I just wanted to know has anyone done any deployment testing where you timed your deployment speed in certain aspects. I am trying to test whether slipstreaming the patches into an image then deploying the image is going to be faster than just letting the install pull the patches from the server. I do know that with a slipstream there is a point during the install where the computer has to still process the patches. So maybe it will still take just as long if not longer to do that vs just letting mdt pull the needed patches.

When using MDT you will find that there is not a need for slipstreaming as you can create task sequences to handle any post installation task such as applications or Windows Updates. To start, you can create a Sysprep and Capture Task Sequence which will do exactly what it says in the title -- it will sysprep your image and then proceed to capture it for use with deployment. Next, you can create a new standard client task sequence for the newly captured image of your reference machine and you can add all your necessary settings such as domainjoin, systemlocale, time zone, etc. Then you can then add all necessary drivers specific to each hardware configuration as a post installation task and any applications you need as well.

If applicable, you can also edit the unattend.xml file of each task sequence. After you have modified each task sequence with all settings and drivers you need, you could then tie MDT into Windows Deployment Services (WDS) and push the image out via PXE boot. You can also create bootable media directly from MDT if you did not want to go the PXE boot method. Upon booting into the LiteTouchPE environment, you can select the image you wish to deploy and which task sequence you wish to use.

To become more familiar with MDT you might want to check out the following videos from the Springboard Series page on TechNet:

• Deployment Day Session 1: Introduction to MDT 2012

• Deployment Day Session 2: MDT 2012 Advanced

• Deployment Day Session 3: Deployment using WDS

Another great video that I always recommend is Alphabet Soup Deployment: Understanding MDT, WDS, MAP, ACT, SCCM, and USMT.

Hope this helps and keep us posted on your progress!

Jessica

Windows Outreach Team – IT Pro

My 2 cents

Its faster slipstreaming if you want your install done quickly, regardless it will still take the time to do it whether before or after

Like Win 7 I have 112 .msu right now after I trimmed them down removing not needed ones or the ones you can't slipstream. Imagine sitting there waiting on that. Well over an hour so it is done before to an install.wim I re-use and update once monthly