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December 2007

Windows Vista Zero Touch Installations with BDD

Use SMS to distribute Vista
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SideBar    Installation Checklist for a BDD ZTI

Expect a message that tells you the OSD Deployment point has been successfully created but before it can be used or updated you must first configure the WindowsPE options.

Right-click your new OSD deployment point and click Properties. Verify that the correct build is selected on the Builds tab, that the Windows PE source is set to Windows PE 2005 on the Windows PE 2004/2005 tab, and that the Windows source is set to Windows XP Professional SP2. Then, right-click the new OSD deployment point and click Update. A new folder named ZTI will be created in the root of your C: drive that contains two additional folders: Boot and VistaOSD. The Boot folder contains your WinPE 2005, and the VistaOSD folder contains all other files needed for the build.

Configuring the SMS Components
In SMS you’ll create a package, a program, and an advertisement. In addition, you’ll define distribution points and user accounts with sufficient permissions to all components. The package contains the OS source files the target machine will download and install. The program defines how the package runs (i.e., minimized, maximized, hidden, or normal), whether to restart the machine after install, and whether to run when a user is logged on or not. The advertisement determines which machines will receive the package. The distribution point determines the servers to which you’ll distribute the package. Your target machines will connect to the distribution point to download and install the package.

Creating the SMS Package
Open the SMS Administrator console, expand the Site Database node, and right-click Image Packages. Choose All Tasks, then choose Update Windows PE to launch the Update Windows PE Wizard. On the Windows PE Settings page, for source folder, type in the path that was created earlier (e.g., C:\ZTI\Boot Source). Click Next, Finish.

Now you’ll need to create a package that contains your custom .wim image file for SMS. Right-click Image Packages again, choose New, Operating System Image Package. This launches the New Operating System Package Wizard. On the Operating System Package settings page, type in a package name (choose something descriptive, such as Vista Ultimate) as shown in Figure 1, page 68. Then open your custom image file (the .wim image you created earlier), and browse and choose the UNC path (I chose \\Server1\SMSPackages) where your SMS package will be stored. This is called the Package source. (Take note of the package ID that’s created automatically; you’ll need this later when you update your Bootstrap.ini file.) Click Next. You’ll see a message that SMS Distribution Points require updating due to changes to the Operating System Package, click OK, Finish.

Creating the SMS Program
Now we’ll create an SMS Program, which is a subcomponent of a package. To create the SMS program, expand Image Packages in the console tree, expand the node with your new package name (for our sample package, we’ll use Vista Ultimate, as shown in Figure 2), rightclick Programs, choose New, Operating System Program. The New Operating System Program Wizard starts. On the New Operating System Program options page, choose to Create a new OS Program with default settings and name it Windows Vista Ultimate ZTI, click Next. On the Licensing settings page, select Product key not required and click Next. On the Membership settings page, select Domain and input your NetBIOS domain name. Then set the domain account and password that has rights and permissions to add computers to the domain. Uncheck Create random password for the local administrator, click Next, then Finish. Once again expect a message about your SMS Distribution Points needing to be updated due to the changes you made, click OK, Finish.

Updating the SMS Distribution Point
The next step is to update the SMS distribution point with the servers to which the package will be distributed. To update the SMS distribution point, expand Image Packages, right-click the node with your new package (Vista Ultimate in our sample), then choose All Tasks, Distribute Software. The Distribute Package Wizard launches. On the Package page, click Select an existing package, in the Packages box select your Package name, then click Next. On the Distribution Points page, choose the servers you want to use as distribution points and click Next.

Advertising a Program
On the Advertise a Program page, choose Yes to advertise a program from this package, click Next. Choose your program name on the Select a Program to Advertise page, click Next. The Advertisement Target page defines which computers the program will be offered to. SMS has some default groups of computers called “collections” that you can use, or you can create your own collections. I recommend creating a collection of test machines to run the package on first. This way you can deal with any problems before you run the package on production machines. Give the advertisement a name on the Advertisement Name page, click Next. Choose whether you want to also advertise to subcollections (subcollections are collections created from another collection), click Next. Create an Advertisement Schedule for when you want it to be made available to your SMS clients. You can also schedule the program to be available for a limited time, then click Next. Finally, select if you want the program to be assigned or not. An assigned program is a mandatory program; you can set it to run at a predefined date and time and nobody could stop it (short of downing the computer, but when it comes up again it’ll still attempt to run the program).

Creating SMS Advanced Client Credentials
For an upgrade or refresh scenario, the SMS advanced client runs on each local machine. This client uses the SMS advanced client network access account and requires sufficient credentials to present when accessing the SMS distribution points, BDD 2007 deployment point, and shared folders. You’ll need to create and configure a domain user account that can be used for the SMS advanced client network access account. First, create a domain user account in Active Directory (AD). Then, in the SMS Administrator Console, expand Site Database, Site Hierarchy, Site Code (3-digit code), Site Settings, Connection Accounts. Right-click Client, choose New, Windows User Account. In the Connection Account Properties dialog box, click Set, then supply the User name, Password, and confirm password for the account you created in AD. Now return to the expanded Site Settings node and select Component Configuration. In the details pane, right-click Software Distribution and choose Properties. On the General tab under Advanced Client Network Access Account, set the domainname useraccount_name of the account you created in AD.

Editing Bootstrap.ini in Deployment
Workbench
Next, you’ll need to edit the Bootstrap.ini file in your deployment point to include the SMS package ID number that was generated when you created your SMS package. (Remember, you made a note of it earlier. You can also find it in the SMS Administrator console. Select Image Packages and in the details pane you’ll see your package name and package ID.) Go back to Deployment Workbench, expand the Deploy node, and choose Deployment Points. In the details pane, right-click the Vista ZTI deployment point and select Properties. On the Rules tab, click the Edit Bootstrap.ini button in the lower-right corner. Modify the OSDINSTALLPACKAGE= & OSDINSTALLPROGRAM= as follows: OSDINSTALLPACKAGE=C0100001 and OSDINSTALLPROGRAM=Vista Ultimate. After you’ve edited the Bootstrap.ini file, you’ll need to update your deployment point. In Deployment Workbench, expand Deploy, select Deployment Points; in the details pane right-click your Vista ZTI deployment point and choose Update.

Introducing ZTI Files and Scripts to the SMS OSD Phase
Now that you’ve edited Bootstrap.ini and updated your deployment point, you’ll need to configure your program to call the Zero- TouchInstallation.vbs script in each phase, then update your distribution points. In the SMS Administrator console, expand Image Packages, click the Vista Ultimate package, select Programs. Then right-click the Vista Ultimate program in the details pane, and choose Properties. On the Advanced tab, shown in Figure 3, configure each phase with a custom action. The first phase is Validation. Click the Add button, choose custom, OK. For Name, choose ZTI-Validation, and for the command line enter ZeroTouchInstallation.vbs (you’ll do this a few times, so select the .vbs script name and press Ctrl+C to copy it). For Files, click Add and enter the UNC path \\server1\ZTI$ VistaOSD folder created when you created your deployment point in BDD. Next, ensure that Files of type is set to All Files (*.*), then select all files (click one and press Ctrl+A), and click Open. Configure all of the subsequent phases with a ZTI-phase name and a command line of ZeroTouchInstallation.vbs. So, the State Capture phase should have a custom action ZTI-StateCapture with a command line of ZeroTouchInstallation.vbs. There’s no need to add files to the other phases; they can use the copy you’ve introduced to the Validation phase. Configure the Preinstall, Postinstall, and State Restore phases in the same manner as the State Capture phase. When you click OK, SMS updates the package contents, and you’ll see the message “SMS Distribution Points require updating.” In the SMS Administrator Console, under Image Packages, right-click Vista Ultimate, choose All Tasks, Update Distribution Points, and click Yes.

Booting a Bare-Metal Machine
If you’re performing a ZTI on a bare-metal machine, you’ll need to figure out a way to boot the target machine. You have a few options. The first is to create an OS image installation CD-ROM. The second is to perform a PXE boot on the client, press F12 for a Network Boot (this can be automated on the WDS server), and connect to a WDS server. Or, third party utilities can automate the PXE boot for you and connect to a WDS server.

Continued on Page 3

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