To plan for your master computer configuration, you need to assess the following:
Hardware requirements
Operating system image requirements
Placement of the master computer
The minimum hardware requirements for your master computer are similar to those of client computers because the master must be capable of supporting the installation of the client's target operating system. This might be an operating system such as Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003. For more information about client computer hardware requirements, see "Evaluating RIS Cl 454k1021e ient Hardware" earlier in this chapter.
Because the master computer never participates in remote installations across the network, it is unnecessary for the master computer to be PXE-enabled. However, the master computer must meet the following requirements:
The HAL must be the same as that of client computers.
There can be only one disk partition and it must not contain any encrypted files.
The disk partition size must be less than or equal to the client partition size.
The master computer disk partition contains the operating system and applications you intend to provide to clients. The size of this partition determines the minimum disk size required on client computers that receive the image you create from the master computer using Riprep.exe. During image creation, if a client computer hard disk contains more than one partition, RIS sends a message to the client desktop stating that only the system partition (the one with the Windows folder) will be copied from the master installation image. If the client's boot partition and system partition are different, the computer cannot be imaged.
For this part of your planning process, use job aid "Planning the Master Computer Configuration" (ACIRIS_03.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Planning the Master Computer Configuration" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit) to indicate whether your master computer requires a hardware upgrade and if you need to verify that the master computer has the following:
A HAL matching that of client computers receiving a Riprep image.
A single disk partition the same size (or smaller) than the client computer disk partition, and with no encrypted files.
To create installation images of an operating system, run the Riprep wizard on the master computer. When you are ready to create your image, run Riprep.exe from the master computer by specifying the following in the Run dialog box:
\\RISServerName\Reminst\Admin\i386\Riprep.exe
The master computer contains the operating system, locally-installed applications, and any configured system settings that represent a standard client configuration that you want to deploy. Plan to carefully test each configuration before running Riprep.exe to create the installation image. After Riprep.exe replicates the image to the RIS server, you cannot alter the image configuration without installing the image, making the alterations, and re-running the Riprep wizard to create a new image.
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Note Overwriting an existing Riprep image on the RIS server is not recommended or supported. It is recommended that you delete the old image and make a new one. |
It is likely that you will need to create multiple operating system images from your master computer. When this is the case, consider installing the operating systems you intend to image by using unattended installations. This way, you can create and maintain a separate answer file for each image. This makes it easier to recall the original configurations if you need to make changes. For more information about using unattended installations for your master computer, see "Configuring a Master Installation" later in this chapter.
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Note At least one Risetup or CD-based image of the master computer operating system must exist on the RIS server. |
For this part of your planning process, use job aid "Planning the Master Computer Configuration" (ACIRIS_03.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Planning the Master Computer Configuration" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit) to indicate whether you plan to:
Install different operating systems on the master computer using unattended answer files.
Test the master installation prior to running Riprep.exe.
Earlier, in job aid "Planning for RIS Clients" (ACIRIS_01.doc), you recorded the operating system images you plan to make available to clients, along with application, driver, and desktop configurations.
If you are placing a RIS server on the network, you might consider placing the master computer in close proximity to the RIS server because you might need to administer the images to create permissions configurations for clients. For more information about specifying security permissions on Riprep images, see "Evaluating Security for Operating System Images" later in this chapter. If you set up a lab for preinstalling and configuring operating system images on client computers prior to delivery to the client, you can place your master computer in any suitable location in the lab.
For this part of your planning process, use job aid "Planning the Master Computer Configuration" (ACIRIS_03.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Planning the Master Computer Configuration" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit) to indicate the location for your master computer, either near your RIS server on the network, or in a lab.
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