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Designing a Zero-Touch Deployment (part 2) - Deploying ZTI Task Sequences to Target Computers

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3. Deploying ZTI Task Sequences to Target Computers

After creating the task sequence and the packages and images containing the software the target computers need, you must complete a number of additional steps to deploy the task sequence to the target computers. Eventually, you will be able to simply boot the target computers and walk away as SCCM and MDT complete the entire workstation installation with no further interaction. The following sections describe what you must do to get to that point.

3.1. Creating Distribution Points

SCCM 2007 is a highly scalable application that you can use to manage hundreds or thousands of computers all over an enterprise network. To deploy software to computers at different sites, SCCM uses distribution points. A distribution point is a computer that is designated as a storehouse for packages and images. To perform a truly large ZTI deployment, you might have to use multiple distribution points, and Configuration Manager enables you to select those points and control the replication of the distribution packages and images to them.

To select the distribution point you want to use for your ZTI deployment, you must run the Manage Distribution Points Wizard by browsing to the Site Database/Computer Management/Software Distribution/Packages folder, right-clicking the Settings package you created with the task sequence and, from the context menu, selecting Manage Distribution Points.

On the Package page of the wizard, as shown in Figure 12, you select one or more distribution points. If you select more than one, the wizard replicates the package to all of the points, in preparation for the deployment.

Figure 12. The Package page of the Manage Distribution Points Wizard



Note:

UPDATING DISTRIBUTION POINTS

If you modify the CustomSettings.ini file at any point after you select the distribution points you want to use, you must update the distribution points to replicate your changes before you actually deploy your target computers.


When the wizard is completed, you must then browse to the Site Database/Computer Management/Operating System Deployment/Operating System Images folder and do the same thing to select distribution points for the operating system image you created with the task sequence.

3.2. Customizing Task Sequences

As in an LTI deployment, you can modify the task sequences you create in Configuration Manager to customize them, although the interface is slightly different. To edit a task sequence, browse to the Site Database/Computer Management/Operating System Deployment/Task Sequences folder in Configuration Manager, right-click the task sequence you created and, from the context menu, select Edit. The Task Sequence Editor appears, as shown in Figure 13.

Figure 13. The SCCM Task Sequence Editor


An SCCM task sequence, in its default configuration, usually needs no modification to perform an entire workstation deployment. However, using this interface, you can modify all aspects of the workstation installation, if necessary. For example, the default task sequence disables the target computer’s Administrator account and assigns it a random password. To modify that behavior and specify a password of your own, you can browse to the PostInstall/Apply Windows Settings page and select the Enable The Account And Specify The Local Administrator Password option, as shown in Figure 14.

Figure 14. The Apply Windows Settings page of the SCCM Task Sequence Editor


3.3. Adding the Target Computer to the Site Database

SCCM 2007 is designed to manage computers by communicating with a client installed on each one. The ZTI task sequence includes the installation of the client so that administrators can manage the workstation after the deployment is complete. However, this client/server communication cannot take place if there is no client. Therefore, when you deploy target computers using the New Computer scenario, you must add the computer to the SCCM site database so that it can communicate with the build server.

If you are using one of the other deployment scenarios, such as Refresh Computer, Replace Computer, or Upgrade Computer, and your workstations already have an operating system and the client installed and running, SCCM can automatically discover them and initiate the deployment, so there is no need to manually add them to the database.

To add New Computer targets to the data, browse to the Site Database/Computer Management/Operating System Deployment/Computer Association folder, right-click it and, from the context menu, select Import Computer Information. The Import Computer Information Wizard appears and offers two options for importing computer information, as follows:

  • Import computers using a file To add a large number of target computers to the database, you can create a comma-delimited text file with each line containing a computer name and either an SMBIOS GUID value or the MAC address of the network adapter in the computer. You then use the wizard’s Choose Mapping page, as shown in Figure 15, to specify the database field into which the wizard should add the values in each column of your file.

    Figure 15. The Choose Mapping page of the Import Computer Information Wizard

  • Import single computer To add a single target workstation to the database, you use the wizard’s Single Computer page, as shown in Figure 16, to enter the computer name and either an SMBIOS GUID value or the MAC address of the network adapter in the computer.

    Figure 16. The Single Computer page of the Import Computer Information Wizard

3.4. Creating Collections

In SCCM, a collection is an organizational tool that enables administrators to perform tasks on a specific set of computers, users, or groups. To perform a ZTI deployment, you must add the target computers that you want to deploy to a collection. The computers in the collection then receive an advertisement from SCCM that informs them of the installation to be completed.

To create a collection, browse to the Site Database/Computer Management/Collections folder in Configuration Manager. The console includes a number of preconfigured collections, but you can add as many new ones as you need. Right-click the Collections folder and, from the context menu, select New Collection. This launches the New Collection Wizard, which in turn launches the Create Direct Membership Rule Wizard, which you can use to select computers in the database by searching for specific attribute values, such as names and MAC addresses, as shown in Figure 17.

Figure 17. The Search For Resources page of the Create Direct Membership Rule Wizard


Collections are one way to regulate the progress of your deployment project. By creating multiple collections, you can limit the number of workstations you deploy at any one time, to prevent your networks from being flooded with traffic. For example, if you determine that your subnets can handle up to five simultaneous workstation deployments, you can create a number of collections, each of which contains five target computers from every subnet. You can then configure SCCM to advertise each collection at a different time so that the collection deployments never overlap.

3.5. Creating Advertisements

Advertisements are the mechanisms by which SCCM makes software packages available to collections of computers, users, or groups. In a ZTI deployment, you use advertisements to make your task sequences available to the target computers in your collections.

To create an advertisement, open Configuration Manager and browse to the Site Database/Computer Management/Operating System Deployment/Task Sequences folder. Right-click the task sequence you want to advertise and, from the context menu, select Advertise. The New Advertisement Wizard appears, displaying the General page, as shown in Figure 18. On this page, you specify the name of the collection to which you want to advertise the task sequence.

Figure 18. The General page of the New Advertisement Wizard


The default values on the rest of the wizard pages will suffice in many cases, but you can also use the Schedule page, as shown in Figure 19, to regulate when your task sequences are advertised, thus providing another way to restrict the amount of traffic generated by the deployment process.

Figure 19. The Schedule page of the New Advertisement Wizard


3.6. Creating Boot Media

With the SCCM server prepared, all that remains is to boot the target computers. After they are started, the target computers connect to the server, and the installation of the packages and images you prepared earlier proceeds automatically.

As with an LTI deployment, you can start the target computers using removable boot media, such as DVDs, CDs, or USB flash drives, or you can use Windows Deployment Services for workstations that are PXE-enabled.

To create task sequence bootable media, use the following procedure:

  1. Open Configuration Manager and browse to the Site Database/Computer Management/Operating System Deployment/Task Sequences folder.

  2. Right-click a task sequence and, from the context menu, select Create Task Sequence Media. The Task Sequence Media Wizard appears, displaying the Select Media Type page, as shown in Figure 20.

    Figure 20. The Select Media Type page of the Task Sequence Media Wizard


  3. Select the Bootable Media option and click Next. The Media Type page appears, as shown in Figure 21.

    Figure 21. The Media Type page of the Task Sequence Media Wizard


  4. Select one of the following options:

    • SB flash drive Insert the flash drive and select the drive letter. The wizard burns the task sequence medium directly to the drive.

    • D/DVD set Specify the name of the media file the wizard will create and the path to the folder in which you want to create it. The wizard creates an ISO file that you can burn to a CD or DVD.

  5. Click Next. The Security page appears, as shown in Figure 22.

    Figure 22. The Security page of the Task Sequence Media Wizard


  6. In the Password and Confirm Password text boxes, type a password to protect the task sequence medium and click Next. The Boot Image page appears, as shown in Figure 23.

    Figure 23. The Boot Image page of the Task Sequence Media Wizard


  7. Click Browse. The Select A Boot Image dialog box appears.

  8. Select the boot image you created with the Create Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence Wizard and click OK.

  9. In the distribution point drop-down list, select the distribution point from which the target computer will access the boot image and click Next. The Summary page appears.

  10. Click Next. The wizard creates the boot medium and displays the Wizard Completed page.

To boot the target workstations using WDS, you must configure SCCM to function as a PXE service point so that the server can respond to boot requests generated by the target computers. By right-clicking the Site Database/Site Management//Site Settings/Site Systems/ folder and selecting New Roles, you launch the New Site Role Wizard, with which you can add the PXE service point role, as shown in Figure 24.

Figure 24. The New Site Role Wizard

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