how can I setup Windows Deployment Services in Windows 2008 server

[anyweb]

hi, I've just setup Windows Deployment Services on Windows 2008 server, it wasn't by any means straightforward so I documented all the steps needed to getting this working.

Step 1. Setup and configure active directory

Step 2. Add the DHCP role

Step 3. Add the WDS role

Step 4. Configure the Windows Deployment Services gui (mmc snap in)

Step 5. Adding boot.wim and install.wim

if you follow the entire guide from start to finish you should have a working Windows 2008 WDS server on one box

the entire article (lengthy including screenshots of each step in detail) is here

once you have completed it, you will be able to deploy Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 from a Windows Server 2008 box (and more)

cheers

anyweb

Edited May 9, 2008 by anyweb

[amit_talkin]

thnx, i have read all of ur guides, and successfully initiated network boot.

but after loading winpe from network, it says "wdsclient: there was a problem initializing WDS mode".

i have followed all steps as u have given in ur guides.

can u help me with this one?

after all ur guide is easy to understand and clear. thnx again for it.

Amit

Edited May 14, 2008 by amit_talkin

[anyweb]

are you doing this in a virtual environment or something ? please tell me what your setup is like

cheers

anyweb

[amit_talkin]

Hi,

sorry for late reply.

actually i m doing it in virtual environment.

I have setup WDS Server on Windows 2008, which is host os. and have setup VMware workstation on it.

now vmware boots up with pxeboot and loads winpe from wds...but after loading winpe it says

"WDS Client : There was a problem initializing WDS Mode"

i think there are network drivers missing , is it so?

can u tell me how to get this working?

thnx

Amit

[anyweb]

is there any possibility that you could try pxe booting a computer to the WDS server using traditional (non virtual) methods ? just to rule out the error messae ?

cheers

anyweb

[amit_talkin]

actually it worked fine in virtual environment . i setup win 2008 on vmware and made it a WDS server.

now created another VMachine on vmware to PXE boot it to WDS Server. it worked fine this time.

anyways...i will solve this problem on real environment. but i have few questions.

I m just starting to learn about WDS. so i wanna ask few questions

1. I have about 500 computers to deploy using WDS. is it good to install OS from server for 500 PCs?

if yes, what should be preferred hardware requirements for the WDS server.

2. I want some info about multicasting and unicasting on WDS.

3. I have OEM licenses for Windows XP SP2 on all machines. I havent used OEM licenses ever. so i want to know that how to automate WDS installation on each pc with their unique product key? do i need separate answer files for each pc?

this time only 3 question, I will add more ..

kindly help me out plz

Amit

[anyweb]

a wds server will need loads of STORAGE space for those big images, plus lots of cpu power,

here's a multicasting guide i've just put together for Windows Server 2008 WDS

and as regards the OEM keys, as far as i'm aware mass deployment of an OEM product would use an OEM VLK, the oem key on the side of the box itself is only needed when reinstalling by hand....

cheers

anyweb

[amit_talkin]

thnx "anyweb" for providing info.

your forum having nice guides abt deployments

may i ask the diff. between multicast PXE boot and normal PXE boot?

i still cant figure it out. :|

Amit

[anyweb]

may i ask the diff. between multicast PXE boot and normal PXE boot?

sure, they both work in a similar way, you PXE boot the client as normal, but depending on what image you select decides upon the next actions

for a Multicast image the process is outlined here

After PXE boots to the server, you have two choices to make, the first is the boot image (as defined in boot images in WDS mmc) and the second is Install image (as defined in the install images in WDS mmc)

so here is the PXE process,

pressing F12 to pxe boot to the server, once connected you'll see the Windows Boot Manager menu

It listed three choices for me

Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Ultimate - Multicast

Microsoft Windows Longhorn Setup (x86)

CAPTURE an image (WDS)

the choices are defined in the boot images section of WDS mmc.

I chose the first option

After Windows PE boots up, the Install Image needs to be selected, and as part of that process you'll see that you have to do as follows:-

choose local/keyboard layout

login to your domain

select the image (I selected the image called multicast-install-image which I created earlier by capturing an sysprepped Vista sp1 image in WDS)

you'll be asked where do you want to install windows, then

'waiting for server' will appear briefly (waiting for the Multicast transmission)

a regular PXE boot to a WDS server for a non multicast transmission would simply pull down the image one computer at a time, thereby adding to the load on the server and the network,

with Multicast, the server broadcasts the image once and all clients have to 'join in' on that transmission, if they miss it (or part of it) then they have to wait until the transmission starts again (kind of like a round about)

does that make it any clearer ?

Edited May 21, 2008 by anyweb

[gotenks98]

I am actually trying to do something similar with this. I wanted to know if there was a way to deploy images with pxe but not have the new machines added to the domain initially. There are some software tweaks that always must be done before a pc is put on the domain. Anyone got ideas?

[dexter.inside]

I am actually trying to do something similar with this. I wanted to know if there was a way to deploy images with pxe but not have the new machines added to the domain initially. There are some software tweaks that always must be done before a pc is put on the domain. Anyone got ideas?

AFAIK there's an option in the WDS configuration pages for that.