How can I Deploy Win2003 using MDT

[arnab]

Hi,

I have a windows 2k3 server which has MDT and WDS installed on the same machine.This is being used to deploy windows 2003 where all "task sequences" are defined in MDT and the deployment image is hosted on WDS.

Now i need to deploy some more servers in a different location and do not want files traversing over WAN.

Can i export the deployment image from exsisting WDS and have the same imported at the new WDS and still use the same "task sequences"

Please help.

 

Arnab

[Monty Carter]

Hi,

I have a windows 2k3 server which has MDT and WDS installed on the same machine.This is being used to deploy windows 2003 where all "task sequences" are defined in MDT and the deployment image is hosted on WDS.

Now i need to deploy some more servers in a different location and do not want files traversing over WAN.

Can i export the deployment image from exsisting WDS and have the same imported at the new WDS and still use the same "task sequences"

Please help.

 

Arnab

 

Are you using WDS to provide only a boot image via the PXE boot service and using MDT to deploy 2003, or are you actually deploying the installation image from WDS? (Usually, MDT uses WDS to provide just a boot image. Then, all installation images, scripts, task sequences, applications drivers, etc. are pulled from the MDT distribution share, instead of from WDS... WDS can, however, be used to provide installation images, by itself.)

 

If your installation images are, in fact, coming from MDT's distribution shares, rather than from WDS, you may be interested in upgrading to MDT 2010. MDT 2010 introduced a new feature that provides "linked" distribution shares. Basically, the contents of your MDT distribution shares can now be replicated between multiple MDT servers.

 

Using this, all installation images, applications, drivers, packages, scripts, task sequences, etc. will be replicated between your multiple MDT servers. You would need to set up WDS at your 2nd site, in addition to MDT, and then link MDT in your 2nd site to MDT in your 1st site. MDT automatically recreates boot images at the 2nd site to reflect the new UNC path for the distribution share in the 2nd site (without this auto-update feature, if you simply copied the boot image from WDS at site 1 to WDS at site 2, clients booting at site 2 would still connect to the MDT distribution share at site 1, because the distribution share details are injected into the boot image itself).

 

If you are actually deploying installation images directly from WDS then I would imagine that there should be a way to utilize the MDT configuration in site 1, assuming that you aren't installing any drivers, applications, or packages, during your task sequences. I haven't actually worked with a configuration like this, so I can't speak without some investigation, but I don't see why you shouldn't be able to put something together where an installation image is pulled from WDS, which then connects to the MDT at site 1 to recieve the task sequences over the WAN. But if you are installing apps and drivers and such from the MDT distribution share at site 1, you will run in to bandwidth troubles on slow links.