MDT | Todd's Blog

Microsoft TechDays Ottawa – Day 2

posted on December 14, 2009

The second day of TechDays Ottawa saw better weather. Day 1 had a terrible snow storm, but despite that, turn out was quite good. I don’t have numbers on how many people came out either day.

My session on Day 2 focused on Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP2 (WSUS). The session went quite well from my side. All my demo’s worked which is always a good thing. The best part of the session was the end when people started coming up and asking questions. I like hearing how other people are using the technology I am speaking about. In my small environment (100 computers) where I am a jack of all trades, I like hearing how larger organizations are leveraging the technology. One organization was telling me how they use a disconnected a WSUS server to manage a network which has no internet connection.

I met a couple of people and spoke about MDT with them. One person has about 5000 computers they build images for in MDT and another builds images for 14000 computers which most are sent to offices in foreign countries. It was a case of the teacher becoming the student and I was able to pick their brain for a bit getting a few ideas on how to leverage MDT when I have someone else actually doing the deployments. (I build them, they deploy).

TechDays was a great event. I strongly encourage people to go out and attend when it comes around. My wish for next year is hands on labs.

TechDays Canada 2009

posted on October 1, 2009

TechDays is now in full swing. Vancouver and Toronto have both been completed and have gone well. The remaining cities are coming along in November and December.

I will be presenting three sessions in Ottawa this year. Two sessions are part of the Windows Client track on Day 1 and one is in the Servers, Security and Management track on Day 2.

Windows Client Track

Session 1: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010: The Next Generation
Windows 7 is finally out and the wait to deploy is over. Now what? How do you get Windows installed on 10 or 100 or 1000 desktops with all the drivers and applications required? Attend this session and get ahead of the curve and be prepared to walk through installation, image creation, and deployment scenarios.

Session 2: A Geek’s Guide to Windows User State Migration Tool 4.0
Maintaining user profiles and data is critical to a successful deployment of Windows. This session shows how Windows User State Migration Tool (USMT) 4.0 can be used as an integral part of a fully automated deployment environment. The session covers advanced techniques for migrating user files and settings, including modifying and troubleshooting user state migration.

Servers, Security and Management

Session 4: Best Practices in Architecting and Implementing Windows Server Update Services (WSUS)
You’re using WSUS, but are you using it to its fullest extent? In this tips and tricks session, learn the best ways to architect and implement WSUS for the improved security of your organization. Learn the best ways to manage your updates on both servers and clients for high-reliability application. Plus, learn a few tricks to speed up the update installation process, as well as ways to enforce that updates are installed to computers in your environment.

Be sure to sign up and come out to the TechDays event in your area. I think you will find the information being presented useful, and you will be able to take what you have learned at TechDays and use it back in your own environment.

Installing Windows Vista SP2 with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit using an Existing Image

posted on June 19, 2009

If you are like me, you already have your Vista image built and applied to your MDT installation. Now that Windows Vista SP2 has been released, you are wondering how best to deploy it. With MDT you have several ways to do it.

You could apply your image to a computer, install the service pack and recapture the image. You can do a fresh install from a Vista with SP2 media, add your apps and capture. I decided on a third way of doing it. Add the service pack to the applications. Call the executable and run the update in silent mode.

In my screenshot below, you see how I added the application as part of my MDT install.

I call the the command – Windows6.0-KB948465-X86.exe /quiet /norestart /nodialog

Add the application install as task sequence in your deployment or check it off with your litetouch install and away you go. It runs the update on the computer as it is deploying and now you have a machine, running Windows Vista SP2 right off the hop.

Eventually down the road, I plan to rebuild my image and capture it. But for now, this works fine for me.