Microsoft® Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Update 1 allows you to automate the deployment of computers in your organization. This document provides guidance on how to plan, build, and deploy Windows® operating systems and applications using MDT 2012 Update 1.

Note   In this document, Windows applies to the Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista®, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Server® 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems unless otherwise noted. MDT does not support ARM processor–based versions of Windows. Similarly, MDT refers to MDT 2012 Update 1 unless otherwise stated.

MDT performs deployments by using the Lite Touch Installation (LTI), Zero Touch Installation (ZTI), and User-Driven Installation (UDI) deployment methods. Only MDT is used in LTI deployments, while ZTI and UDI deployments are performed using MDT with Microsoft System Center 2012 Configuration Manager or System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R3.

You can use Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 to collect inventory and perform patch management for LTI deployments. ZTI and UDI deployments require Configuration Manager 2012 or Configuration Manager 2007 R3. For more information about:

·     System Center Essentials, see the product home page at http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/essentials/en/us/default.aspx

·     Differences between Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 and other Microsoft System Center products, see Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 Comparison Datasheet

This document covers both deployment methods and shows how to customize the deployment process for an organization. In addition to this document, Table 1 lists other documents that will help you perform deployments using MDT in your organization.

Table 1. Additional MDT Documents for Use in the Deployment Process

Document

Description

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Samples Guide

Provides scenario-based samples of how to solve common deployment issues using MDT. Most samples include example configuration files and step-by-step processes for implementing the solution. Use this document to help solve difficult deployment problems.

Toolkit Reference

Provides information about the task sequence steps, properties, support files, utilities, and databases used in MDT deployments. Use this document to help customize MDT deployments for your organization.

Troubleshooting Reference

Provides information to assist in troubleshooting common problems with MDT deployments, including lists of known issues, reviewing logs, and identifying issues by error code.

 

This document is organized to help you through the planning, building, and deploying processes in your organization. The following sections in this guide help you perform LTI, ZTI, and UDI deployments and customize the deployment process. Table 2 lists each section in this guide, with a brief overview of each.

Table 2. Sections in This Document

Section

Overview

Planning MDT Deployments

Provides guidance for completing the planning tasks in preparation for MDT deployments. Review this section to help identify prerequisites, perform capacity planning, and perform any infrastructure remediation prior to deployment in a production environment, and learn how to install MDT in the environment.

Installing or Upgrading to MDT

Provides guidance for performing a new installation of MDT or upgrading to MDT from previous versions of MDT or Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment (BDD).

Performing LTI Deployments

Provides guidance for deploying Windows operating systems and applications using only MDT. The guidance presented in this section starts immediately after the installation of MDT and provides the steps for creating a reference computer, capturing an image of the reference computer, and then deploying the captured image to target computers in the organization.

Managing LTI Deployments in the Deployment Workbench

Provides guidance and step-by-step instructions for managing LTI deployments using the Deployment Workbench, including managing operating systems, device drivers, applications, the MDT database (MDT DB), and other deployment elements in the Deployment Workbench.

Running the Deployment Wizard

Provides guidance of how to run the Deployment Wizard to deploy operating systems, device drivers, and applications to the target computers in your organization.

Performing ZTI Deployments Using Configuration Manager 2012

Provides guidance for deploying Windows operating systems and applications using MDT and Configuration Manager 2012. The guidance presented in this section starts immediately after the installation of MDT and provides the steps for creating a reference computer, capturing an image of the reference computer, and then deploying the captured image to target computers in the organization using Configuration Manager 2012.

Managing ZTI Deployments in the Configuration Manager Console in Configuration Manager 2012

Provides guidance and step-by-step instructions for managing ZTI deployments using the Configuration Manager console in Configuration Manager 1012, including managing operating systems, device drivers, applications, and other deployment elements.

Performing ZTI Deployments Using Configuration Manager 2007 R3

Provides guidance for deploying Windows operating systems and applications using MDT and Configuration Manager 2007 R3. The guidance presented in this section starts immediately after the installation of MDT and provides the steps for creating a reference computer, capturing an image of the reference computer, and then deploying the captured image to target computers in the organization using Configuration Manager 2007 R3.

Managing ZTI Deployments in Configuration Manager 2007 R3 Configuration Manager Console

Provides guidance and step-by-step instructions for managing ZTI deployments using the Configuration Manager console in Configuration Manager 2007 R3, including managing operating systems, device drivers, applications, and other deployment elements.

Note   Most of the deployment process and step-by-step instructions for ZTI using Configuration Manager 2007 R3 are applicable to UDI.

Performing UDI Deployments

Provides guidance for deploying Windows operating systems and applications using MDT, Configuration Manager 2007 R3 or Configuration Manager 2012, and the UDI Wizard. The guidance presented in this section starts immediately after the installation of MDT and provides the steps for creating a reference computer, capturing an image of the reference computer, and then deploying the captured image to target computers in the organization using the Configuration Manager console and the UDI Wizard.

Managing UDI Deployments

Provides guidance and step-by-step instructions for managing UDI deployments using the Configuration Manager console, the UDI Wizard Designer, and the UDI Wizard, including:

·     Managing operating systems, device drivers, applications, and other deployment elements in the Configuration Manager console in Configuration Manager 2007 R3 or Configuration Manager 2012.

Note   Most of the deployment process and step-by-step instructions for ZTI using Configuration Manager 2007 R3 or Configuration Manager 2012 are applicable to UDI.

·     Managing the behavior of the UDI Wizard.

Running the UDI Wizard

Provides guidance of how to run the UDI Wizard to deploy operating systems, device drivers, and applications to the target computers in your organization.

Configuring MDT Deployments

Provides guidance on how to customize the process for more advanced deployment scenarios, including a discussion of the MDT configuration files, how to apply configuration settings to groups of computers, and how to apply configuration settings to individual computers.

Performing Deployments Using the MDT DB

Provides guidance on customizing the process for more advanced deployment scenarios, including how to add entries to and retrieve configuration settings from the MDT DB.

Preparing the MDT Migration Resources

Provides guidance on preparing the appropriate resources used in the MDT deployment process, including network shared folders and database access.

Preparing Windows Deployment Services

Provides guidance on preparing Windows Deployment Services for use in initiating the LTI, ZTI, and UDI deployment processes, including creating images and configuring for integration with LTI, ZTI, and UDI deployments.

Deploying Applications Using MDT and Microsoft Application Virtualization

Provides guidance on how to deploy applications by using MDT, Configuration Manager, and Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V), including deployment of applications with the operating system image or after the image is deployed.

 

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Related Topics

Using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit