Windows 7 / Getting Started

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Injecting in a Disk Image

This section describes how to add applications to deployment shares you build with MDT 2010, and then inject those applications into disk images or install them when deploying the disk image. If you're not using MDT 2010 to build and deploy Windows 7, see previous tutorial, "Planning Deployment," to learn why using MDT 2010 is a better way to deploy Windows 7 than using the Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) alone.

When planning application deployment, you choose between three deployment strategies: thick image, thin image, and hybrid image, as we described earlier in this tutorial. If you're using a thin-image strategy, you won't be injecting applications into disk images. Instead, you'll use a systems-management infrastructure such as System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to deploy applications after installing the thin disk image. If you're using a thick-image strategy, you will install applications when you create the disk image. In other words, you will add the application installations to the MDT 2010 task sequence that you use to create the disk image. This method should be a last resort, as it's more difficult to maintain and slower to deploy. If you're using a hybrid image strategy, you will install applications during deployment. In this case, you will add the application installations to the MDT 2010 task sequence that you're deploying to destination computers, or you will add application installations to the MDT 2010 database.

Note This tutorial does not describe how to start or use Deployment Workbench. For more information about using Deployment Workbench, see previous tutorial, "Developing Disk Images."

Infrastructure Deployment space concerns the amount of infrastructure required. Even with a moderately large (thick) image, customers still need to deploy additional applications. Typically suggest dynamic application distribution-applications that the user had before are dynamically reinstalled on the new configuration before the user logs on to the computer.

However, this requires a stable infrastructure. On average, three applications will need to be added for each computer-three applications not already included in the thick image. On average, 4,805 files per computer will be migrated by using the User State Migration Tool (USMT), and 900 megabytes (MB) will be transferred per computer. Therefore, a 1,000-computer deployment would require the following infrastructure:

• Computers: 1,000
• Applications: 2,952
• Files: 4,805,594
• Gigabytes: 977.60

Adding Applications

When you add an application to a deployment share, you're simply describing for MDT 2010 how to install the application by using the command line and optionally copying the application source files to the deployment share. If you don't copy the application source files to the deployment share, MDT 2010 installs the application from the source location you specify, such as a network share.

To add an application to a deployment share, perform the following steps:

1. In the Deployment Workbench console tree, right-click Applications and then select New Application to begin the New Application Wizard. The Applications option is under Deployment Share. In MDT 2010, you must create a deployment share before adding applications to it.
2. On the Application Type page, do one of the following and then click Next:
   • Click the Application With Source Files option. Choosing this option copies the application source files to the deployment share. During deployment, MDT 2010 installs the application from source files it copied to the deployment share.
   • Click the Application Without Source Files Or Elsewhere On The Network option. Choosing this option does not copy the application source files to the deployment share. During deployment, MDT 2010 installs the application from another location on the network. You also choose this option to run a command that requires no application source files.
   • Click the Application Bundle option. This option creates essentially a dummy application with which you can associate other applications (dependencies). If you select the Application Bundle option during deployment, MDT 2010 will install all of its dependencies. For more information about dependencies, see the section titled "Creating Dependencies" later in this tutorial.
3. On the Details page, provide the following information about the application and then click Next:
   • In the Publisher box, type the name of the application's publisher (optional).
   • In the Application Name box, type the name of the application.
   • In the Version box, type a version label for the application (optional).
   • In the Languages box, type the languages supported by the application (optional).
4. On the Source page, type the path of the folder containing the application you want to add and then click Next. If you've chosen to copy the application source files to the deployment share, Deployment Workbench copies everything in this folder to the deployment share; otherwise, it adds this path to the application's metadata as the application's installation path.
   Note If you select the Move The Files To The Deployment Share Instead Of Copying Them check box, the New Application Wizard will move the source files instead of copying them. Use this option if you want to stage applications on the local hard disk before moving them into the deployment share.
5. On the Destination page, type the name of the folder to create for the application within the deployment share and then click Next. The default value is the publisher, application name, and version label concatenated.
6. On the Command Details page, type the command to use to install the application silently, and then click Next. For example, type msiexec /qb /i program.msi. The command is relative to the working directory specified in the Working Directory box.
7. On the Summary page, review the application details and then click Next.
8. On the Confirmation page, click Finish.

After adding an application to the deployment share, you see it in the Applications details pane. You also see it in the deployment share in Applications\subfolder, where subfolder is the destination you specified when adding the application.

Creating Dependencies

Often, an application has dependencies. For example, application A is dependent on application B if you must install application B before installing application A. MDT 2010 allows you to specify application dependencies for each application you add to the deployment share. You can make an application dependent only on other applications that you've added to the deployment share.

To add dependencies to an application, perform the following steps:

1. In the Deployment Workbench console tree, click Applications.
2. In the details pane, right-click the application that has a dependency on another application and then click Properties.
3. On the Dependencies tab, shown on the following page, do the following:
   • To add an application to the dependencies list, click Add, select an application, and then click OK. Deployment Workbench only displays applications in this list that you've already added to the deployment share.
   • To remove an application from the dependencies list, select an application in the dependencies list and then click Remove.
   • To reorder the applications in the dependencies list, select an application in the dependencies list and then click Up or click Down. MDT 2010 installs the dependent applications in the order specified by the dependencies list.

Installing Applications

In MDT 2010, the task sequence specifies the tasks that run during deployment and their order. You can install applications during the imaging process by adding a step to the task sequence that installs the application at the appropriate time. For more information about customizing the task sequence. Although this approach is useful for injecting applications into a disk image, using the MDT 2010 database or CustomSettings.ini is more appropriate during deployment in production.

Without creating additional groups in the task sequence, the best place to add application installs is to the Custom Tasks group, which MDT 2010 creates in each task sequence's default task sequence. The instructions in this section show you how to install an application as a step under this group.

Note If you add an application to the deployment share without installing it via the task sequence, the Windows Deployment Wizard will allow the user to install the application optionally during deployment. Also, you can choose applications to install automatically during a Zero Touch Installation by configuring the deployment share to install the application automatically.

To add an application installation to a task sequence, perform the following steps:

1. In the Deployment Workbench console tree, click Task Sequences, which is located under Deployment Share. In MDT 2010, you must create a deployment share before adding applications to it. For more information about creating deployment shares.
2. In the details pane, right-click the task sequence in which you want to install an application and then click Properties.
3. On the Task Sequence tab, click Custom Tasks in the task sequence and then click Add, click General, and then click Install Application.
4. Click the Install Application task that you just added to the task sequence, select the Install A Single Application option, click Browse, choose an application, and then click OK.

Note In MDT 2010, the task sequence is very flexible. For example, you can install applications at almost any point during the State Restore phase. You can filter application installation tasks on a variety of variables.