When considering deployment options for medium-to-large desktop deployments, you will find automated installations to be faster, easier, less expensive, and more consistent than manual installations. Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP provide several automated installation methods for automated operating system deployment. The following sections discuss unattended installations, Sysprep Installations, and RIS installations. Unattended InstallationThe unattended installation is an optimal deployment method when the goal is to perform a large number of installations while keeping user involvement to a minimum. Preparing for an unattended installation begins with creating the answer file that contains answers to the installation questions that are prompted by Windows Setup. Creating an answer file can be done using a text editor or by using Setup Manager (Setupmgr.exe). Building an answer file with a text editor (Notepad) is faster and easier than Setup Manager, but is more prone to user error. Setup Manager will prompt for answers and build an answer file based on the responses.
After creating the answer file, a distribution share can be created on a server that the destination computers can access, which contains installations files, device drivers, and any other files required for the custom installation. A distribution share is not required for unattended installations using the operating system CD-ROM. Unattended Installation Files Unattended installation files are now located in the ref.chm file located in the deploy.cab file. In Windows 2000 the unattended installation information was found in unattended.doc. To perform a clean unattended installation from the operating system CD-ROM, perform the following steps:
To perform a clean unattended installation with MS-DOS startup disk perform the following steps:
Using the Systems Preparation Tool (Sysprep) for Server ImagesThe Systems Preparation Tool (Sysprep) is the optimal tool when performing image-based installations with the identical operating system and software configuration on multiple computers as quickly as possible. Sysprep allows for hardware and software differences among computers, minimizes end-user interaction, and reduces the number of images needed. There are four modes of operation for Sysprep in Windows XP:
When preparing the master installation always start with a clean installation of the operating system and any software applications needed. Be sure to create the master installation on drive C. Also, confirm that the HAL on the master computer is compatible with the HAL of the destination computers. A typical scenario for creating a master image would be to first run sysprep -factory on a clean installation creating your base master image. By rebooting the system in Factory Mode you can then install any software, drivers, or configuration changes required. When all installation and configuration has been completed run Sysprep -reseal to remove machine-specific information such as the SID, computer name , and so on. The system is now ready to be imaged and deployed en masse to multiple workstations, which requires using a third-party tool. Some of the advantages of the Sysprep utility include the following:
Deploying Server Images with Remote Installation ServiceWindows Server 2003 includes a server and workstation imaging and deployment product called Remote Installation Service (RIS). RIS can be used to store multiple images on a RIS Server, which can then be downloaded over a network connection to the client computer. RIS is very handy, but before desktops are deployed using this product, some testing and planning should be performed. Installing RIS is a fairly simple process but planning your RIS deployment begins with the installation of RIS itself. As a best practice install RIS and RIS images on separate physical disks than the operating system to improve imaging performance. Planning how the RIS server will be used can help ensure a successful implementation. Considerations for RIS include deciding how many systems the RIS server should deliver installation images to simultaneously . Upon initial configuration, consider what the appropriate number of RIS servers will be for the environment. A small, nonrouted, LAN environment, for example, would require only a single RIS server to service all requests up to any network bandwidth or server resource limitations that might exist. In a routed environment set the DHCP forwarding option to allow routers to forward client requests to the RIS servers. Do not use RIS over low-speed links. Offices located on the WAN over a slow link will require their own RIS server. Use the settings that are available when prestaging the client machine to direct the client to be serviced by the RIS server that is in closest proximity on the network to it. Another consideration during the initial configuration is that restricting installation options increases the number of successful operating systems that can be completed without assistance from the administrator. The default is one installation option and one operating system option to the user. RIS client computers must support remote boot either with a boot-up disk or using Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE) on compatible systems. Follow best practices for Network Security on any network that includes PXE-enabled computers. Because RIS servers will try to deliver the image to clients as fast as the network can handle, limit RIS server access to LAN clients to avoid having the RIS server saturate WAN links while imaging client computers. Storage is always a big concern for imaging servers and third-party imaging software stores each image in a separate file, which can take up a lot of storage space. Although many times these image files compress fairly well, RIS stores images in their native file formats and replaces duplicate files with file pointers or links to save storage space. Also, during this process the first installation image will be created. This image is based on a clean OS installation of the particular operating system version. For example, a Windows XP Professional CD could be used for the first image on a Windows Server 2003 RIS server. Advantages of RIS include the following:
Use Remote Boot Floppy Generator Use Remote Boot floppy Generator (Rbfg.exe) to create remote boot disks for client computers that are not PXE-based. Rbfg.exe can be found on the RIS server at \\ RISServerName \RemoteInstall\Admin\i386\Rbfg.exe. |