Getting Started

The goal of this guide is help you to set up Specops Deploy /OS on a single Server 2008 R2 computer, add all the necessary components to deploy Windows 7 and then deploy Windows 7 to client computers. Different scenarios, like multi Deployment Server setups, Windows XP deployments and Applications Deployment will be discussed but discussed in more detail in separate documentation.

Preparations

To complete this guide you will need the following mandatory components:

  • A computer running Windows Server 2008 R2 – This can be a physical or virtual computer, but since managing operating systems is both a disk and network intensive task both these resources should be as fast as possible.
  • The Windows 7 install media – If both x64 and x86 versions are to be deployed both media are required for obvious reasons. 
  • Drivers – If the hardware that Windows 7 is to be installed on does not natively have all required drivers, these drivers are needed. This is normally not a problem on Windows 7 since Windows 7 natively supports most hardware.
  • A computer that will be installed with Windows 7 – This is the actual where Windows 7 will be installed, the only requirement on this computer is that it have network boot (PXE) enabled (more on configuring this later). For this guide the computer should already have an operating system (preferably Windows XP or later but Windows 2000 will also work) and the computer should be joined to the Active Directory domain where these tests are to be run.
  • The downloaded setup files for Specops Deploy /OS

Specops Deploy /OS also need the following components, but these can be downloaded without charge from microsoft.com when running the Specops Deploy Setup Assistant, so they are only needed in advance if the computer where the Setup Assistant is used does not have an Internet Connection.

  • Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) for Windows 7 – This contains among other things the components needed by Specops Deploy /OS to create bootable images. The WAIK is 1.7 GB so it can take some time to download. Also the download comes as an ISO image that need be either burned to a DVD or mounted on the server where Specops Deploy /OS is installed using a tool that can mount ISO images, such as Virtual CloneDrive or Deamon Tools.
  • Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 – Specops Deploy /OS is built upon the MDT 2010 infrastructure. When downloading this, make sure to download the correct architecture for the server where Specops Deploy /OS are going to be installed, i.e. x86 or x64.

Running the Setup Assistant

The Setup Assistant is an application that will guide you thru the setup of Specops Deploy /OS, when it is complete both the Specops Deploy Image Server and the Specops Deploy /OS Admin tools will be installed and ready to use. Log on to the computer running Server 2008 R2 that will become the Deployment Server with an account that have administrative privileges. Start the downloaded Specops Deploy /OS setup and perform the following steps:

1. Select the folder where the Specops Deploy /OS setup files should be extracted to.

After the files are extracted the Setup Assistant will start automatically, but it is always possible to start the Setup Assistant again by running setup.exe from the folder where the files were extracted (or simply just run the full self extractor again). It is also possible to run the downloaded Specops Deploy setup using the parameter –nr to just extract the setup files. It is possible that a warning is displayed that .Net Framework 3.5.1 is required and a link it shown to the download location on microsoft.com, but on Server 2008 R2 .Net Framework is included as a Feature and need only to be added from the Server Manager MMC.

2. The start page of the Setup Assistant Pic1SetupAssistantStart.JPG are now displayed.

It is not necessary to add a license to run the fully functional trial version of Specops Deploy /OS for 20 days so that step will not be described in this guide. Click on the Start Installation link and accept the EULA that is displayed.

3. The Setup Assistant now scan the computer for components that are already installed.

If the latest version is detected a green check icon is displayed, otherwise and what should be the case for this guide a blue question mark is shown. Click on the Image Server Setup box Pic2SetupAssitantStartImageServerSetup.JPG to configure the Specops Deploy Image Server.

4. The Setup Assistant now shows the steps needed to install the Image Server:

  • Operating System – Only Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 can be used as Image Servers (although Windows Server 2003 R2 will work as Deployment Server). Since this guide is assuming Server 2008 R2 the, this step should be fine.
  • Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) – If the WAIK for Windows 7 is not found (it does not matter if it is XP or Windows Vista that is to be rolled out, the required version is Windows 7 WAIK) then the download button is enabled. Keep in mind that the download is 1.7 GB and comes in the form of an ISO file that need to either be burned to a DVD or mounted on the server with an ISO mounting tool like Virtual CloneDrive or Deamon Tools. When the WAIK is installed this will be finished. It is always possible to press F5 to refresh the status of the Setup Assistant after for example installing the WAIK.
  • Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) – MDT 2010 is required on the Image Server and if the correct version, x64 or x86, is not found on the server this step will have a download button available that will take you to the download site for MDT 2010.
  • PowerShell – Windows PowerShell V2 is required on the server, MDT 2010 uses PowerShell and Specops Deploy /OS can be used directly from Windows PowerShell as well as the from the Administrative UI tools. Since the server is running Server 2008 R2, PowerShell v2 is shipped with the actual operating system, but on Server 2008 this requires a download from www.microsoft.com/downloads. As soon as Windows PowerShell v2 is installed, press F5 and the Setup Assistant will detect the installation
  • Give Deployment Server Permissions in Active Directory - Specops Deploy integrates with Active Directory and add sub objects to the computers that are to be reinstalled, the Specops Deploy Deployment Servers need to be able to write and read from these objects. This step creates a security group in Active Directory, called Specops Deploy Deployment Servers, and grants the permission to read and write to these sub objects from the selected domain or Organizational Unit (OU) and below. So it is only required to select the top OU where the computers to be installed with Specops Deploy resides. If computers are in OUs where the correct permission has not been granted, the installation will fail.
  • Select Installation Account – During the installation Specops Deploy /OS will need to use an account that have permission to actually join the computer with the prestaged computer account in Active Directory, this is account need privileges to join computer accounts to the domain. It is important to understand that the information entered here is like any account used to connect computers to a domain, i.e. they should be considered “well known secrets” and although it is not very easy for a user to find the account information, it is possible and thus the account should only be used for this purpose.

The admin tools and Image Server are now successfully installed.
 

 

Page last modified on March 4, 2010, at 14:26 PM