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Customizing Bootstrap.ini in MDT

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As I showed in my last post, you can make changes to customsettings.ini to really make your deployments go easier and quicker. Another file you can make changes to is the bootstrap.ini file.

This file basically has tells the Deployment wizard where to find the information it needs on the network. The file looks like this.

[Settings]
Priority=Default

[Default]
DeployRoot=\\SERVER01\DeploymentShare$

You can modify this file to point to a different location, so a different server and enter in credentials.

[Settings]
Priority=Default

[Default]
DeployRoot=\\%WDSServer%\DeploymentShare$

UserID=MDTAccount
UserDomain=yourdomain
UserPassword=Password123

SkipBDDWelcome=YES

Looking at the above file, I have done a few things. The first was to change the deployment root to point to the WDS Server that the boot.wim booted from. %WDSSERVER% is a variable that will populate with the WDS server name at launch time. If I have a specific server I want to run MDT from, then I would enter it in on DeployRoot instead. So if I wanted to use Server1, the line would be DeployRoot=\\Server1\DeploymentShare$

Another thing you can do is set the deployment share based on the default gateway. I seen the information on how to do that at the TechNet forums. Here is the URL -> http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en/mdt/thread/62809d7e-553d-41b7-a92e-93ba3b1972c7

The next three lines show the user credentials used to connect to the deployment share.
The last line, self-explanatory, skips the BDD Welcome information.

Windows Server Administration 70-646 – Chapter 1 Lesson 2

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Continuing on in Chapter 1 brings us to Lesson 2.

In this lesson the book looks at:

  • Windows Server 2008 Answer Files
  • Windows Deployment Services
  • Multicast, Scheduled and Automatic Deployment
  • Windows Deployment Services Images
  • WDS and Product Activation
  • Rollback Preparation

Windows Server 2008 Answer Files

The first part of the lesson covers the answer file. If you want to create an answer file the recommendation is to download the Windows System Image Manager (Windows SIM) which is included in the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). Once you are done save the autounattended.xml file to a removable media. Windows Server 2008 setup as part of its routine, will look for this file on a removable media. If you are running setup.exe from a network location the if mapping the location on the file as X:, the setup command is setup.exe /unattend:x:\autounattended.xml

Windows Deployment Services

The next part of the lesson covers WDS. WDS cannot be installed onto a computer running Server Core. WDS requires that it be installed to a computer which is a member of an Active Directory domain. A DNS server is required along with a DHCP server and a NTFS partition for storing images. If a DHCP server is running on the same machine as WDS, configure WDS not to listen on port 67. You also need to add option tag 60 on your DHCP server so PXE clients are able to detect the WDS server. In the GUI you can also change Multicast settings, add an unattended xml file and you can configure how the WDS server will respond to PXE request. The three responses are:

  • Do not respond to Any Client
  • Respond only to known Client Computers
  • Respond to All (Known and Unknown) Client Computers

Multicast, Scheduled and Automatic Deployment

This section covers setting up WDS to use multicast and the benefits of using it. The main benefit is it allows a reduction of network bandwidth for multiple installs. Scheduling allows an admin to limit impact on a companies network bandwidth during peak time and allows the install to be scheduled for off-peak time. Auto-cast means to install as soon as a client asks for an install image.

Windows Deployment Services Images

There are two types of images, boot images and install images. You will need separate images for x64, x32 and Itanium. Boot images are used to boot a computer prior to installing an operating system. Discover images are created for booting a computer without a PXE enabled network card from media (USB, Floppy, CD or DVD)

WDS and Product Activation

There are to types of keys, Multiple Activation Key (MAK) and Key Management System (KMS). MAK allows for a specific number of activations against a key. A MAK proxy allows for a single connection Microsoft’s activation servers. Independent Activation requires each computer connects to Microsoft.

KMS activation uses a server in your environment which computers must authenticate against every 180 days. You also need to have at least 25 computers before activation can occur.

Rollback Preparation

You can rollback an upgrade of Windows Server 2003 to Windows Server 2008 if something goes wrong during installation. Once there is a successful login to Windows Server 2008, you cannot rollback. If you need to rollback then one must follow the procedure for disaster recovery under Windows Server 2003.

The next chapter covers IPV6 and configuring the Domain Name System

*Disclaimer:

My notes in helping me prepare for the 70-646 Exam, PRO: Windows Server 2008, Server Administrator are just those, notes and I am trying to help highlight what is covered in the book, not replicate it. If you want to pass the exam, you will need more than just these notes to pass. I suggest you get a good book and get familiar with the product. The expectation is that you have about one year of experience with Windows 2008 Server (your mileage may vary) when writing this exam. The book I am using for my preparation and where I am drawing the information for these notes is the Microsoft Press book, MCITP Exam Prep 70-646: Windows Server Administration; ISBN: 0735625107.