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Configuring Windows Deployment Services

Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2 is the updated and redesigned version of Remote Installation Services (RIS), which was first introduced in Microsoft Windows 2000 Server. You can use Windows Deployment Services to rapidly deploy the Windows 7 operating system by using Pre- Boot Execution Environment (PXE). Using Windows Deployment Services, you can deploy Windows 7 over a network. You can also use Windows Deployment Services to start remote computers using Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) boot images and then install Windows 7 using customized, scripted deployment solutions, such as Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 (MDT 2010).

Windows Deployment Services delivers a better in-box deployment solution than RIS. It provides platform features that allow for custom solutions, including remote boot capabilities; a plug-in model for PXE server extensibility; and a client-server communication protocol for diagnostics, logging, and image enumeration. Also, Windows Deployment Services uses the Windows Imaging (.wim) file format and provides a greatly improved management experience through the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and scriptable command-line tools. For organizations that already have a RIS implementation deployed, Windows Deployment Services maintains parity with RIS by providing both coexistence and migration paths for RIS. First, Windows Deployment Services continues to support RIS images in legacy or mixed mode. Second, Windows Deployment Services provides tools to migrate RIS images to the .wim file format.

This tutorial describes the architecture of Windows Deployment Services and the requirements for using it. It also describes the key features of Windows Deployment Services and how to use them in specific scenarios, including how MDT 2010 uses Windows Deployment Services to start destination computers and install operating systems. Finally, the tutorial describes the improvements to Windows Deployment Services introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2.

In this tutorial:

  1. Introducing Windows Deployment Services
  2. Service Architecture
  3. PXE Services
  4. Operating Modes
  5. Legacy Mode
  6. Mixed Mode
  7. Native Mode
  8. Planning for Windows Deployment Services
  9. Choosing a Version of Windows Deployment Services
  10. New Features of Windows Deployment Services in Windows Server 2008 R2
  11. Server Requirements
  12. Client Computer Requirements
  13. DHCP Requirements
  14. Routing Requirements
  15. Capacity Requirements
  16. Installing Windows Deployment Services
  17. Windows Server 2003
  18. Windows Server 2008 R2
  19. Windows 7 Configuring Deployment Services
  20. Preparing Discover Images
  21. Windows Importing Images
  22. Importing Boot Images
  23. Importing Install Images
  24. Managing and Deploying Driver Packages
  25. Deploying Driver Packages to Clients Using Method 1
  26. Deploying Driver Packages to Clients Using Method 2
  27. Deploying Driver Packages to Clients Using Method 3
  28. Managing Driver Groups and Driver Packages
  29. Adding Driver Packages to Boot Images
  30. Managing Image Security
  31. Pre-staging Client Computers
  32. Configuring Administrator Approval
  33. Windows 7 Installing
  34. Capturing Custom Images
  35. Creating Multicast Transmissions
  36. Performing Multicast Deployment
  37. Using Windows Deployment Services with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit