Now that you have had a few weeks to test out the public Windows 7 beta, it’s time to think about how you’re going to deploy the goodness out to all your users. Fortunately the fine people at the Microsoft’s Solutions Accelerator group are on the ball. Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 is already in beta. This edition of MDT will provide support for Windows 7 as well as Windows Server 2008 R2.

Some enhancements in MDT are:

Support for USMT 4.0. USMT or User State Migration Tools is like an extremely powerful user data migration tool. You can capture information from the hard drive, the registry, and other Windows data unique to specific users. Once the data has been captured a new OS can be deployed and then data can be restored. New in 4.0 is the ability to pull user data from offline media. This means that if something was lost, or the USMT state capture definitions change we can rerun the USMT capture against a backup image or even a Windows.old directory. A little known fact about the Vista/Win7 upgrade process is that the User state is first captured and then a clean installation of Windows is imaged to the computer. So for those who prefer to always “clean” install even upgrading provides a clean install experience now.

Support for the DISM (DISM.exe) tool. This tool combines the functionality of several tools. Including ImageX Package Manager (Pkgmgr.exe), the International Settings Configuration Tool (Intlcfg.exe), and the Windows PE command-line tool (PEimg.exe). With this tool you can mount WIM files, inject drivers and add in language packs, perform offline servicing, and many other useful tasks.

Finally the Windows Automated Installation Kit or WAIK has added the ability to create bootable VHD drives, (now that we can boot from a VHD drive we’ll need a way to make them bootable!)

Currently the only scenario being supported by Windows 7 is Lite touch deployment. As development on Windows 7 continues I’m positive will start to see the zero touch installation take shape around the SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager)

To download MDT 2010 beta you need to apply to the beta on Microsoft Connect: http://connect.microsoft.com

A few weeks ago I posted about some of the tools Microsoft provides to help establish the costs and saving that deploying Vista can bring. One of the issues that I have is how do we get the numbers to fill in those forms; well MS has you covered there too. This tool is really useful.

With the MS Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator you can scan the computers in your network for information such as which OS and Service pack they are running, and if they are good candidates to upgrade to Vista. There are even some tools geared towards migrating your servers to 2008, and qualifying workloads that are good for virtualization. You can also generate some really nifty reports. These reports save a ton of time, and can help in presenting information to the managers in your life. In short this tool was designed with lazy admins in mind!

Note: When you install MS APSA you also need to install SQL server, and the installer will automatically download and install it for you during the installation. You also need a copy of Word 2007 and Excel 2007 for document generation.

The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solutions Accelerator

Once you have installed the MS APSA you can scan your network using the AD, NetBIOS names, or by specifying an IP subnet,

Once you have finished scanning your computers you'll be presented with reports, mostly organized in Excel spreadsheets. The reports contain detailed information about the computers scanned.

Reports are generated that cover a wide spectrum of information about upgrading your infrastructures including:

Assessment Results for Client Computers

This worksheet provides a summary of Windows Vista readiness information for computers that are already running a Microsoft Windows client operating system. For more detailed hardware inventory data, refer to the Hardware Inventory worksheet. For rows that report "Insufficient Data" refer to the WMI Status column for more information about why inventory data could not be collected.

Hardware Inventory Results for All Computers

This worksheet describes the complete inventory and assessment results. This includes the following information: basic information about the computer, Windows Vista readiness information, domain information, asset tracking information, and system hardware details.

Device Assessment Summary

This worksheet summarizes the hardware devices discovered on computers. It identifies whether a driver is available on the Windows Vista DVD, from Windows Update, or if you need to contact the hardware manufacturer to identify if a driver is available for Windows Vista. This summary worksheet has a row for each discovered device and provides the number of computers where the device was found. To identify the specific devices on each computer, refer to the Device Inventory Details Worksheet.

Device Assessment Details

This worksheet describes the hardware devices discovered on each specific computer. It identifies whether a driver is available on the Windows Vista DVD, from Windows Update, or if you need to contact the hardware manufacturer to identify if a driver is available for Windows Vista. A report generated with Microsoft Excel 2003 will display only the first 65,536 rows.

Windows Vista Capable Computers After Hardware Upgrades

This worksheet describes computers that are not currently able to run Windows Vista, and the hardware upgrades required for them to be Windows Vista Capable.

Windows Vista Premium Ready Computers After Hardware Upgrades

This worksheet describes computers that are not currently able to run Windows Vista or are already Windows Vista Capable. This worksheet provides the hardware upgrades required for the computers to be Windows Vista Premium Ready.

Discovered Applications

This worksheet describes the applications discovered through the inventory process and provides a count of the number of times that inventory found a particular version of the software.

The solution accelerator also generates a highly detailed report based on the information retrieved from the network scan. This includes a gap analysis so you can get a good idea of what steps to take.

Finally you can even run performance benchmarks on a list of computers (you need to prepare the list in a text file) So that you can gage the load that workstations and servers are under in order to determine how they should be upgraded, and if they are good candidates for virtualizaiton.

The best part about this application is it's FREE! You can download the applications here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=67240B76-3148-4E49-943D-4D9EA7F77730&displaylang=en

Don't forget to check out the Windows Springboard website which contains a ton of great resources for deploying Vista: http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=8418918

One last thing, I have a bunch of copies of Windows Vista SP1 Ultimate, to get your copy all you need to do is post your Springboard related question or comment in our TLA forums: http://thelazyadmin.com/forums/25/ShowForum.aspx At the end of this week I will send out a copy of Vista to the most thought provoking post. So don't just sit there get posting!

Microsoft has released a patch 1 for BDD 2007. This patch fixes a bunch of bugs. (I’m not sure if it fixed the XP partition bug that I mention in my earlier guides, I’ll find out in the next few days as I test it out.)

Update 07/09/2007: After testing you still need to use the workaround found in Building a Windows XP Image in BDD 2007 Part 1

You can get the patch here:

http://support.microsoft.com/?id=937191

The link also provides additional information on what has been fixed. 

I have had a lot of people ask me about capturing a custom image manually using ImageX. First before I go into details on how to do this let me just point out a few things first.

1) You can use the process we went through previously to recapture a custom iteratively. Meaning you can slowly build up your image as you like using the custom tasks in the builds node to perform customer installs of customizations.

2) If you choose to manually customize an image make sure that you run sysprep, or use a utility like newsid to generalize the install before joining it to a domain or network. Note: Microsoft PSS does not support using New Sid so really you should use Sysprep to generalize your image.

Note: Generalizing an image means removing data about the Windows install that makes it unique. Usually this means removing the SID, and the name of the computer. The most important element here is the SID you really don’t want to machines with the same SID living in your network

The first thing we need to do before capturing our image is get a generic version of WinPE up and running on our WDS server. (Or burnt to a bootable CD)

• To do this we first need to create a generic version of WindowsPE.
• In the BDD workbench open the Deploy node.
• Click on Deployment points.
• Double click on the Lab option in the details pane.
• This will bring up the Lab Properties. Choose the Windows PE tab.
• Check off the Generate generic flat bootable ISO image, and the Generic bootable RAM disk ISO image.
• Click OK.

Right click on LAB and click choose Update.

This will build the Generic Windows PE.

Now if you look in the \Distribution\boot folder on your BDD drive you should notice a Generic_x86.wim and .iso has been created. (or X64 if you are deploying to 64bit.)

Open Windows Deployment Services

• Right Click on Boot Images then click add boot image.
• Click browse,
• browse to the Distribution\boot folder.
• Choose the Generic_x86.wim file.

• Click open.
• Click Next
• Click Next
• Click Next
• The Image will be added to the WDS service. When it’s done click Finish.

You should now see the Generic Windows PE image in the details pane.

Now go to the PC that has your customized XP image. Boot the PC using the PXE network boot. (Or use your Generic Windows PE boot up cd you burnt from ISO)

Once you have booted up you will now be presented with a boot manager menu. You can choose to boot using the Lite Touch Windows PE or the Generic Windows PE.

Choose Generic Windows PE and hit Enter.

Once the Generic PE image has booted up to the command prompt we need to Map the distribution share on the BDD server:

Net use m: \\<BDD_server>\ditribution$

M: is an arbitrary value. You may use whatever letter works best for you. You will be prompted for valid credentials to log into the server.

Type “m:” to switch the prompt over to the newly mapped drive.

Cange Directories into the Tools\x86 folder. This is where you can find ImageX:

ImageX creates file based images of your hard drive. This is great especially if you want to perform offline servicing. That is updating OS images with drivers and files without rebuilding the entire install image.

To create an image a typical command would be:

Imagex /compress maximum /capture c:\ m:\captures\custom.wim “custom_image_1″

This will create a new wim file called “custom.wim” with an image in the wim file call “custom_image_1″ it will also use maximum compression. To see all the options for imageX check out the very useful help file included with the Windows AIK documentation.

To restore the Image use the /apply switch:

imagex /apply m:\captures\custom.wim 1 c:\ /verify

BDD allows you to automate the installation of base applications as part of the image building or deployment process.

This is really useful if your company can’t afford an application management suite like SMS or Alteris. This functionality is also helpful if you want to automate the way a base application is installed in your image (for instance Microsoft Office).

To add an application into your build/deployment process click the Distribution Share->Applications branch. In the actions pane click “New” This will start the new Applications Wizard.

We will setup Adobe Acrobat Reader 8. This application is pretty common on most corporate installs. For this install we will choose the first installation option “Application with source files”. This will allow us to specify an application that is installed from an installer package. If we wanted to install an application that is launched form a shortcut. (network installed apps) we can use the second option seen in the following image.

Next select a folder where the necessary installation source files are stored. Make sure you have all the necessary installation files needed to install the application. in the root of the folder you choose. Some applications will have a more complex folder structure in in their installation media. Make sure the full installation folder structure is in the root of the folder you specify. If the application is in a temporary download folder or other temporary location on your BDD server you can choose to move the installation files to your Distribution share. (C:\Distribution\Applications)

Specify a Descriptive folder name for the application. Often if you will be using multiple languages you may want to specify that in this field. Spaces are permitted, and should not cause any issues later on.

Finally specify a working directory, and the command line to install the application in and automated and or silent mode. Most applications installs now come with switch options that allow them  to be installed in an automated fashion.

If the package is a standard msi you can use “msiexec /quiet /norestart install_package.msi”

Some packages may require an MST of a Microsoft Transform File. A good example of this is Office 2003. In order to make an MST file you usually need a packaging software, or in the case of Office the Office Resource Kit has tools to help with this. We will cover packaging Office for BDD in a future article.

Once we have added the package to our BDD workbench we can try it out in our image build/deployment process.

During the “Deployment Wizard” any applications we have added will appear in during the wizard interview process. We can pick and choose the applications we want to install.

When the deployment process enters the “Install Applications” stage the applications will be installed

A side note for XP installs:

It is recommended in the BDD documentation to use the applications feature in BDD to install Hotfixes and roll-ups.

This post will go over adding an XP WIM image to your BDD 2007 server and installing XP from a WIM based build.

First make sure that your Windows XP was properly installed.

BDD will bring your through the basic install launched from the GUI.

Next you will see the text based installation: 

Finally the GUI setup portion will commence.

BDD Light touch wizard will execute the tasks specified in the build Tasks tab.

Sysprep will run on the workstation once all the tasks are completed. This may take a while. Also I have noticed a small bug where you sometimes have to manually set the current window context to the System Management Server dialog box. If you notice it’s taking a long really long time (30 minutes +) Just click in the Window.

The computer will then reboot into WinPE and capture the image to the capture share on the BDD server.

If you open the Distribution folder on your BDD server and browse to Captures you can see the newly created WIM Image.

The first step to deploying Windows XP with a WIM image is to add it to the operating systems in BDD.

• Click Operating Systems
• in the actions pane click new.
• In the first New OS Wizard panel choose the “Custom Image File” option. and click “Next”
• In the next panel, Click Browse and choose the wim image found in the Captures folder. If you want to move the image file when you integrate it check the Move Check box. Click “Next”
• Choose “Setup files are not needed” Click “Next”
• Change the destination directory name should it be necessary, then click Copy, or Move if you’re moving the file.

You should now see the Windows XP based WIM image in your Operating systems details pane.

Now we need to create a new build for the WIM based Windows XP.

• Click Builds
• in the actions pane click new.
• Provide a Build ID, Build Name, and Build comments Click Next
• Enter in the proper product VLK product KEY. Click Next
• Enter the Full Name, Organization and IE home page desired. Click Next.
• Enter a local admin password. Click Create.

This will create a new Build based on the WIM image. Before moving forward. There is one point that should be made. Because the WIM image is an image of a syspreped Windows XP, The first time we boot up a workstation that we applied the image to the workstation will run the Mini Setup mode. This mode is a special GUI only mode of Windows Setup. By using the WIM image we can skip a large portion of the Windows XP install process. The only thing we need to keep in mind is that the setup process that kicks off during the Mini setup is not automated by the unattend.txt file. It is driven by the Sysprep.inf. This is important to note because BDD cannot alter the setup process that takes place in the mini-setup, so your only way to customize that part if the installation is to use the Sysprep.inf file. (Going back to the example we used in the first bdd article you may need to modify this file if your using certain SATA drivers).

Finally because we are deploying Windows XP we need to re-insert the WinPE 2.0 fix we saw in the first article into the task lists. This will again ensure that the partitioning is done correctly.

That’s it! We can now deploy Windows XP using the WIM image. Following the same procedure we used in part 1 you can test the installation of the new WIM image.

Now for those who are still not quite sure what we did here I made a simple flow diagram to illustrate what is going on.

The first part of the excorsise we performed the following steps: (Building a Windows Image in BDD 2007 Part 1)

Next we deployed the WIM:

As you can see BDD uses the same steps for deploying and capturing images or just deploying images. The recommended approach for building your images is to build them up in an iterative process. When we create the WIM image we are still using the same process to build a Windows XP image, however we jump into the workflow at a much later point in the installation process.  (about the half way point of the GUI Based install during a regular installation) This provides a much faster way to build a new base image, or to deploy an already customized image. With Driver Injection you can even use the WIM image for most situations where you would need to create a new image to accomodate new hardware.

Let me know what you think of this BDD guidance. Post in the forums, or leave me a comment. If there is a particular element you want to know about in regards to BDD, or any topic for that matter just let me know!