You can create stand-alone media from which to run your operating system image deployment. The stand-alone media will contain all necessary data to run the specified operating system deployment task sequences without requiring a connection to a Configuration Manager 2007 site. Stand-alone media will operate whether or not a Configuration Manager 2007 client is installed on the target computer and it will operate without communicating with a Configuration Manager 2007 server infrastructure, such as a management point or distribution point.

Stand-alone media is suitable for use in environments where it is not practical to copy an operating system image or other large packages over the network or in environments with no network connectivity or low bandwidth network connectivity. You can create a CD set, a DVD set, or USB media to deploy the operating system image. When the media is created for CDs or DVDs, the output is a set of .iso files that need to be burned to the media by using a non-Microsoft program to create the CD or DVD set. Media that is created for a USB drive is written directly to the USB drive, therefore the USB drive must be connected when the media is created.

The following actions are not supported for use with stand-alone media:

When you advertise a task sequence initiated from stand-alone media you must configure the correct version of the boot image and version of the HAL or the deployment will fail. You must have backup and restore rights on the local computer and the Configuration Manager 2007 user right before you can create a task sequence to create the media.

Use the following procedure to create stand-alone media.

To create stand-alone media

  1. In the Configuration Manager console, navigate to System Center Configuration Manager / Site Database / Computer Management / Operating System Deployment / Task Sequences.

  2. To start the Task Sequence Media Wizard, click Actions on the menu, and then click Create Task Sequence Media. Alternatively, in the Actions pane, click Create Task Sequence Media.

  3. On the Select Media Type page, select Stand-alone Media, and then click Next.

  4. On the Media Type page, specify the type of media you want to use with the operating system deployment. You can specify CD, DVD, or a USB flash drive as the type of media. If you select CD/DVD set as the type of media you want to create, you then specify the capacity of the media. If the media size specified is too small to store the entire image, you must store the image using multiple CDs or DVDs. A sequence number will be added to the name of each piece of media created.

  5. On the Media file line, specify the name of the media file that you are creating. The media file is where Configuration Manager 2007 will save the files to. If multiple pieces of media are required, Configuration Manager 2007 will add a sequence number to each piece of required media. If you are using USB media, specify the Drive letter that should be used to save the files.

  6. On the Security page, you can assign a password to protect the task sequence steps and variables contained on your media. If you specify a password, the password will be required to use the media.

    Important
    Only the task sequence steps and variable information is encrypted. The package content is not encrypted; therefore, you should not include sensitive information in task sequence scripts. Sensitive information should be stored and implemented using variables.
  7. On the Stand-alone CD/DVD page, specify the task sequence you want to run from this media by clicking Browse and then selecting the desired task sequences. All associated task sequences and packages must be specified and saved onto the stand-alone media.

    Note
    All task sequences specified must be able to operate without communicating with the Configuration Manager 2007 infrastructure. The wizard does not validate the task sequences and any task sequences that require Configuration Manager 2007 communication will fail when run from stand-alone media.
  8. On the Distribution Points page, specify the distribution points that contain associated packages. You can display distribution points from child sites by selecting the Show distribution points from child sites check box. You can use the Add and Remove buttons to move packages so that they are available to Configuration Manager 2007 client computers.

  9. On the Variables page, specify the task sequence variables that should be added to the stand-alone media. For more information about using task sequence variables use the following link: About Task Sequence Variables.

See Also