Enterprise organizations that have a complex IT infrastructure can benefit from the automated capabilities of ZTI. A zero-touch solution is targeted primarily toward enterprise-class organizations that have large numbers of
computers deployed in the network infrastructure.
These organizations can utilize deployment automation capabilities, and can choose whether any end-user involvement is required.
Configuration Manager provides change and configuration management by providing functionalities such as the ability to deploy
operating systems, software applications, and software updates. You can also use Configuration Manager for monitoring hardware and software inventory and remote computer administration.
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Common scenarios in which you use the operating system deployment feature in Configuration Manager include:
• Operating system installation. You can use Configuration Manager to install a supported operating system on computer hardware that does not currently have an operating system.
• Operating system refresh. You can use Configuration Manager to install a supported operating system on a computer system with an existing operating system. In an operating system refresh scenario, you are not saving any data on the client system. You are only installing a new operating system.
• In-place upgrade. Sometimes, when performing an operating system refresh, you need to save user data on the system that you are refreshing. An in-place upgrade provides you with the tools necessary to automate saving data from the client system prior to the operating system refresh, and then restoring it after the operating system refresh completes.
• Side-by-side migration. When you replace a user’s computer with a new computer, you can use side-by-side migration to save the data off the old system, install an operating system on the new system, and then restore the data to the new system. This method requires that the old computer is a
Configuration Manager client, and that the new computer is linked to the old computer via computer association in Configuration Manager.
Operating system deployment uses many Configuration Manager components to deploy operating systems. Depending on the decisions you make, some of the components become optional. The Configuration Manager components that the operating system deployment uses are:
• Management point. When deploying to existing clients, the instructions that the administrator creates are copied to the management point.
• PXE. The PXE functionality that is enabled on distribution points will install the Windows DS role on a server. When deploying to computers that do not have an operating system installed, you can use PXE to boot the computer.
• Distribution point. The packages that the administrator creates are copied to the distribution point.
• Boot media. If deploying to computers that are offline, you can create a USB or optical boot media, and then use the boot media for the complete installation.
• State migration point. When deploying to existing clients, you can use a state migration point to store user state information.
Depending upon your deployment scenario, a Configuration Manager task sequence may reference one or more packages during installation. You can preconfigure these packages before you create a task sequence, or you can use the Import Microsoft Deployment Task Sequence command to create the packages that you need automatically. The following table lists the packages within a task sequence.
Package or image Contains
Boot image package Boot image that is used to initiate the ZTI deployment process.
Microsoft Deployment
Files package Contents of the Microsoft Deployment distribution share directory. (The files used from the distribution share directory are the scripts and control files.) Windows Server
operating system image
Windows Server operating system image to be deployed to the target computer.
Client package Configuration Manager client installation files.
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Package or image Contains
USMT package USMT files that are used to capture and restore the user state.
Custom settings
package Unattended files and customsettings.ini.
Sysprep files package
(optional) Specific Sysprep files that are defined for a package. (This package is required only for legacy operating systems such as the Windows XP operating system.) Application packages
(optional)
An option that you can use to customize deployment with different application installations.
Driver packages (optional)
Driver packages contain drivers that you import into the Configuration Manager distribution point, and allow the task sequence to choose Plug and Play drivers from the catalog
Designing the ZTI Environment
Designing the ZTI environment is a planning process. The design process consists of the following high-level steps:
1. Select the appropriate deployment scenarios.
2. Select the deployment methods.
3. Ensure that the required infrastructure exists.
4. Determine the appropriate processing rules. (These are required only if you are using MDT 2013 or Configuration Manager.)
5. Determine a monitoring plan.
6. Train team members.
Configuring and Deploying a Task Sequence
You can create task sequences that allow you to install an existing image package, or build and capture a reference operating system image. Alternatively, you can create a custom task sequence to perform a customized task using variables. You create a task sequence to deploy an existing Windows operating system image to a target computer by using the New Task Sequence Wizard in the Configuration Manager console.
You deploy task sequences to collections by using the Deployment Wizard in the Configuration Manager console. Before you run the Deployment Wizard, you need to know what target collections and desired run-time behavior you want for the deployment. Read access to the task sequence is required to deploy the task sequence, and the task sequence must exist prior to creating the deployment.
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