Configuring MDT 2013 for Windows 2008 R2 Deployment

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In this article, we will guide you through the process of configuring Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2013 for deploying Windows 2008 R2. We will cover the steps to create a deployment share, import OS images, and drivers, and prepare the environment for deployment.

Creating a Deployment Share

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The first step is to create a deployment share, which is a file share used to access software, drivers, and other deployment files during the deployment phase. To create a deployment share, follow these steps:

1. Open the Deployment Workbench, which can be found in the Start menu.

2. Right-click on the “Deployment Shares” item in the left menu, and select “New Deployment Share”.

3. The “New Deployment Share Wizard” will appear. Follow the wizard to create a new deployment share.

4. Since I have a dedicated volume for the deployment stuff, I set the path to drive D:.

5. The share ends with a $-sign, which is the default setting and makes the share a hidden share. If you don’t want to use a hidden share, delete the $-sign at the end of the share name.

6. Enter an appropriate description for the deployment share.

Importing OS Images

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Next, we need to import the OS images for Windows 2008 R2. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the “Operating Systems” item in the left menu, and select “Import Operating System”.

2. The “Import Operating System Wizard” will appear. Select the first item from the list and point to the directory with the extracted Windows 2008 R2 ISO.

3. Specify an appropriate name for the directory entry.

4. Clicking on “Next” will lead you to the summary screen. Again, clicking on “Next” starts the import.

Importing Drivers

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Now we need to import the drivers for Windows PE and OS deployment. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the “Out-of-the-Box Drivers” item in the left menu, and select “Import Drivers”.

2. Point to the directory with the drivers and click “Next”.

3. Go ahead in the summary screen by clicking on “Next”.

4. You can ignore the warnings. Some 32-bit drivers are included. The 32-bit driver PVSCSI can be found on the “pvscsi-Windows2008.flp”. You can download this via WinSCP from a ESXi host. The 32-bit driver for VMXNET3 and SVGA is included and will be used for the Windows PE x86 image.

Conclusion

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In this article, we have covered the steps to configure MDT 2013 for deploying Windows 2008 R2. We have created a deployment share, imported OS images and drivers, and prepared the environment for deployment. In the next article, we will show how to create a task sequence and a VMware Tools package, which will be used for the actual deployment of Windows 2008 R2 via MDT 2013.