What is BDD 2007 ?

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BDD (Business Desktop Deployment) 2007 is one way that Microsoft recommends that you manage the installation of your computers, it is currently aimed at assisting you in deploying Windows Vista and/or Office 2007 installations and in addition it has the following features

 

Create a software and hardware inventory to assist in deployment planning.

 

 

Test applications for compatibility and mitigate the compatibility issues discovered during the process.

 

 

Set up an initial lab environment with deployment and imaging servers.

 

 

Customize and package applications.

 

 

Automate desktop image creation and deployment.

 

 

Ensure that the desktop is hardened to improve security within the environment.

 

 

Manage processes and technologies to produce a comprehensive and integrated deployment.

 

from > http://www.microsoft.com/technet/desktopde...07/default.mspx

 

 

O.k, sounds interesting, so where can I download BDD and is it free ?

 

 

you can download it from Microsoft and it's free to download. You will also need to have the .net framework (2.0) preinstalled and MSXML 6.0.

 

to see an overview of Lite Touch with BDD 2007 see here

 

 

Once you have installed BDD 2007, start it up and click on the Components section on the left, then click on Actions and 'check for updates'.

 

If you then highlight (for example) Windows Automated Installation Kit in the 'available for download' section, you'll see a Download button appear, click on it to automatically download the WAIK (The Windows Automated Instalation Kit contains tools such as ImageX, Windows PE 2.0, PEIMG, and Windows System Image Manager, that are essential to the Windows deployment process).

 

In addition to the WAIK, you'll also see other files available for download such as the User State migration Tool, MSXML 6.0, MKS management pack, Windows Vista Hardware Assessment, Volume Activation Management tool and Office Migration Planning Manager. Depending on what you want to do, you may also download/install any of these.

 

When you have finished downloading your selected packages from within the BDD 2007 Deployment Workbench, you can install them by clicking on the Install button (bottom right). Both BDD itself and WAIK allow you to install the program elsewhere than c:\Program Files.

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Now that you have BDD 2007 installed and WAIK installed, you are ready for the next steps, listed below:-

 

 

 

Configure the distribution share.

 

Expand the distribution share, and right click on Operating Systems. In this example, we are going to add Windows Vista Ultimate (from the DVD).

 

Select 'New' and choose 'Full set of source files', click next and point the installer to where the source files are located, click next, you have the option of moving the files to the distribution point instead of copying them, choose whichever is appropriate to you. Once done, your OS(s) will appear in the column to the right as in the screenshot.

 

 

Create a build.

 

To create a new build, right-click Builds, and then click New to start the New Build Wizard. After creating a build, right-click it in the details pane, and then click Properties to configure it. The build will define what we want installed with an answer file.

 

Create a Deployment Point

 

Deployment points are methods for distributing and providing access to the distribution share’s source files and builds. To create a new deployment point, right-click Deployment Points and then click New to start the BDD Deployment wizard. Deployment Points is under Deploy. After creating a new deployment point, right-click it in the details pane, and then click Properties to configure it.

 

Update the deployment Point

 

Updating a deployment point generates boot image files (.wim and .iso) files that provide access to it. To update a deployment point, right-click it in the details pane, and then click Update. The boot image files for lab deployment points are in the \Boot folder of the distribution share. The boot image files for other deployment points are in the location specified in the BDD Deployment Wizard.

 

To Add (network) drivers to a Vista image you do as follows:

 

To allow the use of drivers that are not included in Windows Vista in your deployment using BDD, you would need to place them in the Out-of-Box Drivers folder in the Workbench. After creating the Deployment point, you would then need to right-click the Deployment point and select Properties. You would then need to check the checkbox beside "Include all Network Drivers" under Driver Injection on the Windows PE tab.

 

To Customise a Windows PE image do as follows:

 

You can customize a Windows PE image by adding custom scripts such as winpeshl.ini and startnet.cmd or using the unattend.xml answer file to customize Windows PE.

 

winpeshl.ini

startnet.cmd

unattend.xml

 

 

Winpeshl.ini is used to start custom applications, startnet.cmd is used to configure custom command-line scripts, and unattend.xml is used to configure settings and actions for Windows PE.

 

For example if you want a custom message to display when a computer boots using Windows PE, you can create a HTML document and add it to the image. Using the PEIMG command add the following package to accomplish this:

 

 

WinPE-HTA-Package

 

 

Once this has been installed, you would then edit the startnet.cmd file to include a path to the HTML document. You can find the startnet.cmd file in the %systemroot%\System32 folder of your custom Windows PE image.