Image-based installations, also known as disk
cloning or simply cloning, is the fastest method of
deploying Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Server.
Image-based installations are useful if you are
deploying computers that have similar hardware and
you want to perform quick, clean installations with
minimal end user interaction
Cloning NLB Clusters
consists of the following steps:
|
1. |
Building a master installation on a
master computer. Building a master
installation includes installing and
configuring the operating system and any
software and drivers you need to include on
your virtual hard disk. |
|
2. |
Preparing the master installation with
the Sysprep tool. This includes configuring
and running the Sysprep tool on the master
computer. |
|
3. |
Generating a virtual hard disk of the
master installation with the disk-imaging
tool. This includes saving each virtual hard
disk to a permanent storage location. |
|
4. |
Loading virtual hard disks on
destination computers that will make up a
cluster. |
You need to setup a master computer which you will
use to build a master installation and later to
create a virtual hard disk.
Building a master
installation includes installing and configuring the
operating system and any software and drivers you
need to include on your virtual hard disk.
After you have prepared a master installation on the
master computer, you need to prepare a virtual hard
disk for cloning. Microsoft provides a tool called
sysprep that allows you to prepare an image for
cloning. The tool can be found on
the Windows
Advanced Server 2003 CD in the \support\tools
directory. When you run sysprep on the master
computer, you can supply one of the following two
switches:
-factory or reseal.
You can use
Factory mode to install additional drivers and
applications at the stage after the reboot that
follows Sysprep. Normally, running Sysprep as the
last step in the pre-installation process prepares
the computer for delivery. When rebooted, the
computer starts Mini-Setup. By running Sysprep with
the -factory option, the computer reboots in a
network-enabled state without starting Mini-Setup.
In this state, Factory.exe processes its answer
file, Winbom.ini, and performs the following
actions:
|
1. |
Copies drivers from a network source to
the computer |
|
2. |
Starts Plug and Play enumeration |
|
3. |
Stages, installs, and uninstalls
applications on the computer from source
files located on either the computer or a
network source |
|
4. |
Adds customer data |
When finished, run Sysprep with the -reseal
option to prepare the virtual hard disk for cloning.
For example, you can create a master installation
that contains a minimal set of drivers, run sysprep
-factory, create an image of the installation, and
copy the image to multiple destination computers. If
any destination computers require additional
drivers, run sysprep -factory on the destination
computer and load those drivers at that time.
For more information about the Factory mode and
winbom.ini file, refer to Microsoft Windows XP
Preinstallation Guide. This document is located
in Deploy.cab on the Windows Server 2003 CD.
If you do not need to install any additional
drivers or applications on the destination
computers, run sysprep in the Reseal mode.
To completely automate NLB cluster installation, you
will need to use the sysprep.inf file which is an
answer file used by sysprep during and after
Mini-Setup.
A fully unattended Setup requires the following
sections and entries:
| [Unattended] |
UnattendMode TargetPath |
|
| [GuiUnattended] |
AdminPassword TimeZone |
|
| [Identification] |
JoinWorkgroup |
You may instead specify JoinDomain,
DomainAdmin, and DomainAdminPassword. |
| [LicenseFilePrintData] |
AutoMode AutoUsers |
Requires AutoUsers ifAutoMode =
PerServer. |
| [Networking] |
|
Required to configure network protocols. |
| [UserData] |
ComputerName FullName |
|
Please refer to the Operating System Sections and
Entries for Unattended Install section of this
document for an explanation of what each of these
entries is used for.
See section NLB-specific Sections and Entries for
NLB specific configuration options in the
sysprep.inf answer file.
