WINDOWS 1002000 PROFESSIONAL RESOURCE KIT [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Centralized Deployment

With Windows 2000 Server, you can use the RIS change and configuration management feature to deploy Windows 2000 Professional from a central location. This enables users to connect to a Windows 2000 Server configured for RIS and choose customized installation options as shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 Installing Windows 2000 Professional from a RIS Server.

RIS uses the Pre-Boot eXecution Environment (PXE) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)-based remote startup technology to connect to a Remote Installation Services (RIS) server and start the installation process. The RIS server provides the network equivalent of a CD-based installation and preconfigured installation images.

RIS is used during initial startup before the operating system loads. RIS supports clients without an installed operating system or computers that need to have the operating system restored. RIS allows hardware connected through a LAN to find a networked RIS server and request a new copy of Windows 2000 Professional that is appropriately configured for the user and computer. RIS cannot be used to upgrade an existing operating system.

Table 2.1 shows the Windows 2000 features you need to use RIS.

Table 2.1 Windows 2000 Features Needed to Use RIS

Using RIS servers to deploy and upgrade operating systems throughout a company reduces the costs incurred by either preinstalling the client computer or physically installing the operating system on each client. Automatically installing the operating system by using RIS and Group Policy can reduce the staff support overhead for adding new computers to a network and reinstalling operating systems.

Use a RIS server as a remote source. The following are descriptions of these two methods.

CD-Equivalent Installation This is similar to setting up a client computer that directly uses the unattended installation options available on the Windows 2000 Professional operating system CD. The source files, however, reside across the network on available Windows 2000-based servers rather than on a local CD.

Preconfigured Desktop Image Installation This allows you to reproduce a working copy of a corporate desktop configuration, including operating system configurations, desktop customizations, and locally installed software. After the reproduced image is configured, it is stored on RIS servers. On request, the server downloads these images to new computers.

NOTE

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The new computer does not need to have identical hardware to the computer on which the image was created. Windows 2000 Professional support for Plug and Play can adjust for hardware differences.

It is important that your DHCP, DNS, and Active Directory servers are configured appropriately to work with RIS. These services can be installed either on individual servers or the same server and must be active and available to use RIS. RIS uses these components to detect client computer requests for service.

For more information about DHCP technology and its use, see "Determining Network Connectivity Strategies" in the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server Resource Kit Deployment Planning Guide and "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol" in the Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Server Resource Kit TCP/IP Core Networking Guide. For more information about DNS technology, see "Introduction to DNS" in the TCP/IP Core Networking Guide. For more information about Remote OS Installation, see "Remote OS Installation" in the Distributed Systems Guide.