliant network adapters. RIS only works with images that have been created from drive C, and RIS cannot use images of other partitions on a hard disk. You cannot use RIS to upgrade an operating system; you can only use RIS for clean installations.
Systems Management Server (SMS) includes an integrated set of tools for managing Windows-based networks consisting of thousands of computers. Systems Management Server includes desktop management and software distribution tools to automate operating system upgrades.
In organizations that already use Systems Management Server to manage computers from a central location, SMS provides a convenient means for administrators to upgrade computers to Windows XP Professional.
You can only use Systems Management Server for upgrades of Windows-based client computers; you cannot use SMS for clean installations. For information about how administrators can plan for and implement a Windows XP Professional deployment by using Systems Management Server, see the Microsoft Systems Management Server link on the Web Resources page at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/reskits/webresources
You can upgrade computers in a locked-down or low-rights environment, and even upgrade computers after hours, without the user being logged on. Systems Management Server enables you to set deployment policies for specific client computers. Automatic load balancing between distribution points accommodates many concurrent upgrades.
As a primary advantage, Systems Management Server offers centralized control of the upgrade. For example, you can control when upgrades take place, which computers to upgrade, and how to apply network constraints.
Systems Management Server is an efficient deployment tool for Windows XP Professional only if SMS is already being used within your network.
Table 2-3 provides the locations of the tools and related information.
Tool or Documentation | Go To |
---|---|
Winnt32.exe | \i386 on the Windows XP Professional operating system CD. |
System Preparation tool (Sysprep.exe) | Deploy.cab in the\Support\Tools folder on the Windows XP Professional operating system CD. You can use Windows Explorer or you can run Extract.exe to extract Setupmgr.exe. |
Remote Installation Services | Included in Windows 2000 Server. |
Systems Management Server | Systems Management Server product CD. |
Setup Manager (Setupmgr.exe) | Deploy.cab in the \Support\Tools folder on the Windows XP Professional operating system CD. You can use Windows Explorer or you can run Extract.exe to extract Setupmgr.exe. |
Microsoft Windows XP Preinstallation Reference (Ref.chm) | Deploy.cab in the \Support\Tools folder on the Windows XP Professional operating system CD. You can use Windows Explorer or you can run the Extract.exe command to extract and view the Ref.chm file. |
Microsoft Windows Corporate Deployment Tools User s Guide (Deploy.chm) | Deploy.cab in the \Support\Tools folder on the Windows XP Professional operating system CD. You can use Windows Explorer or you can run Extract.exe to extract and view the Deploy.chm file. |