Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server 2008 includes several modifications to RIS features. There are also modifications from Windows Deployment Services that you can install onto computers running Windows Server 2003.

Windows Deployment Services is intended for deployment specialists who are responsible for the deployment of Windows operating systems. This guide assumes that you have a working knowledge of common desktop deployment technologies, as well as networking components such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP), Domain Name System (DNS), and Active Directory® Domain Services (AD DS). The target audiences are:

• IT planners or analysts evaluating Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008
  
• Enterprise IT planners or designers
  
• Deployment specialists interested in deploying images to computers
  

Windows Deployment Services provides the following benefits:

• Allows network-based installation of Windows operating systems, including Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, which reduces the complexity and cost when compared to manual installations.
  
• Deploys Windows images to computers without operating systems.
  
• Supports mixed environments that include Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows XP, and Windows Server 2003.
  
• Uses standard Windows Server 2008 setup technologies, including Windows PE, .wim files, and image-based setup.
  

The following are requirements for installing this role, depending on whether you choose the default installation (both Deployment Server and Transport Server), or only the Transport Server role service.

You can install Windows Deployment Services by using the Initial Configuration Wizard, Server Manager, or the command line.

• To install the role by using the Initial Configuration Wizard, click Add roles on the Initial Configuration Tasks startup screen. Click Next and then select Windows Deployment Services.
  
• To install the role by using Server Manager, click Add roles, which is located in the Roles Summary pane. Click Next and then select Windows Deployment Services.
  
• To install the role by using the command line, run one of the following two commands:
  
  • For Deployment Server,run ServerManagerCmd -install WDS.
    
  • For Transport Server, run ServerManagerCmd -install WDS-Transport.
    

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 “Using Transport Server” at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=115298.

• Transport Server. To install this option, clear the Deployment Server check box on the second screen of the installation wizard. 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.
  
• Deployment Server. To install this option, ensure that both Deployment Server and Transport Server are selected on the second screen of the installation wizard. This option provides the full functionality of Windows Deployment Services, which you can use to configure and remotely install Windows operating systems. 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 running 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.

• Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) is not supported for this version of Windows Deployment Services.
  
• 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. Option 66 should be set to the Windows Deployment Services server, and option 67 should be set to boot\x86\wdsnbp.com. For more information, see “Managing Network Boot Programs” at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=115304.
    

To configure the server role, use the following procedure. Then see the following section to add images to the server.

1. Ensure that you are a Domain Administrator.

2. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Windows Deployment Services. If there is not a server listed under the Servers node, right-click the Servers node and click Add Server to add the local computer.

3. In the left pane of the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in, expand the list of servers.

4. Right-click the server, and then click Configure Server.

5. Follow the instructions in the wizard.

6. When the configuration is completed clear the Add images to Windows Deployment Services now check box and then click Finish.

7. If you want to modify any of the settings of the server, right-click the server in the MMC-snap in, and clicking Properties.

Now that you have configured the server, you will need to add images. These images include a boot image (which is the bootable environment that you initially boot the computer into, and the install images (which are the actual images that you deploy). For instructions, see the next section.

You must add at least one boot image and one install image before you will be able to boot to the Windows Deployment Services server and install an image.

• Boot images. Boot images are Windows PE images that you boot a client computer into to perform an operating system installation. In most scenarios, you should use the Boot.wim file from the Windows Server 2008 installation DVD (in the \Sources folder). The Boot.wim file contains Windows PE and the Windows Deployment Services client (which is essentially Windows Vista Setup.exe and supporting files).
  
• 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.

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.

5. Repeat this procedure to add any additional boot images.

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 using the steps in the following section.

• The client computer must be capable of performing a PXE boot.
  
• Your user account must be a member of the Domain Users group.
  
• The client computer must have at least 512 MB of RAM, which is the minimum amount of RAM for using Windows PE.
  
• The client must meet the system requirements for the operating system of the install image.
  

To perform a PXE boot on a computer to install an image, use the following procedure.

1. Configure the BIOS of the computer to enable PXE booting, and set the boot order so that it is booting from the network first.

2. Restart the computer, and when prompted, press F12 to start the network boot.

3. Select the appropriate boot image from the boot menu. (This boot image selection menu will be available only if you have two or more boot images on the server. For more information, see Configuring the boot menu earlier in this guide.)

4. Follow the instructions in the Windows Deployment Services user interface.

5. When the installation is completed, the computer will restart and Setup will continue.

• Only 10 boot images are visible at a time. If you have more than 10, you will have to scroll down to view the rest.
  
• Filtering of boot images on x66-based computers. There is new functionality that controls how images are filtered to users on x64-based computers. When you boot into the x86 version of Boot.wim file from an x64-based computer, you will be able to choose from both x86-based and x64-based install images. However, if you boot into an x64-based Boot.wim file from the same computer, only x64-based boot images will be displayed.
  
• Use the Boot.wim from the Windows Server 2008 DVD. Do not use the Boot.wim from the Windows Vista DVD unless your version of Windows Vista has SP1 integrated into the DVD.
  
• Double-byte character sets used as image names might not be displayed properly in the boot menu. This issue pertains to localized strings. Limitations within the BIOS character sets prevent the characters from being displayed properly.
  

The following procedure outlines how to add more boot images to your server. You can also modify your boot images using the tools in the Windows AIK. For example, you can add drivers using the ImageX, PEimg.exe, and Drvload tools. For more information, see Windows PE Customization How-To Topics (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122641).

1. Open the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in.

2. Right-click the Boot Images node, and then click Add Boot Image.

3. Click Browse to locate the boot image that you want to add. The boot image must be located on the server, and it can be the same or a different architecture.

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).

You can also 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” topic at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=115305.

• You must ensure that there is enough disk space to create and store the new images.
  
• You must be a member of the Local Administrators group on the Windows Deployment Services server.
  

When you boot into the capture image, the Image Capture Wizard will start. Note the following points about this wizard:

• 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 install image; otherwise, you will not be able to capture the image. This location can be a mapped network drive but we recommend that you use a local location to avoid image corruption in the event of a network malfunction.
  

To create an install image, you must first create a capture image. Capture images are boot images that you boot a client computer into to capture the operating system into a .wim file. You can also create media (a CD, DVD, USB drive, or other type of media) that contain a capture image, and then boot a computer from the media. These images provide an alternative to the command-line utility, ImageX.exe. Except in advanced scenarios, you can create a capture image by using the Boot.wim file from the Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista with SP1 DVD. You can also use the WinPE.wim file from the Windows AIK to create a capture image, which is slightly smaller than the Boot.wim file.

1. In the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in, expand the Boot Images node.

2. Right-click the image to use it as a capture image. In most cases, you can just use the Boot.wim file from the DVD that you added in the Steps for adding images section earlier in this guide.

3. Click Create Capture Boot Image.

4. Type a name, a description, and the location where you want to save a local copy of the file. You must specify a location in case there is a problem with the network when you deploy the capture image.

5. Continue to follow the instructions in the wizard, and when it is complete, click Finish.

6. Right-click the boot image folder.

7. Click Add Boot Image.

8. Browse and select the new capture image, and then click Next.

9. Follow the instructions in the wizard.

10. After you have created the capture image, follow the instructions in the next section to boot a computer into the capture image and capture the operating system.

Now that you have a capture image, you need to prepare a reference computer and then create the install image. The reference computer can be a computer with a standard Windows installation or a Windows installation that has been configured for your environment. First, you boot a computer (which has been prepared with Sysprep) into the capture image. Then a wizard creates an install image of the reference computer and saves it as a .wim file. After that, you can deploy the .wim file to a computer.

1. Create a reference computer (install the operating system, applications, and make any other changes that you want).

2. Ensure that you have the correct version of Sysprep.exe on the computer.

3. At a command prompt on the reference computer, change folders to \Windows\System32\Sysprep or the folder that contains Sysprep.exe and Setupcl.exe.

4. Type one of the following:

   • On computers running Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, run the command sysprep /oobe /generalize /reboot. If you prefer, you can also use the Sysprep graphical user interface by double-clicking Sysprep.exe.
     
   • On computers running Windows XP, run sysprep -mini –reseal -reboot.
     

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. Note that this location can be a mapped network drive.

   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.

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.

15. Now you can PXE boot a client computer to install this image. For instructions, see Installing an install image later in this guide.

• Have CD or DVD or flash drive to store the image.
  
• Have a disk-burning utility if you are burning the image to CD or DVD.
  

After you create the discover image, create media that contains the image. You must create discover images by using the Boot.wim file from the Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista with SP1 DVD. You cannot use the WinPE.wim file from the Windows AIK to create a discover image.

1. In the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in, expand the Boot images node.

2. Right-click the image you want to use as a discover image. This must be the Boot.wim file from the Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista with SP1 DVD.

3. Click Create Discover Boot Image.

4. Follow the instructions in the wizard, and when it is completed, click Finish.

5. Use the following procedure to create media that contains the image.

1. Download and install the Windows AIK (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=81030).

2. Click Start, click All Programs, click Microsoft Windows AIK, and then click Windows PE Tools Command Prompt.

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:\<imagename>.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:\<imagename>.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.

• Ensure that you are a member of the Local Administrators group on the Windows Deployment Services server.
  
• Ensure that you have sufficient credentials to add a computer to a domain. For more information, see “Required Permissions” at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=115301.
  

• Do not specify the UILanguage unattend setting in the Windows Deployment Services client unattend file if your install image is a Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000, or Windows XP image. In those cases, this setting does not apply and will cause an error (which causes the image selection page to appear).
  
• Windows Deployment Services management tools only assign install image unattend files 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 (for example, D:\RemoteInstall\Images\Windows XP\winxpsp2\$OEM$\$1\sysprep\sysprep.inf).
  

To automate the installation, create the appropriate unattend file depending on whether you are configuring the Windows Deployment Services screens or Windows Setup. We recommend that you use Windows System Image Manager (included as part of the Windows AIK) to author the unattend files. Then copy the unattend file to the appropriate location, and assign it for use. You can assign it at the server level or the client level. The server level assignment can further be broken down by architecture, enabling you to have different settings for x86-based and x64-based clients. Assignment at the client level overrides the server-level settings. Note that Windows Deployment Services management tools assign image unattend files for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 images only. For older operating systems, you must use your existing Sysprep.inf files and manually create a $OEM$ directory structure. For more information, see Performing Unattended Installations (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=89226) and Sample Unattend Files (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=122642).

1. Create an Unattend.xml file with settings applicable to Windows Deployment Services.

2. Copy the client unattend file to a folder in the RemoteInstall folder. For example: RemoteInstall\WDSClientUnattend.

3. Open the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in, right-click the server that contains the Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 image that you want to associate the unattend file with, and then click Properties.

4. On the Client tab, select Enable unattended installation, browse to the appropriate unattend file, and then click Open.

5. Click OK to close the Properties page.

1. Create an Unattend.xml file (for Windows Vista) or Sysprep.inf file (for earlier versions of Windows).

2. The next steps depend on which file you create:

   • Save Sysprep.inf files. Save these files to the $OEM$ structure of the image (for example, D:\RemoteInstall\Images\Windows XP\winxpsp2\$OEM$\$1\sysprep\sysprep.inf). Now when you deploy the image, Setup will automatically locate and use the Sysprep.inf file.
     
   • Save Unattend. xml files. Save Unattend.xml files to any location, and then associate the file with an image. To do this, open the MMC snap-in, right-click the image that you want to associate with the unattend file, and then click Properties. On the General tab, click Allow image to install in unattend mode, click Select File, browse to select the unattend file, and then click OK twice. The Unattend.xml file will be saved to the following location: \RemoteInstall\Images\<imagegroup>\<imagename>\Unattend\ImageUnattend.xml.
     

• Routers that support multicasting. In particular, Internet Group Membership Protocol (IGMP) snooping should be enabled on all devices. This will cause your network hardware to forward multicast packets only to those devices that are requesting data. If IGMP snooping is turned off, multicast packets are treated as broadcast packets, and will be sent to every device in the subnet.
  
• At least one install image that you want to transmit on the server
  
• The Boot.wim file from the Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista with SP1 DVD. Do not use the Boot.wim from the Windows Vista DVD unless your version of Windows Vista has SP1 integrated into the DVD. If you use the Windows Vista Boot.wim, you will be able to create the transmission, but users who boot into it will not be able to join the transmission.
  

You may encounter the following issues when implementing multicasting:

• If multiple servers are using multicast functionality on a network (Transport Server, Deployment Server, or another solution), it is important that each server is configured so that the multicast IP addresses do not collide. Otherwise, you may encounter excessive traffic when you enable multicasting. Note that each Windows Deployment Services server will have the same default range. To work around this issue, specify static ranges 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, 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, right-click the server in the MMC snap-in, click All Tasks, and then click Restart
  
• 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, open an elevated Command Prompt window and run 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.
  

To enable multicasting for an image, you must create a multicast transmission for it. You have two options for creating a transmission:

• Right-click the Multicast Transmission node, and then click Create Multicast Transmission.
  
• Right-click an image, and then click Create Multicast Transmission.
  

There are two types of multicast transmissions:

• Auto-Cast. This option indicates that as soon as an applicable client requests an install image, a multicast transmission of the selected image begins. Then, as other clients request the same image, they too are joined to the transmission that is already started.
  
• Scheduled-Cast. This option sets the start criteria for the transmission based on the number of clients that are requesting an image and/or a specific day and time. If you do not select either of these check boxes, the transmission will not start until you manually start it..
  

After a transmission has been created, you can perform 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.
  

After you have created the transmission, client computers can join it by selecting the image in the Windows Deployment Services client installation screens. Client computers can also join a transmission by using Wdsmcast.exe, a command-line tool included in the Windows AIK. When there are clients in a transmission, you can do any of the following:

• Viewclients and see progress. To view any connected clients, expand the Multicast Transmissions node, and click the image.
  
• Stop a client installation. To stop the installation completely, right-click a client and then click Disconnect. You should use this option with caution because the installation will fail and the computer could be left in an unusable state.
  
• Disconnect a client from a multicast transmission. To discontinue the transmission for a particular client but continue to transfer the image through unicasting, right-click the client, and then click Bypass multicast.