#Tiny pxe server walkthrough install
We should now be able to see our WDS server running, and should now be showing some items beneath it.īefore our WDS server is of any use to us, we will need to add two images – the boot image (Basically a Windows PE image that we use to start the installation off), and an install image of the operating system that we want to deploy to our clients. These options are not set in stone – we can always adjust them later in the WDS server properties.Īt the end of the configuration wizard, we’re asked if we want to add an image – unselect this option, as we will manually add the images, to help us understand where they go. Right click on the WDS server on the left tree, and select ‘configure’ from the context menu to launch the WDS configuration wizard.Īs I’m testing this setup in a lab, I’ve just got one server running AD, DHCP and WDS, so will tick both of the DHCP options, and then set my PXE server initial settings to respond to all clients without requiring administrative approval. You should now have a Windows Deployment Services MMC in the Administrative tools folder, when you open this you will see that the WDS server is not yet configured. You should reboot your server after the installation of the WDS role. We start by adding the Windows Deployment Services role to your server - click ‘Add roles’ from server manager, select Windows deployment services, and install both of the role services. Our client systems need to support PXE (Network) booting, and finally we will require some installation media to load onto our deployment server –in my examples I will be using the 32bit Windows 7 SP1 DVD.
The server we use for Windows Deployment Services will also require an NTFS partition for its file store. Firstly, we will need a functioning Active Directory setup, with DNS and DHCP. There are a few prerequisites that we must have in place before we start with this walkthrough.