What is Windows Deployment Services (WDS)? How to set up and use WDS?

By On




What is Windows Deployment Services (WDS)? How to setup and use WDS?

 Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is a network-based installation tool from Microsoft for deploying Windows operating systems. It's primarily used to automate the installation of Windows across large numbers of computers, reducing the time and effort required to install the operating system manually. Here are the full steps to set up and use WDS:


Prerequisites

Active Directory: The server running WDS needs to be a member of an Active Directory domain.

DHCP: Ensure a DHCP server is available for client computers to receive IP addresses.

DNS: Domain Name System service is required for WDS.

NTFS Partition: The WDS server must have an NTFS file system on the image store partition.

Setting Up Windows Deployment Services

1. Install WDS Role

  • Open Server Manager.
  • Click on "Add roles and features".
  • Select "Role-based or feature-based installation".
  • Choose your server from the server pool.
  • In the Server Roles list, select "Windows Deployment Services".
  • Add any required features when prompted.
  • Click Next and then Install.

2. Configure WDS

  • Once installed, open Windows Deployment Services from the Administrative Tools menu.
  • In the WDS console, right-click your server name and select "Configure Server".
  • Follow the steps in the Wizard:
  • Choose whether to integrate with Active Directory.
  • Specify Remote Installation Folder location.
  • Choose your response settings for known and unknown computers.

3. Adding Boot and Install Images

Boot Images:

  • Navigate to the Boot Images node in WDS.
  • Right-click and choose "Add Boot Image".
  • Browse to the Windows installation media and select boot.wim from the Sources folder.

Install Images:

  • Navigate to the Install Images node.
  • Right-click and choose to create a new image group.
  • Once the group is created, right-click and select "Add Install Image".
  • Browse to the Windows installation media and select install.wim from the Sources folder.

4. Configuring PXE Boot

  • In WDS, right-click the server and select Properties.
  • Go to the PXE Response tab to customize how the server responds to client requests. Configure according to your organizational needs, such as allowing known clients or requiring administrative approval for unknown clients.

5. Deployment

  • Boot a client machine and enter the BIOS/UEFI settings.
  • Ensure network/PXE boot is enabled and placed ahead of the hard disk in boot order.
  • Restart the client to boot from network.
  • The client should connect to the WDS server, and you can follow the prompts to select and install the desired operating system image.

Additional Configuration

  • Driver Packages: Import and manage drivers for different hardware requirements.
  • Multicasting: To save bandwidth, configure multicast transmissions if deploying to many clients at once.
  • Unattended Installation: Use answer files for zero-touch deployments.

By following these steps, you can set up and utilize Windows Deployment Services to streamline the deployment of Windows operating systems in your environment.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intune Windows Autopilot Steps-by-Step.

By On
Image
  What is Windows Autopilot? Windows autopilot is a modern way to manage or image a PC, wherever users are as long as they are connected to the Internet. You can test in Hyper-V. Benefits of Autopilot: Making it easier to set up, configuring through the internet, requiring no manual intervention, letting users take charge of the setup, adjusting settings based on user groups, working well with up-to-date management tools, ensuring devices meet security standards, and smoothly updating features. Intune Windows Autopilot Steps-by-Step? Go to Https://admin.microsoft.com Sing-in with your tenet : administrator@xyz2024a.onmicrosoft.com Click on Admin centers > Identity Now, In https://entra.microsoft.com > search Mobility (MDM ( mobile device management) and WIP) Click on “Microsoft Intune” Now Enable Intune Policy: Go to Intune portal page : https://intune.microsoft.com    Click on Devices (from left side) > Windows (by Platform) > windows devices   Now cr...
Read more

How to Map Network Drive using Group Policy Preferences?

By On
Image
  How to Map Network Drive using Group Policy Preferences? We are going to a Map drive for the HR Department. Double click on the HRUser Group > Member tab You can see we have only one member added in the Security Group ( HR User1). Before creating a Group Policy, let’s create one HRSharedData Folder in the file server or for a test you can create in the DC1 server also. Right -click on HRSharedDATA folder > Properties > Sharing Tab > advanced Sharing Chick on “ Share this folder ”  > click on OK . You should copy the Network Path : we need that path later on. And  click on close . Now it's time to create a GPO. In DC1 server, Click on Tool > Group Policy Management option. You should see GPO windows Now, click on Domains > mylab.local > Group Policy Objects  Right-Click on GP object > click on New In New GPO Give Name: like below and  Click ok . You  can see the GPO in the left side column. Now we should have to configu...
Read more

How to set up a Shared folder in Windows Server 2022?

By On
Image
  Shared folder in Windows Server 2022 : 1.        Open Server Manager and navigate to File and Storage Services, then click on Shares 2.        Click on "Tasks" and select "New Share" to launch the New Share Wizard 3.        Choose "SMB Share - Quick" for general file sharing and click Next 4.        Select the location for your shared folder. You can choose an existing folder or create a new one by selecting "Type a custom path" and using the Browse button 5.        Provide a name for the share. By default, it will use the folder name, but you can change it if desired 6.        Configure share settings: 7.        Enable "Access-based enumeration" to only show files and folders users have permission to access 8.        Optionally, configure offl...
Read more