MDT deployment using WDS PxE boot on branch offices
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Sunday, October 07, 2012 10:34 AM
Hi!
Ok, here's my scenario:
I have set up a WDS server also running running MDT in our head office for Windows 7 deployment. Now I want to scale this solution to our five branch offices. The branch offices only have a DC locally and basically no other servers.
What I want to do is to be able to PxE boot the computers at the branches using the WDS server at our head office but pull the OS WIM-file from a local file share instead of pulling the whole thing over the WAN.
Is this possible to achieve without a local install of WDS/MDT on every site? Shouldn't it be possible using DFS-R and IP helper or something?
I have been searching a lot in the forums but can't seem to find exactly what I am looking for.
Thanks!
/J
All Replies
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Sunday, October 07, 2012 12:36 PM
As far as I know they all need to have a WDS server or you will have to generate a custom Boot Image for every site.
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Sunday, October 07, 2012 3:50 PM
Don't confuse MDT with WDS. MDT is purely a set of files (scripts, xml, sources, WIMs) that is served from a share. It does not require WDS and you could easily replicate the content of the MDT deployment share with something like DFS or robocopy to make the MDT files available at multiple locations.
WDS is a PXE service that you can boot a system to over the network. MDT can use a WDS instance to allow systems to boot into WinPE over the network.
So, yes you can perform a PXE boot over a WAN connection if the initial PXE requested is routed properly to the PXE server from the client NIC using iphelpers (preferred) or DHCP scope options (not preferred). It will be quite slow though as boot images are still 150-200MB in size and this will come from the PXE server (WDS) via TFTP every time you PXE boot a client.
Where a client PXE boots from has no bearing on where it will pull MDT files from though. You will have to build in some intelligence so that the MDT process connects to the local MDT deployment share, but that's relatively easy to do.
Is there a specific reason you don't want to put WDS in the remote locations?
As mentioned above also, MDT does not require WDS/PXE. You can deliver the boot image via boot media (USB key or CD) with identical results.
Jason | http://blog.configmgrftw.com
- Proposed As Answer by jon.0212 Sunday, October 07, 2012 11:17 PM
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Sunday, October 07, 2012 5:57 PM
Thanks Jason,
I am aware of the differences between WDS and MDT, that WDS basically just serves as the PXE service for deploying the LTI boot image. However, the ability to boot from the network with F12 is a very important detail since our branch office users are not that computer savvy (we have no IT staff onsite) and keeping an updated CD or USB flashdrive is not an option for us.
Is there no way to PxE boot to the main WDS server but pull the actual boot file from a local server, thus not having to pull the image over the WAN?
And in other case, is it really smart to put a WDS role on a Domain controller?
/J
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Sunday, October 07, 2012 7:34 PM
WDS is designed to deploy the boot image also using TFTP as most traditional PXE servers do. While it's technically possible to have a PXE server redirect the client to an alternate TFTP server for the boot image, WDS does not do this (and cannot be made to do so to my knowledge) and I know of only one other PXE offering that actually does enable this (although it is a third-party, for pay tool used to supplement ConfigMgr) -- there may be others though. In some very limited research, it appears it *may* be possible to modify the bcd used by WDS to pull a boot image from an alternate TFTP server, but I can't find any good documentation. This wouldn't solve your problem anyway though, because you would still need a TFTP server with the boot image on it and available.
I'm not sure if I agree with your statement about the users though -- they all know how to use CDs and USB keys so I can't see that as being any more difficult than PXE booting and should be easier.
I agree that putting anything on a DC is a bad idea, however, you don't really have a choice if you only have one system at those locations. I'm sure you're already hosting other things on it like file shares and printers though -- WDS is nothing more than a file sharing service.
Jason | http://blog.configmgrftw.com
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Sunday, October 07, 2012 7:53 PM
Is this possible to achieve without a local install of WDS/MDT on every site? Shouldn't it be possible using DFS-R and IP helper or something?
What you want is possible. Take a look in the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Documentation Library and search for the section:
Configuring Distributed File System ReplicationIt all looks pretty straightforward. I've not done it myself yet though.
Blog: http://scriptimus.wordpress.com
- Marked As Answer by JoSvWiBr Monday, October 08, 2012 7:20 PM
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Sunday, October 07, 2012 8:36 PM
They treat boot in a special way, I have never setup a DFSR myself, could someone elaborate this?
They replicate it to a different location on a child deployment server than the share itself but does this also imply in any way that they use retrieve different boot images from the master?
Having a WDS at every site allows you to share the boot image across all of them.
Which means you could replicate the complete contents of the DeploymentShare without treating the boot folder in a special way. -
Sunday, October 07, 2012 11:17 PM
I have a couple remote sites and was thinking of doing IPHelper to my Main Offices WDS server for the boot image then configuring a local deployment share with a wizard prompt as described here:
I'm hoping the PXE boot image copy won't be too horrible but will see how it goes.
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Monday, October 08, 2012 7:24 PM
I tried that solution and it seems to work fine. I'm going to visit one of the branches in a few days so I will test the deployment then.
Thanks a lot for all your answers!
Cheers,
Joel
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