Automating Windows 7 Installation for Desktop and VDI Environments

Greg Shields

AutomatingWindows7InstallationforDesktopandVDIEnvironments

Chapter4:LayeringApplicationsonTopofDeployedWindowsImages.....................................48 StepEight:InstallingandPreparingtheMDT.....................................................................................48 . ImportinganMDTImage.........................................................................................................................50 ImportingDrivers........................................................................................................................................52 CreatingaTaskSequence.........................................................................................................................53 UpdatingtheDeploymentShare...........................................................................................................54 DeployingaBasicDesktopwithMDT.................................................................................................55 StepNine:LearningSilentInstallationsandRepackaging.............................................................56 ThreeWaystoSilenceApplications....................................................................................................58 MSIBasedInstallations............................................................................................................................58 EXEBasedInstallations............................................................................................................................59 DifferentialBasedInstallations............................................................................................................60 . StepTen:LayingApplicationsAtopaWindowsImage...................................................................61 AddingtheApplicationtotheMDT.....................................................................................................62 ConfiguringtheApplicationforDeployment..................................................................................63 ThinIsMostDefinitelyIn!............................................................................................................................65 DownloadAdditionaleBooksfromRealtimeNexus!........................................................................66

AutomatingWindows7InstallationforDesktopandVDIEnvironments

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AutomatingWindows7InstallationforDesktopandVDIEnvironments

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Chapter4:LayeringApplicationsonTopof DeployedWindowsImages
ThepreviouschapterofferedahalfchapterofstepbystepAutomatingWindows7 Installationcontent.Inthatchapter,youlearnedaboutStepSevenofthedeployment process:whereyoucancustomizeyourbasicWindows7imagesthoserightofftheDVD mediathroughthedeploymodifycapturemethodcommonlycalledthethickapproach.I mentionedthatattheconclusionofStepSevenyoureabsolutelyreadytobegindeploying images.StepSevenandthosepriorgiveyoueverythingyouneedtobesuccessfulin deployingWindows7usingthatthickapproach.Rejoice! YetthesecondhalfofChapter3focusedlessonthestepbystep;itwasdedicatedtowards pointingyouinthedirectionofanewandarguablysmarterapproach:thethinapproach. Usingthethinapproach,applications,customizations,anduserdataarenotconfigured directlyontheimage;instead,thosechangesarelayeredontopofabasicimage.Theyre deployedusingothertools.Onetoolthatiscommonlyused(atleastamongMicrosoftsno costoptions)istheMicrosoftDeploymentToolkit(MDT). ThischapterwillrepositionyourWindows7deploymentsolutioninsidetheframeworkof theMDTtogainaddedflexibilityindeployment.Yes,wellforaminutelosesomeofthe automationsthatweveworkedsohardtoimplement;butwellreplacethemwithamuch morecapableinterfacefortherealneedsofourproject.Anddontworry,Illhelpyouadd thosecustomizationsbackbythebooksconclusion. Inthischapter,youlllearnhowtoinstallandinitiallyconfiguretheMDT,howtodeployan image,andhowtolinkapplicationstothatdeployedimage.Atitsconclusion,youllseewhy thethinapproachcanbefarsuperiortoitsthickalternativeindealingwithapplications. Timeforanapplicationsdiet.

StepEight:InstallingandPreparingtheMDT
Asofthiswriting,theMDTscurrentversionisMDT2010Update1.Thus,startthisstepby locatinganddownloadingthisversionfromMicrosoftsWebsite.InstallittoyourWDS server.YoullfindthattheMDTinstallationisexceptionallysimple,requiringonlyafew verybasicquestionstogetstarted.

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Note TheMDTrequirestheWAIKforitsinstallation,whichyoualreadyinstalled totheWDSserverbackinStepFive. Onceinstalled,yourfirststepwillbeincreatingadeploymentshare.Itiswithinthis deploymentsharewheremuchofyourworkwillbestored.Youllfindyourselfhereduring mostofyourMDTadministration.RightclicktheDeploymentSharelink,andchooseNew DeploymentSharetobegin.SixquestionsareaskedaspartoftheNewDeploymentShare Wizard.Youllneedtoprovideapath,sharename,anddescriptivenameforthelocationon diskwheredeploymentdatawillbestored.IllusethelocationC:\DeploymentShare. YoullalsobeaskedthreequestionsregardingwhetheryouwanttheMDTtoconfirm whetheranimageshouldbecaptured(seeFigure4.1),whetheryouwantuserstoseta localadministratorpasswordduringdeployment,andwhetheryouwantuserstoentera productkey.Acceptthedefaultsforeachofthesequestionstobegin.

Figure4.1:Allowimagecapture. Completingthistaskcreatesthedeploymentshareintheworkbench.Figure4.2showsan exampleofhowtheworkbenchwilllook.Youllnoticethatthedeploymentsharecomes equippedwithafewadditionalcomponentsthatwerentavailableinWDS,suchasthe Applications,Packages,andTaskSequencesnodes.AsImentionedinthepreviouschapter, MDTwrapsaroundtheknowledgeyouvealreadygainedatthispoint.UsingMDT,youllbe abletocreateusefultasksequencesthatbetterdefinethecharacteristicsofimagesas theyredeployedtodesktops.

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Figure4.2:TheDeploymentWorkbench.

ImportinganMDTImage
Butbeforewegetthere,letsgettheMDTuptoalevelofcapabilitywevealready accomplishedwithWDS.Youllbehappytoknowthatthiswonttakemucheffort.Startby rightclickingOperatingSystems,andchoosingImportOperatingSystem. WevealreadycreatedasetofimagesthattheMDTcanimport.Theseimagesarelocated onourWDSserver;wenowjustneedtomakethemavailableintheMDT.Dosoby selectingCustomimagefileintheOSTypewindow(seeFigure4.3).ClickNext,andentera pathtotheimages.WIMfile.Ifyouvebeenfollowingalong,Iwillbeuploadingthecustom imagewecreatedinChapter2calledWindows7ENTERPRISE+Office.Thatimageis locatedinC:\RemoteInstall\Images\Windows7Default.

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Figure4.3:OSType. IdidntselecttheWindowsDeploymentServicesimagesoptionbecausethereappearstobe anissuewiththisoptioninthecurrentMDTversion.Partofthatissuerelatestotheneed toimportWindows7setupfileswiththecustomimage.Intheend,choosingtheCustom imagefileroutemadeeverythingworkjustfine. Figure4.4showsthescreenyoullseenextifyouselectCustomimagefileinFigure4.3.At thisscreen,selectthesecondoptiontoCopyWindowsVista,WindowsServer2008,orlater setupfilesfromthespecifiedpath.EnterSetupsourcedirectorypathtotheWindows7DVD media,andclickNext.Failuretocompletethistaskmaygenerateanerrormessageasyou attempttodeployanOSimageinalaterstep.Clickthroughtheremainingscreensinthe wizardtoimportthisimage.

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Figure4.4:SpecifyOSfiles.

ImportingDrivers
Afteruploadinganimage,youllwanttouploadthesetofcustomdriversyoucollectedfor WDSinthepreviouschapter.DosobyrightclickingOutofBoxDrivers,andselecting UploadDrivers.Thewizard,seeninFigure4.5,willaskforthefolderwherethedriversare stored.YoucreatedthisfolderinStepFourinChapter2.

Figure4.5:SpecifydirectoryfortheImportDriverWizard.

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Note IfyourefollowingalongathomeandusingVMwareToolsdevicedrivers,be awarethatthesedriversdontfunctioninWinPE.Thereisawayaroundthis, however:Viewthepropertiesofyourdeploymentshareandlookatthe WindowsPEx86/x64Componentstabs.Fornow,settheirselectionprofilesto NothingtopreventaWinPEbootfailure. PayattentiontotheWinPEconfigurationsinthisscreen.Itisherewhere driversfromyourOutofBoxDriversnodeareinjectedintoWinPE.Evenif yourenotusingVMwareWorkstation,youllwanttospecificallytailoryour driverselectionsheresothatinappropriatedriversarentinjectedinto WinPE.

CreatingaTaskSequence
Next,youneedtocreateatasksequencefordeployingaWindowsimage.Thistask sequenceaddstheMDTsusefulworkflowcomponentsintoadeployment.Youwillcreatea basictasksequenceatthispointandaddtoitinalaterstep. RightClickTaskSequences,andchooseaNewTaskSequencetostarttheNewTask Sequencewizard.Thiswizardstartsthecreationofatasksequencebyaskingsixquestions: Thetasksequencesname,thetemplate,OS,andproductkeytouse,thenameand organizationoftheuseraswellastheInternetExplorerhomepage,andfinallythelocal administratorpassword. MostofthesesettingsshouldbeselfexplanatorywiththeexceptionoftheSelectTemplate page(seeFigure4.6).There,youllfindseventasksequencetemplatestochoosefrom.The sequenceyoullwanttocreateisastandardOSdeployment.Whatweredoingisnot performingacapture.Werenotreplacingaclient.Wedontintendtoupgrade,butinstead deployafreshOSthatassumesnoexistinguserdata.Therefore,selecttheStandardClient TaskSequence,andcompletetherestofthescreensinthewizard.

Figure4.6:SelectingaTaskSequencetemplate.

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Takeaminuteandperusethepropertiesofthetasksequenceyoujustcreated.Underthe TaskSequencetab,youllnoticetheimpressivelistoftasks(seeFigure4.7)thatcanbe customizedaspartofthissequence.Illreturntotheseinaminute,butspendsometime familiarizingyourselfwithwhatyoullsoonbeabletodo.

Figure4.7:TheTaskSequencetab.

UpdatingtheDeploymentShare
Nextupisupdatingthedeploymentshare.Amongotherthings,thisactivitylinkstheMDT toWDS.Thelinkagerequirestwoparts:First,rightclickyourdeploymentshareandview itsproperties.UndertheGeneraltab,selecttheEnablemulticastforthisdeploymentshare (requiresWindowsServer2008WindowsDeploymentServices)checkbox,thenclickOK. Next,rightclickyourdeploymentshareagain,thistimechoosingUpdateDeploymentShare. ThisprocessupdatestheMDTsneededconfigurationfilesandcreatesthenecessaryboot imagesthatyoulluseshortly.Acceptitsdefaultvalues,andcompletethewizard.This processwilltakeanextendedperiodoftime.

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ThesectionactionistoreplaceWDSoriginalbootimageswiththosethattheMDTjust created.Dontworry;theyremuchnicerthantheboot.wimthatwevebeenusing!Disable anybootimagescurrentlyonyourWDSserverbyrightclickingtheimage,andselecting Disable.ThenrightclickBootImages,andchooseAddBootImage.Thebootimagecanbe foundinC:\DeploymentShare\Boot\LiteTouchPE_x64.wimifyourdeploymentshareisin thesamelocation. Note IfinChapter2sStepFiveyouconfiguredyourWinPEunattendfiletopoint towardsaspecificFilename,ImageGroup,andImageName,nowwouldbea goodtimetoremovethosesettings.

DeployingaBasicDesktopwithMDT
Aftercompletingtheprevioussteps,yourereadytodeployyourfirstdesktopwiththe MDT.PXEbootthatdesktopjustlikeyouvebeendoingupuntilthispoint.Noticeasits bootingthatyouarenowbootingfromtheMDTsLiteTouchPE_x64.wimratherthanWDS boot.wimfile. Oncebooted,youllbegreetedwithaverydifferentdesktopandawelcomescreenthan whatyousawwithWDS.Thisnewwelcomescreencomesequippedwithquiteafewmore optionsthaninWDS(seeFigure4.8).ClicktheverylargebuttonmarkedRunthe DeploymentWizardtoinstallanewOperatingSystem,thenenterappropriatecredentialsin theresultingscreen.

Figure4.8:TheWelcomeWindowsDeploymentscreen.

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Nowthingsbegintogetvery,veryinteresting.Thattasksequencewecreatedjustaminute agocanbeselectedinsidethiswizard.Infact,anytasksequenceisnowavailablefor selection.Ifyouselectatasksequence(seeFigure4.9,inmycaseWindows7ENTERPRISE+ Office)andcontinuethroughthewizard,youllbeaskedcommonquestionslikethe computername,domainjoininginformation,whetheryouwanttorestoreuserdata (new!),language,timezone,BitLockerconfiguration(alsonew!),andotherpreferences.

Figure4.9:Selectatasksequence. Youllevenbeaskedifyouwanttousethisdeploymentasacaptureratherthana deployment.Alloftheseoptionsareavailableinthesametasksequence.Completethe seriesofwizardpagesandthedeploymentwillbegin. ItisimportanttorecognizethatalthoughtasksequencesareallmanagedinsidetheMDT, WDScontinuestohandleallthedeploymentresponsibilities.ThatmeansWDSremains responsibleforyourPXEbootinfrastructureandallnetworktransportrequirementsfor deployingimages.Youwill,however,beginworkingwithimagesnowinsidetheMDT.

StepNine:LearningSilentInstallationsandRepackaging
OneoftheareaswheretheMDTtrulyshinesisinitsabilitytolayerapplicationsontopof anexistingOSimage.IfyourecallthesecondhalfofChapter2,thislayeringofapplications allowsyoutocreatearelativelythinOSimage.Thatthinimagehasfewconfigurations. Thus,ithaslittleintermsofregularmaintenanceneeds,alleviatingyoufromtheneedto deploy,modify,andrecapturetheimagewitheachchange. ApplicationsarelayeredintoimagesbyaddingthemintotheMDTsApplicationsnode.If yourightclickthatnode,andchooseNewApplication,youllbegreetedwithawizardfor addingsuchanapplication.Figure4.10showsanexampleofthethreetypesofapplications thatcanbeadded:thosewithsourcefiles,thosewithoutsourcefilesorlocatedelsewhere onthenetwork,andapplicationbundles(whicharecollectionsofapplications).

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Figure4.10:NewApplicationWizard Thesecondoftheseselectionscomesinespeciallyhandyifyouhavealreadygenerateda stockpileofapplicationsthathavebeenrepackagedtorunsilently.Thisrepackagingprocess isfundamentallyimportanttoapplicationlayering,andrepresentsthebiggesthurdlemost ITorganizationshaveinmakingthethicktothinjump.Why?Theprocesstorepackage applicationscanbecomplex,andisinmanywaysabitofanartform. Theissuegoesabitlikethis:Rememberhowwereconfiguredourimagesbackintheearly stepsofthisbooksothattheywouldfunctionwithoutpromptingforquestions?Byusing unattendfiles,wewereabletoanswerthosequestionspriortoadeployment,allowingthe deploymenttocontinuethroughwithoutprompting.Thesameholdstruewiththin deployedapplications.Theseapplicationsneedtoberepackagedsothattheyoperate silently;essentially,sothattheydonotaskanyofthenormalquestionsanapplication wouldaskwhenitisinstalled. Letmegiveyouashortprimerthatwillgetyoustartedwithrepackagingyourapplications. Thisisntastepbystepprocessbecauseeveryapplicationisalittlebitdifferent.Youll needtodosomesleuthingandmorethanabitofdetectiveworktoaccomplishthistask correctly.Onceyoulearnthebasics,youwillbereadyforStepTen,inwhichIllshowyou howtoincorporateonesilencedapplicationWinZipintoatasksequence.

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ThreeWaystoSilenceApplications
Letmehelpyouwiththesciencebehindtheart.Therearethreecommonwaysinwhich softwareistypicallyinstalledtoacomputer: MSIbasedinstallations.Theseinstallations,allofwhichhavean.MSIextension, leveragethebuiltinWindowsInstallerServicetocompletetheirtask.Theyshare thiscommonality,sotheytendtobetheeasiesttorepackage. EXEbasedinstallations.Asoftwareinstallationwithan.EXEextensiontypically usesitsownbuiltinmechanismforinstallingitself.Withasetofpotentialtoolsto createthesefiles,thereareanequalsetofwaystosilencethem.Withthese,youll findyourselfneedingalittlesleuthingtodiscovertheirsecretsforsilence. Differentialbasedinstallations.Whenneitheroftheothertwomechanismswork foraninstallation,toolsareavailablethatcansnapshottheconfigurationofa computerbeforeandafteraninstallationtodeterminewhichfilesandregistrykeys changed.

Forthefirsttwoinstallationtypes,thesolutionforrepackagingisinfindingtheirsilent switches.Theseswitches,suchas/silent,/s,or/v/qnforexample,instructeitherthebuilt ininstallationcodeortheWindowsInstallerServicetoinstallthepackagewithout promptingtheuser.Forthethirdmechanism,specialtoolsarerequired.Welldiscussall threeinthefollowingsections.

MSIBasedInstallations
MSIinstallationsaregenerallytheeasiesttorepackagetorunsilently.EveryMSI installationusestheWindowsInstallerService.Thus,everyMSIinstallationtendstohave similarsilentswitchesthatinstallthepackagesilently. Generally,allMSIbasedinstallationsusethemsiexec.execommandtoinvoketheir installation.Thegeneralsyntaxlooksabitlikethis:
msiexec.exe/qb/l*{logfile.txt}/i{setup.msi}{NAME=Value}

Inthecode,eachswitchinstructstheWindowsInstallerServicetoaccomplishadifferent taskassociatedwiththeinstallation.Table4.1explainsthejobofeachswitch.
Switch msiexec.exe /qb/l* {logfile.txt} /i {setup.msi} {NAME=Value} Description Invoke the Windows Installer Service Use a basic user interface with no (modal) dialog boxes Log all information about the installation to logfile.txt Install the setup.msi application (as opposed to repairing or uninstalling it, which use different switches) [Optional] Set the NAME setting to the configured Value

Table4.1:Commonmsiexec.exeswitches.

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{NAME=Value]atthebottomofTable4.1requiresadditionalexplanation.Customizations forMSIbasedinstallationsarestoredinadatabaselikeformat.Thus,settingsthat customizetheinstallationforyourenvironmentsuchasinstallationlocation,post installationrebootsuppressing,orotherelementscanbesetatthetimeofinstallation. WithMSIinstalls,thesearetypicallycompletedinoneoftwowayseitherbysetting individualvaluesatthecommandlineorbyusingatransformfile.Transformfilesareused whenthenumberofcustomizationsislarge,asitallowsindividualcustomizationstobe wrappedintoasinglefile.ForexampletoinstallaversionWinZip,youmightusea commandsimilarto:

msiexec/qb/l*logfile.txt/iWinZip.msiSERIALNUMBER={value}REBOOT=SUPRESS

Inthisexample,theWinZip.msifileislaunchedwithtwocustomizations.Thefirstinputs theserialnumberasitinstallsthesoftware.Thesecondinstructstheinstallernottoreboot themachineaftertheinstallation. Ifatransformfilewereavailableforthissameinstallation,itwouldchangetheinstallation toresemblethefollowing:

msiexec/qb/l*logfile.txt/iWinZip.msiTRANSFORMS={transform.mst}

ThehardestpartaboutrepackagingMSIfilescanbeinfindingtherightcustomization settingsforthecommandline.MSIinterrogationtoolsareavailabletodothis,andsome applicationvendorsprovidetoolsforgeneratingyourowntransformfiles.Theartinthis processisindeterminingwhattheyareandhowtousethem. Note OneverygoodwaytofindthisinformationistocheckouttheWebsite www.appdeploy.com.Thislocationincludesaclearinghouseofmany commoninstallationsandtheircustomizationoptions.

EXEBasedInstallations
EXEbasedinstallscanbemoredifficultthanMSIbasedinstallationsbecauseeachEXE basedinstallhasitsownbuiltinmechanismsforrepackagingforsilentinstallation. Sleuthingtofindtheappropriateswitchesismuchoftheartofsoftwarepackaging. Theeasiestplacetostartisbysimplyattemptingtorunthesoftwareinstallationwiththe /?switch.Thisswitchaswellas/help,help,andotherscanoftendisplayadialogbox thatpresentstheproperswitchestobeusedforsilentinstallation.Othercommonswitches thatareknowntoworkare/sand/s/v/qb.Theseswitchesareusedbysomeofthe commonenterprisepackagingsolutionsforsilentinstallation.

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Note ThereisnocommonschemaamongEXEbasedinstallations,soother switchescanalsobeconfiguredtorunthepackagesilently,suchas/q:a/r:n, /silent,/passive,/quiet.Theclearinghouseatwww.appdeploy.comaswellas ontheWebsiteoftheapplicationsvendorcanprovideinformationabout EXEpackages. AnothercommonlyusedtacticiswrappinganEXEinstallationaroundanMSIfile.Here, whendoubleclicked,theEXEfileactuallylaunchesanMSIinstallationinsideitself.With thesesortsofinstallations,theuseofthe/aswitchcansometimesassistwithextracting theMSIfilefromitshostEXE. Trythisprocesswiththe/aswitch:Fromacommandprompt,run
setup.exe/a

Thislauncheswhatiscalledanadministrativeinstallationofthesoftware.Often,this administrativeinstallationcanpromptyouthroughtheinstallationasifyouwereinstalling itonacomputer.Insteadofactuallyinstallingthepackage,itresultsinanunpackedMSI filethathasbeenpreconfiguredwithyourstatedcustomizations.ThatMSIfilecanthenbe launchedsilentlyusingthetechniquesdiscussedearlier. AsecondtactictounpacktheMSIfileistodoubleclicktheEXEfileandallowittounpack itself.Whenthefirstscreenoftheinstallationpresentsitself,leavethescreenopenand lookinthecomputers%TEMP%folder.Often,youllfindtheMSIfileyourelookingforin thatlocation.

DifferentialBasedInstallations
Lastisthesituationwherenomatterofsleuthingcandeterminehowtodirectlyconvert thesoftwaresinstallationtosilentmode.Suchisoftenthecasewhenthesoftwares developerdidntincludethenecessarycodetomakeitrunsilent.Inthesecases,the optimalsolutionforrepackagingthissoftwareisthroughwhatIllcalladifferentialbased installationordiff. Inadiff,aspecialpieceofsoftwareisusedthatsnapshotsacomputer.Thecomputerused forthesesnapshotsshouldberelativelyfreeofconfigurations.Itshouldincludethesame OSonwhichyoueventuallyintendtodeploythesoftware.Itshouldalsocontainthe minimumamountofsoftwarenecessarytoinstallthepieceofsoftwareyouintendto repackage.

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Twosnapshotsarecreated.Thefirstcaptureseachfile,folder,andregistrykeypresenton thatsystem.Oncethefirstsnapshothascompleted,thesoftwaretoberepackagedisthen installedtothecomputer.Afterinstallingthesoftware,asecondsnapshotistaken.Thediff toolthenscansthetwosnapshotstolookforchangestofiles,folders,andtheregistry. Changesarepresentedtotheadministratorthroughatreelikeinterfacethatallowsyouto selectivelyremoveanyextraneousfindings(thesecanbecommon).Onceremoved,the remainderisthenrepackagedintoanewMSIfilethatautomaticallyrunssilently. SoftwareIsReallyJustFilesandRegistryKeys Atitscore,asoftwareinstallationislittlemorethanaprocessthatcopiesa setoffilesandfolderstoatargetsystem,adds,updates,orremovesasetof registrykeys.Sometimesdriversareregistered,butattheendoftheday,a softwareinstallationisntmuchmorethanafilecopyandaregistrychange. Professionalinstallersmayincludeadditionalfunctionalitythatstreamlines thisprocess,butinthebackground,thesearethemaintwostepsusedto installvirtuallyallpiecesofsoftware. Thus,ifyoumerelywatchtoseewhichfilesandregistrykeyshavechanged, youreprobablygoingtocapturewhatthesoftwareinstallationprogram actuallyaccomplished.Justrepackagethosechanges,andyouvegotyour silentinstallation. Manydifftoolsareexceptionallyexpensiveandarepartsofenterpriseclasssoftware distributionplatforms.Theseexpensivesoftwarepackagescanbetoocostlyforthesmall ITshop.Onelongstandingandnocostsolutionstillavailabletodayisthesoftwaretool calledWinINSTALLLE(foundathttp://www.scalable.com/wininstallle).Thistoolshould beinstalledontoacleanreferencecomputer.Onceinstalled,runWinINSTALLLEsDiscover menuitemtobeginthesnapshot/installation/resnapshotprocess.

StepTen:LayingApplicationsAtopaWindowsImage
ThoughtheinformationinStepNineonlyscrapesthesurfaceofthedarkartofsoftware packaging,itservesasastartingpointmovingtowardsthethinapproachtoapplication installations.Outofeachofthestepsinthisbooksofar,StepNinewillprobablytakeyou thelongesttocomprehend.Sodontgettoodiscouragedifyoudontunderstandits processesatfirst.Ididnt. InStepTen,Iwanttoshowyouthestepbystepprocessesyoucanusetolayeran applicationoncesilencedintoaWindowsimage.Beawarethatyoumaynotwanttodo thiswitheveryapplication.Thoseapplicationsthatyouanticipateeveryuserneeding,such asMicrosoftOfficeand/orothercommonapplications,maybebettermanagedbybeing directlyinstalled(usingthethickapproach)ontotheimage.Thedecisionabouthowto deliveranapplicationwilldependonyourenvironmentsindividualneeds.

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LetsassumethatforStepTen,IhavealreadyrepackagedtheWinZipapplicationusingthe diffmethodfromStepNine.Usingthatmethod,Ihaveaninstallationthatrunssilently. Wheninvoked,itsMSIinstallationautomaticallyinstallstheWinZipapplicationontoa Windowsdesktop.Ratherthanapplyingitdirectlytotheimage,IwanttolayerWinZiponly forthoseuserswhoneedit.ThisapplicationcurrentlyresidesinmyITsharefoundat \\wdsserver\ITApplications\WinZip.

AddingtheApplicationtotheMDT
BackintheMDT,rightclicktheApplicationsnode,andchooseNewApplication.Justlikein Figure4.10,IllchooseApplicationwithoutsourcefilesorelsewhereonthenetworkbecause IdontwanttoimporttheapplicationdirectlyintotheMDT. Figure4.11showsthenextscreeninthiswizardwhereImpromptedforthepublisher, applicationname,version,andlanguageoftheapplication.Thisinformationisusefulwhen thetimecomestodeploytheapplication.Thus,althoughthefourselectionsareoptional, considerfillingthemin.

Figure4.11:Applicationdetails. Thewizardsnextscreen,whichFigure4.12shows,providesalocationtoenterthefull pathtothepackagedapplicationsexecutablealongwithaworkingdirectory.Thispath mustbeaccessiblebytheuserwhoseaccountwillbeusedfordeployingtheOSimage. EnsurethatappropriatepermissionsareappliedtotheshareandNTFSpermissions.Click throughtheremainingscreenstocompletethewizard.

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Figure4.12:Commanddetails.

ConfiguringtheApplicationforDeployment
TwomethodsareavailableforaddingtheapplicationtotheOSdeployment.Itispossibleto selectoneormoreapplicationsduringthedeploymentactivity.Thisoccurswhileyou answerthequestionsinsidetheMDTtasksequence.Everyapplicationthathasbeenadded totheMDTserversApplicationsnodewillbeavailableforinstallationinthisscreen. YoucanseeinFigure4.13thatcheckboxesareavailableforinstallingtheWinZip application.OtherapplicationsthathavebeenaddedtotheMDT,suchasCompanyApp ABC,arealsoavailableforinstallationinthiswizardpage.Selectthecheckboxnexttothe applicationstobeinstalled,andcontinuethroughthewizard.Applicationsareinstalledin theStateRestorephaseoftheMDTtasksequence.

Figure4.13:Selectoneormoreapplicationstoinstall. Applicationsneedntnecessarilybeoptionalactivitiesinsideatasksequence.Infact,full automationmeansnotmakingtheseoptionsinsidethedeployment.Aswithmany customizationsinsidetheMDT,youcandirectthoseactionsrightinsidetheMDTtask sequence.

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Figure4.14showsthetasksequencefortheWindows7ENTERPRISE+Officeimagethat wevebeenworkingwithinthischapter.IntheStateRestorephase,youcanseetheInstall Applicationstask.IhaveselectedtoInstallasingleapplicationinthistask,withthe applicationsettoNicoMakComputingWinZip11.Noticehowthisissubtlydifferentthan thealternative,whichinstallsmultipleapplicationsbasedondecisionsmadeinsidethe deploymentwizard.InstallingadditionalapplicationshappensbyclickingAdd|General| InstallApplicationinthetasksequence.

Figure4.14:Installingapplicationsinatasksequence.

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Note Althoughnottothelevelofadedicatedapplicationdeploymentsolution,the MDTsgranularmanagementofapplicationsisfairlyrich.Forexample,you candefinecollectionsofapplicationstobedeployedtogetherbycreatingan applicationbundle. Youcanalsoensurethatstringsofapplicationsthathavedependencieson eachothersuchaswhenalineofbusinessapplicationrequiresMicrosoft officeareinstalledinorder.Thisisaccomplishedthroughthe Dependenciestabinsidethepropertiesoftheapplication. Moredetailaboutaccomplishingthesetasksisoutofscopeofthischapter, butyoucanlearnmorebyexploringtheoptionsundertheApplicationstab tofamiliarizeyourselfwithwhatcapabilitiestheMDTprovides.

ThinIsMostDefinitelyIn!
Chapters3and4havehopefullyexpandedyourknowledgeandyourexpectationsinterms ofwhatanautomatedWindows7installationsolutionshouldlooklike.Suchasolution shouldabsolutelybeabletodeployWindows7images.Butasmartsolutiononethat reallyandtrulyaugmentsthebusinessprocessofITshouldalsobeabletolayerinthose extrabits. Andyetapplicationsarenttheonlythingthatsuchasolutionneedstohandle.Wehavent evengottentothearguablymoreimportantscenariossurroundingtheprotectionofuser data.TheonlywayyourWindows7upgradeprojectwillbeconsideredasuccessisifyou canprotectthatdataandensureitarrivesbackonusersupgradedcomputers.Eventhe smallestamountofmissingdatacreatesstressandnegativeattitudesthatcauseupgrade projectstofailure. Thatswhythenextchapterisallaboutuserdata.Youllfindthatthethinapproachworks verywellhere.TheMDTincombinationwithMicrosoftUserStateMigrationTool(USMT yetanotheracronym!)willenableyoutolayeruserstatedataoverthetopofadeployed OS. YoullalsoprobablyrecognizethatourshiftfromWDStotheMDThasremovedafewof theautomationsthatwesocarefullybuiltinthepreviousthreechapters.ThatsOK.We gaincriticalgranularityintheprocess,butaholisticsolutionneedstoincludethose automationstobefullycomplete.Overthenextfewchapters,wellbeaddingthose automationsbackin.Thefinalchapterwillthenbeawrapup,consolidatingeverything intoafinalandfullyworkablesolution.

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