Install & Setup WDS on Windows 2008 R2
Overview
Windows Deployment Services or WDS has been included with sever for some time now since Server 2008.
Installing and configuring the PXE boot can be a bit tricky at times but I have prepared a short guide on how to achieve this.
This forms the base requirement for WDS or Windows Deployment Toolkit which will be covered later.
Installing the WDS Server Role
1.
Install the Windows Deployment Services role by
going to Server Manager->Roles->Add Roles. Ensure the Deployment Server
and Transport server Role Services are both selected.
2.
Open up the WDS Console, expand the Servers node
and right click on the WDS server that has the role and select Configure
Server.
3.
Click Next. Specify a path for the RemoteInstall
folder which will hold all the boot & install images as well as the
unattend files. Choose a separate drive from C: id possible. Click Next.
4.
Select Do not listen on port 67 and Configure DHCP option 60 to PXE client
if the DHCP server runs on the same server as WDS, other wise configure the
following on the DHCP server:
a.
DHCP Option 66 TFTP Server: <I.P address of the WDS server>
b.
DHCP Option 67 Boot file name:
boot\x86\wdsnbp.com
5.
Click Next and select Respond to all client computers (known and unknown) and tick Require administrator approval. Click
Next
6.
Unselect Add
images to the server now and click Finish
7.
Right click Boot
Images and select Add boot image…
Follow the prompts to add sources\boot.wim from the Windows 7/8/10 install media.
Choose an appropriate name. Once complete the boot image will be imported and
then displayed under Boot Images.
8.
Select the newly added boot image, right click
and select Create Capture Image…. Follow
the prompts to save the image under C:\RemoteInstall. Add this image also (by
repeating step 7.) . This will allow clients to boot up to capture (instead of
install) an image.
9.
Rick click Install
Images and select Add Image Group.
Choose an appropriate name e.g. Win7Pro X64 for new Office Staff
10.
Right click Install
Images and select Add Install image…
Follow the prompts to add a captured .WIM image of Windows 7/8 to an
appropriate image group. Once complete the image will be imported then
displayed under the image group.
11.
Select the WDS server , right click and select
Properties. Select the AD DS tab and ensure an appropriate Client Naming Policy
is set to automatically name new clients and an AD OU is specified where the
computer accounts are to be created.
12.
Ensure the client can boot into the WDS service
by hitting F12 to PXE boot.
13.
Select the Pending Devices node and hit F5 to
refresh. To approve & pre-stage the waiting client into Active Directory (and allow it to
download the WinPE bootdisk), right click the waiting client and select Approve or Name and Approve. The Client Naming Policy will be used when
Approve is selected. Additionally, Approve
all can be selected (after clicking an empty space in the Pending Approvals
window) if multiple clients are waiting.
14.
Ensure the computer is being created in AD. If
an error occurs, ensure the WDS server account has sufficient permissions to
create a computer account in AD.
Preparing the Build to Capture the Image
1.
Under Windows 7, run sysprep with the following
command: sysprep /generalize /oobe
/unattend:unattend.xml
2.
Use the following XML file configuration for RDS.
Ensure the ComputerName value includes %MACHINENAME%
so that the pre-staged computer name can be used to join the domain.
3.
Boot up using a Windows PE disc with imagex or
the Capture Image boot image via PXE to create an image of the machine in .wim
format.
4.
Upload the image once completed to the WDS
server under the Image Group (under Install Images)
Capturing using WDS Image Capture
1.
Boot the machine via PXE by hitting F12 and
select Image Capture from the boot menu
2.
Once the Windows PE environment loads click Next
to begin the Windows Deployment Services Image Capture Wizard.
3.
Select the Volume to capture, enter Image name and enter an Image description
then click next.
NOTE: If the volume has not been Syspreped,
it will not display.
4.
Select a Name & Location (local or UNC path)
to save the .WIM image by clicking Browse.
5.
Additionally, select the check box to upload
Image to WDS server and enter the WDS server name then click connect. Enter an
account with permissions to upload to the WDS server and select the appropriate
image group to add the image to. Click
Next to begin the capture
6.
When complete, click Finish.
Comments
Post a Comment