For the first time since Windows NT
Server, Microsoft has improved how
users, enterprises, PC makers, and
OEMs configure, install, and deploy
Windows. New capabilities, such as
offline servicing and the ability to
create just one install image for multiple hardware configurations, make Windows
deployment easier than ever. But if you're an IT
administrator who'll need to deploy Windows
Vista either now or in the future, you've got a
lot to learn.
It's All About Image
Vista is deployed via a file-based image—similar to an ISO or virtual hard disk file—instead
of a complex directory structure of files. You
can edit a Vista image live and can easily create
custom install images. Furthermore, Microsoft
is distributing only one Vista image instead
of a different image for each product edition.
(Technically, there are actually two images: one
for 32-bit versions and one for x64 versions.)
The product key you use during installation
determines which edition is installed from
the image and which features are available to
the user. Vista is also internally componentized, making it easier to choose exactly which
applications and features will be installed.
(For information about Vista's componentization, see the Web-exclusive sidebar “Vista Componentization.”
Using simple drag-and-drop techniques
(or scripting and command-line tools), you
can easily update the Vista installation image
with new device drivers, languages, service
packs, and other features without having to
go through image recompilation. Changes to
images occur in real time, and you can base
install images on other install images. For
example, if you needed to roll out multiple language versions of Windows XP, you'd have to
create a separate install point for each version.
With Vista, you can create one language-free
install image and then add language images on
the fly, saving disk space and freeing you from
having to maintain multiple install points.
Windows Imaging Format (WIM) images
achieve smaller-than-expected file sizes by
combining standard compression technology
with Single Instance Storage (SIS) technology,
which allows an image file to contain only one
instance of each file, even when the image file
contains multiple install images. You can edit a
WIM image offline or mount it as a folder in the
file system and work with it as you would any
other folder. This capability will be revelatory
to those used to the drudgery of maintaining
and administering Remote Installation Services (RIS)–based client install points.
Tools of the Trade
Microsoft makes WIM management tools
available in the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK). The WAIK's collection of
tools includes
- ImageX—a command-line tool that lets you
capture and modify WIM-based disk images
- Windows Preinstallation Environment
(WinPE)—a miniature, bootable version of Vista that can exist in RAM and bootstrap
the Vista install process
- Windows System Image Manager—a tool
that builds next-generation answer files,
which Windows Setup uses to apply custom settings for hands-off Vista installs
- Windows Deployment Services (WDS)—a
new tool that replaces RIS
I discuss all these tools a little later.
Out on a WIM: Examining
a Vista Install Image
ImageX lets you view and modify Vista install
images so that they can be deployed from a
custom install DVD or a network file share. To
edit the install image, copy install.wim to the
hard disk of a system on which you've installed
the WAIK. Then, open the WinPE tools command prompt from the WAIK Start Menu folder.
This version of the command prompt includes
paths for various WAIK command-line tools,
including ImageX. Right-click the command
line tool's icon in the Start Menu and choose
Run as Administrator, clearing any User Account
Protection dialog boxes that appear.
Create a folder (e.g., C:\mount) in the file
system where the image will be mounted. You
can then use ImageX's Mount (view only) and
Mountwr (read/write) commands to mount,
view, and customize the installation image. If
your install.wim file is stored in C:\images and
you want to mount it in C:\mount, you'd use
the command
imagex /mountrw
c:\images\install.wim 1 c:\mount
Now, if you open My Computer and navigate to C:\mount, you'll see the standard Vista
folder structure, with the Program Files, Users,
and Windows folders in the root. If you display
hidden and protected files, you'll also see items
such as $Recycle.Bin, Documents and Settings,
and ProgramData. You can add files or even
entire directory structures to the resulting Vista
installation wherever is appropriate within
the mounted image. (Copy and paste seems
to work more consistently than does dragging
files in Windows Explorer.) You can also view
the contents of files within the image and edit
individual files.
After making changes to the image,
unmount it—which removes it from the
namespace of the Windows shell on your PC—and save your changes. To make ImageX
write the changes back to the original file, you'd
type
ImageX /unmount /commit c:\mount
Writing changes back to the original file could
take a while because install.wim is quite large.
To unmount the image without saving your
changes, type
ImageX /unmount c:\mount
A big benefit of image-based deployment
tools is that you can copy an image and then
edit the copy. Because the images are single
files, they're easy to manipulate in the file
system.
To slipstream a service pack or hotfix into
a Vista install image, simply copy the update's
executable into the Upgrade folder in the root
of the install image. There are no complex
command-line scripts to run or key codes to
remember.
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