Planning Server Deployments

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Lesson 1

Skills Matrix
Technology Skill

Objective Domain

Objective #

Installing Microsoft
Assessment and
Planning Solution
Accelerator

Plan server
installations and
upgrades

1.1

Understanding the
Deployment Process

Plan for automated

server deployment

1.2

Server Deployment
When planning a server deployment
for a large enterprise network, the
operating system edition you choose
for your servers must be based on
multiple factors, including the
following:
The hardware in the computers.
The features and capabilities you
require for your servers.
The price of the operating system
software.

Windows Server 2008 Editions

Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows

Server
Server
Server
Server

2008
2008
2008
2008

Web
Standard
Enterprise
Datacenter

Windows Server 2008 Web

Designed specifically for computers
functioning as Internet or intranet Web
servers.
Includes all of the Internet Information
Services 7 capabilities, but it cannot
function as an Active Directory domain
controller, and it lacks some of the other
features found in the other editions as
well.
The licensing terms for this product forbid
you to run client/server applications that
are not Web-based.

Windows Server 2008 Standard

The Standard edition includes nearly
the full set of Windows Server 2008
features, lacking only some high-end
components, such as server
clustering and Active Directory
Federation Services.
Standard edition is also limited to
computers with up to 4 GB of RAM (in
the x86 version) and up to four
processors.

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise

The Enterprise edition includes the
full set of Windows Server 2008
features, and supports computers
with up to eight processors and up to
64 GB of RAM (in the x86 edition).
Enterprise also supports up to four
virtual images with Hyper-V (in the
64-bit version) and an unlimited
number of network connections.

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter

Designed for large and powerful
servers with up to 64 processors and
fault tolerance features such as hot
add processor support.
This edition is available only from
original equipment manufacturers
(OEMs), bundled with a server.

Processor Support
Each of the editions support x86 and
x64 processors.
There is also a Window Server 2008
for Itanium-Based Systems and
Windows HPC Server 2008.

Server Core
Windows Server 2008 includes an
installation option that gives a
stripped-down version of the
operating system.
There is no Start menu, no desktop
Explorer shell, no Microsoft
Management Console, and virtually
no graphical applications.
All you see when you start the
computer is a single window with a
command prompt.

Server Core
To work with a Server Core computer,
you must rely primarily on:
The extensive collection of command
prompt tools Microsoft includes with
Windows Server 2008.
Use MMC consoles on another system
to connect to the server.

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution

Accelerator (MAP)

Deploying Windows Server 2008 on a

large network can often mean
evaluating a large number of existing
servers, to determine whether they
have the appropriate hardware for
the operating system.
Microsoft Assessment and
Planning Solution Accelerator
(MAP) is a new tool that adds to the
capabilities of its predecessor,
Windows Vista Hardware Assessment
Solution Accelerator, so that you can

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution

Accelerator (MAP)

MAP is essentially a database

application based on Microsoft SQL
Server 2005 Express, a scaled-down,
free version of SQL Server 2005.
MAP can run on the 32-bit version of
the following operating systems:
Windows Vista
Windows XP Professional with Service
Pack 2
Windows Server 2003 R2

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution

Accelerator (MAP)

The Microsoft Assessment and

Planning Solution Accelerator Setup Wizard

The Microsoft Assessment and

Planning Solution Accelerator Console

The Create or Select a Database To Use

Dialog box

The Select Reports and Proposals Page

The Choose Computer

Discovery Methods Page

The Specify Active Directory Options

Page

The Use the Windows Networking Protocols

Page

The Import Computer Names

From a File Page

The Scan an IP Address Range Page

The Inventory Account Dialog Box

The Assessment Wizard Status Window

The MAP Console

The WS2008 Proposal File

The WS2008 Hardware Assessment

File

The WS2008 Role Assessment File

Windows Deployment Server

Microsoft provides a variety of tools
that enable network administrators
to deploy the Windows operating
systems automatically, using filebased images.
Windows Deployment Services
(WDS) enables you to perform
unattended installations of Windows
Server 2008 and other operating
systems on remote computers, using
network-based boot and installation
media.

Windows Deployment Server

The client computer must have a network
adapter that supports a preboot
execution environment (PXE).
In a PXE, the computer, instead of booting
from a local drive, connects to a server on
the network and downloads the boot files
it needs to run.
In the case of a WDS installation, the client
downloads a boot image file that loads
Windows PE (Preinstallation
Environment) 2.1, after which it installs
the operating system by using another

Installing Windows Deployment

Services
To use WDS, you must install the Windows
Deployment Services role, configure the
service, and add the images you want to
deploy.
WDS is a standard role that you can install
from the Initial Configuration Tasks window
or the Server Manager console.
The Windows Deployment Services role
includes the following two role services:
Deployment Server
Transport Server

Windows Deployment Services

Prerequisites
Windows Deployment Services role, but
the role has several other prerequisites, as
follows:
Active Directory The Windows
Deployment Services computer must be a
member of, or a domain controller for, an
Active Directory domain.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
(DHCP) The network must have an
operational DHCP server that is accessible
by the WDS clients.
Domain Name Service (DNS) A DNS
server must be on the network for the WDS
server to function.

The Windows Deployment Services

Console

The Remote Installation Folder

Location Page

The DHCP Option 60 Page

The PXE Server Initial Settings Page

The Configuration Complete Page

Image Files
Windows Deployment Services
requires two types of image files to
perform remote client installations:
Boot image
Install image

Boot Image
A boot image contains the files
needed to boot the computer and
initiate an operating system
installation.
The Windows Server 2008
installation DVD includes a boot
image file called boot.wim, located
in the \Sources folder, which loads
Windows PE 2.1 on the client
computer.
You can use this boot image file for
virtually any operating system

Install Image
Contains the operating system that WDS
will install on the client computer.
Windows Server 2008 includes a file
named install.wim in the \Sources folder
on the installation DVD.
This file contains install images for
different operating system editions.
You can apply these images to a new
computer to perform a standard Windows
Server 2008 setup, just as if you had used
the DVD to perform a manual installation.

The Image File Page

The Image Metadata Page

The Image Group Page

The List of Available Images Page

Custom DHCP Option

When you are using another
computer as your DHCP server, you
should clear the Do Not Listen on
Port 67 and Configure DHCP Option
60 to PXEClient checkboxes on the
DHCP Option 60 page of the Windows
Deployment Services Configuration
Wizard.
When you are using an external
DHCP server, you must also
configure it manually to include the
custom option that provides WDS

The DHCP Console

The Predefined Options and Values

Dialog Box

The Option Type Dialog Box

The Server Options Dialog Box

Creating Image Files

An install image is basically a snapshot of
a computers hard drive taken at a
particular moment in time.
The image file contains all of the operating
system files on the computer, plus any
updates and drivers you have installed,
applications you have added, and
configuration changes you have made.
Creating your own image files is
essentially a matter of setting up a
computer the way you want it and then
capturing an image of the computer to a

Creating Image Files

You can use several tools to create image
files, including the ImageX.exe command
line utility Microsoft provides in the
Windows AIK, which is available from the
Microsoft Downloads Center at
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads.
To use ImageX.exe, you must boot the
target computer to Windows PE and run
the tool from the command line.
The Windows Deployment Center console
provides another method for creating
image files, using the same WDS
infrastructure you used to install images.

The Create Capture Image Wizard

Using Answer Files

WDS by itself enables you to perform a
standard operating system installation, but
the setup process is still interactive,
requiring someone at the workstation.
To perform an unattended installation
using WDS, you must use answer files,
sometimes known as unattend files.
An answer file is a script containing
responses to all of the prompts that
appear on the WDS client computer during
the installation process.
To create answer files, Microsoft
recommends using the Windows System
Image Manager (Windows SIM) tool in the
Windows AIK.

The Client Tab of a

WDS Servers Properties Sheet

The Image Properties Sheet

The Select Unattend File Dialog Box

Windows Automated Installation Kit

(AIK)
A set of tools and documents that
enable network administrators to
plan, create, and deploy operating
system image files to new computers
on the network.
Windows AIK is not included with
Windows Server 2008.
Must be downloaded from
Microsoft.com.

Windows Automated Installation Kit

(AIK)
ImageX.exe
Windows Preinstallation Environment
(Windows PE)
Windows Recovery Environment
(Windows RE)
Windows System Image Manager
(Windows SIM)

Sysprep.exe
Strips away unique elements such as
Computer name, Security Identifier
(SID) and Driver Cache.
Used on reference computer before
image is taken.
Sysprep is included with Windows
Server 2008.

Deployment Process
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Build a lab environment.

Create an answer file.
Build a master installation.
Create an image.
Deploy the image.

Installing the Windows AIK

The Select Installation Folder Page

Creating an Answer File

Once you have installed Windows
AIK, you can use Windows System
Image Manager to create the answer
file for your master computer
installation.
The master computer will be the
template for the image file you
capture later.
You are essentially building the
computer that you will clone to all of

The Windows System Image Manager

Window

The Select an Image Dialog Box

Windows System Image with Windows Image

Added

Windows System Image Manager Window

with New Answer File

Windows System Image Manager Windows

with a Settings Added to the Answer File

Summary
When planning a server deployment
for a large enterprise network, the
operating system edition you choose
for your servers must be based on
multiple factors including the
hardware in the computers, the
features and capabilities you require
for your servers, and the price of the
operating system software.

Summary
Microsoft Assessment and Planning
Solution Accelerator (MAP) is a new
tool that is capable of performing a
hardware inventory on computers
with no agent software required on
the client side and adding
information about the hardware to a
database.
MAP can then evaluate the hardware
information and create reports that
specify which computers are capable
of running Windows Server 2008.

Summary
Windows Deployment Services (WDS)
is a role included with Windows
Server 2008 that enables you to
perform unattended installations of
Windows Server 2008 and other
operating systems on remote
computers using network-based boot
and installation media.

Summary
The Windows Automated Installation
Kit (AIK) is a set of tools and
documents that enables network
administrators to plan, create, and
deploy operating system image files
to new computers on the network.

Summary
An unattend file is a script containing
responses to all of the prompts that
appear on the WDS client computer
during the installation process.
To create unattend files, Microsoft
recommends using the Windows
System Image Manager (Windows
SIM) tool in the Windows AIK.

Summary
You can use several tools to create
image files, including the ImageX.exe
command line utility Microsoft
provides in the Windows AIK.
To use ImageX.exe, you must boot
the target computer to Windows PE
and run the tool from the command
line.