Preparing Windows Deployment Services

In the deployment process, Windows Deployment Services servers are responsible for starting Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) on destination computers to prepare the computers for image installation. After you install and initially configure Windows Deployment Services, ensure that Windows PE images created by updating deployment shares in Deployment Workbench have the appropriate flat-file image structures and add them to the Windows Deployment Services server.

Windows Deployment Services is responsible for initiating the deployment process for Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot-enabled destination computers. For more information about setting up and configuring the Windows Deployment Services server.

Configuring Resources

In addition to the shared folders described in the section titled "Resource Access" earlier in this tutorial, the MDT 2010 scripts may require access to other resources, including application or database servers, such as Microsoft SQL Server 2008. The resources that the installation requires access to depend on the applications you've added to the distribution and the customizations you've made to MDT 2010 and the task sequence.

For LTI, you need to grant access to the deployment share to the credentials specified in one the following ways:

• UserID, UserPassword, and UserDomain properties in the CustomSettings.ini file. MDT 2010 uses these credentials to connect to the deployment share and other network resources. Make sure the credentials used in these properties have Read and Execute permissions on the deployment share. By providing these credentials in CustomSettings.ini, you can fully automate the LTI installation process.
• If you don't provide the credentials in CustomSettings.ini, you provide the credentials necessary to connect to the deployment share when you start the Windows Deployment Wizard on the destination computer. Make sure that the credentials used to start the Windows Deployment Wizard have at least Read and Execute permissions on the deployment share.

Make sure that the credentials used for LTI (defined in CustomSettings.ini or used to start the Windows Deployment Wizard) have Read and Execute permissions to access the following resources:

• Deployment share Configure access to the deployment share created in Deployment Workbench.
• Any resources on application or database servers Configure access to applications or databases that are accessed through the SQLServer, SQLShare, and Database properties.

Note Other connections to the same servers, such as Named Pipes and Remote Procedure Call (RPC), use the same credentials listed here. Use the ZTIConnect.wsf script to establish these connections. For more information about the ZTIConnect.wsf script, see the MDT 2010 documentation.