Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Pre-staging Client Computers

Pre-staging client computer accounts allows you to restrict Windows Deployment Services to respond only to known clients. You can also cause specific Windows Deployment Services servers to respond to the pre-staged client, assign specific install images, and control client provisioning automatically. You configured these settings earlier by setting the PXE Server Initial Settings policy when you installed Windows Deployment Services, as described in the section titled "Installing Windows Deployment Services" earlier in this tutorial.

To pre-stage a client computer's account, you will need to know the computer's GUID. You can find this value in the system's BIOS, in the documentation delivered with the system, or on a tag affixed to the computer's case. This value is entered into the AD DS computer account details for the computer to pre-assign its membership in the AD DS infrastructure.

To pre-stage a client computer, perform the following steps:

1. In Active Directory Users And Computers, find the organizational unit (OU) where the computer will be staged.
2. Right-click the OU, click New, and then click Computer.
3. Type a name for the computer and then click Next. If you want, click Change to choose the user or group with permission to join this computer to the domain.
4. On the Managed page, select the check box next to This Is A Managed Computer. Type the computer's GUID and then click Next.
5. On the Host Server page, choose Any Available Remote Installation Server or select the Windows Deployment Services server that will serve this client. Click Next.
6. Click Finish to complete the wizard.

Note You can also pre-stage client computer accounts using the WDSUTIL /Add-Device command.