Installing and Configuring Windows Deployment Services

In this example, we install and configure WDS to take on WIM Images and prepare it for deployment. For simplicity, we configure WDS to respond to all clients. In production, you can opt to select more stringent security options that best fit your environment.

Open Server Manager.
Click the Add Roles link to open the Add Roles Wizard.
Review the preliminary tasks on the Before You Begin screen, and then click Next.
On the Select Server Roles screen, select Windows Deployment Services, and then click Next.
Review the Introduction to Windows Deployment Services and make sure you have all the prerequisites, and then click Next.
On the Role Services screen, verify that Deployment Server and Transport Server are checked; then click Next.
Confirm the installation options, and then click Install.
Click Close when the installation completes.
Choose Start | Administrative Tools | Windows Deployment Services to open the Windows Deployment Services Management console.
Expand Windows Deployment Services under Console Root.
Right-click the server name and select Configure Server from the context menu.
Review the information on the Welcome screen; then click Next.
Enter the path or click Browse to select where the operating system images will be stored. This must be an NTFS partition. In practice, you should specify a path to a nonsystem partition since you should keep your OS images separate from your main OS system files to help optimize performance and backups. Click Next.
On the PXE Server Initial Settings screen, select Respond to All (Known and Unknown) Client Computers.
Click Finish.
If prompted, uncheck Add Images to Windows Deployment Services Now, and then click Finish.

Table-1. WDS Installation Requirements

Requirement	Description
Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS)	You shouldn't install WDS on your domain controller for security reasons, but your WDS server must be either a domain controller or a member server of an Active Directory domain. It doesn't matter what the domain or forest functional levels are.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)	For PXE boot to work, you must have a service to issue IP addresses to your clients. This is the role of your DHCP server. Unlike RIS, you don't have to authorize WDS in DHCP. This is beneficial not only from a technical aspect but also from a political one, especially if the team managing WDS is different from the team managing DHCP. Microsoft refers to "a fragmentation of the PXE environment," when multiple teams within an organization are responsible for the same environment, which can sometimes lead to ownership issues.
Domain Name System (DNS)	Your WDS clients will need DNS to locate your WDS Server. Either way, you're going to need this since AD DS requires it as well.
Installation media	You can't install anything without the installation media; make sure your OS source media is available locally or via an accessible share on the network. The installation media for Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 comprises multiple WIM files that are loaded based on your selection during the boot process.
An NTFS partition on the WDS server	A NTFS partition is required for WDS to store and secure the OS images that will be used by the WDS Server. The folder where the images are stored is shared by WDS, and NTFS is required to set up security on the share and folder to prevent unauthorized access.
Windows Server 2008	The WDS role can be hosted on a Windows Server 2008 server only, so a Windows Server 2008 server must be available. Technically, WDS was introduced as a hotfix for Windows Server 2003 SP1, but is only introduced as a server role in Windows Server 2008. Also, in Windows Server 2008, WDS can operate only in native mode and cannot coexist with RIS (mixed mode).

WDS Properties

Once you've completed the installation and performed your initial configuration, you need to start creating and loading your OS images. Before moving onto that, let's explore the various WDS properties that can be queried or set depending on your desired configuration. To access the server properties, right-click the server name in the WDS console and click Properties. The server Properties dialog box consists of eight tabs:

General	Displays the server name, path to the remote installation folder, and the server mode.
PXE Response Settings	Controls whether to respond to all clients or just known clients. You can also set how to respond to unknown clients and the PXE response delay.
Directory Services	Controls the default name given to new clients and the location in Active Directory where their accounts will be created. The default location is the Computers container. You can create and select a separate organizational unit (OU) for clients added using WDS to help you keep track of them.
Boot	Specify the default boot program and boot image for x86, ia64, and x64 architectures.
Client	Specify unattend files to enable full unattended mode for your DS clients. Use this to automate image selection and disk management.
DHCP	Since both WDS and DHCP listen for DHCP requests on port 67, if the WDS server is also a DHCP server, you need to configure WDS not to listen on port 67 and to set DHCP option tag 60 to PXEClient.
Network Settings	Configure the multicast IP address range to use, UDP port ranges, and network speed of the WDS server.
Advanced	Configure WDS to use a specific domain controller or global catalog server or allow it to use any available domain controller. You can also specify whether a WDS server needs to be authorized in DHCP before it is allowed to service clients. By default, authorization is not required in DHCP.

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Installing and Configuring Windows Deployment Services

WDS Properties

In this tutorial: