The Windows 2000 platform contains four operating systems :
| Windows 2000 Professional. The desktop operating system, replacing Windows 95, 98 and NT 4.0 |
| Windows 2000 Server. Provides all functions of Windows 2000 Professional and adds services for network management. Designed for file and printer servers, web servers and workgroups. |
| Windows 2000 advanced server. Windows 2000 server with increased availability and scalability. For large enterprise networks and database-intensive work. It provides clustering for higher-availability, network load balancing, 8 processors and until 8 GB of memory. |
| Windows 2000 datacenter server. Windows 2000 advanced server with the ability to add extra memory and CPU's. Designed for large data warehouses, online transaction processing, large simulations and server consolidation. |
Windows XP currently has two versions :
| Windows XP Home. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Windows XP Professional. The main additional functions of Windows XP
Professional are :
|
Windows 2000 Professional can be upgraded from :
| Windows 95 (incl. OSR 2.x) |
| Windows 98 |
| Windows NT 3.51 workstation |
| Windows 4.0 workstation |
| Windows professional beta 3 |
There is no upgrade path from Windows 3.x. Windows NT 3.1 and 3.5 can be upgraded after an upgrade to Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0.
Windows 2000 server can be upgraded from :
| Windows NT 3.51 server (not with Citrix) |
| Windows NT 4.0 server |
| Windows NT 4.0 terminal server |
| Windows 2000 server beta 3 |
Windows 2000 advanced server can be upgraded from :
| Windows NT 4.0 enterprise edition |
| Windows 2000 advanced server beta 3 |
Windows XP home can be upgraded from :
| Windows 98/SE |
| Windows ME |
Windows XP Professional can be upgraded from :
| Windows 98/SE |
| Windows ME |
| Windows NT 4.0 workstation SP5 |
| Windows 2000 Professional |
| Windows XP home |
| Read the latest release information on the cd-rom. (read1st.txt) |
| Check hardware requirements of operating system. |
| Check HCL compatibility of hardware devices. |
| Update BIOS. (ACPI) |
| Check software compatibility when upgrading. Remove non-compatible software like Plug-and-Play tools, third party network protocols, anti-virus software, disk quota software and power management software. Check I386\winntupg folder to see if upgrades are available. |
| Decompress compressed drives by DriveSpace, DoubleSpace etc. |
| Defragment drives before upgrading. |
| Remove DNS hosts name and domain names on TCP/IP settings when upgrading. |
| Remove additional network cards when upgrading domain controllers. Microsoft only supports one network card in a Windows 2000 domain controller. (???) |
| Temporary break software mirrors. |
| Disconnect UPS systems. |
| Determine disk partitioning. (Extra partition for RIS ?) |
| Select a file system for the partition in which you want to install the OS. (Dual-boot ?) If you select FAT, the system will choose FAT32 if the partition is larger than 2 GB, if the partition is smaller, FAT(16) is used. |
| Select a licensing mode. |
| Determine if the computer will join a workgroup or a domain. When joining a domain a domain controller, a DNS server and computer account should be available. |
| Server name. (naming convention, server name the same as a user name not recommended) |
| Network protocol(s) and services. |
| Password administrator account. |
| Backup current system when upgrading. |
| Run scandisk to check disk(s). |
| Remove temporary internet files. |
| Create fat-partition and network-boot disk when using a distribution server. (Server with shared I386-directory and additional $OEM$ directory) |
| Component | Windows 2000 Professional | Windows 2000 Server |
|
CPU |
Pentium 133 |
Pentium 133 |
|
Memory |
64 MB
recom, 32 required |
256
recom. 64 mb required |
|
Hard
disk space |
1 GB recom, 650 MB req. |
1 GB recom, 685 MB req. + 100 mb for 64 MB memory. |
|
Networking |
Network
card |
One or
more network cards |
|
Display |
VGA |
VGA |
|
Other
drives |
CD-rom
(12 speed recom.) |
CD-rom
(12 speed recom.) |
|
Accessories |
Keyboard, mouse |
Keyboard, mouse |
| Component | Windows XP Professional | |
|
CPU |
Pentium 233 (300 recom.) |
|
|
Memory |
64 MB
(128 recom.) |
|
|
Hard
disk space |
2 GB recom, 1.5 GB req. |
|
|
Networking |
Network
card |
|
|
Display |
SVGA |
|
|
Other
drives |
CD-rom
(12 speed recom.) |
|
|
Accessories |
Keyboard,
mouse |
Check Hardware Compatibility list (HCL) on cd-rom (\support\hcl.txt) or Microsoft web.
| |
Professional | Server | Advanced | DataCenter |
|
Memory |
4 GB |
4 GB |
8 GB |
64 GB |
|
CPU’s |
2 |
4 |
8 |
32 |
| XP | Home | Professional | ||
|
Memory |
4 GB |
4 GB |
||
|
CPU’s |
|
|
Update the BIOS before the installation so the system is ACPI and plug-and-play compliant.
Before doing an upgrade you can use chkupgrd.bat to check which parts of the computer are compatible for an upgrade. The file is stored in the I386 directory and does start winnt32 /checkupgradeonly. (not available on Windows XP) The results are stored in the installation folder as upgrade.txt (Windows 95/98) or winnt32.log on NT systems. Keep in mind that the log only reports failures of programs that are noted as non-compatible by Microsoft. It does not mean that all programs on the machine are compatible. You can also download the Readiness Analyzer from the Microsoft web to use chkupgrd.exe to create update reports.
| FAT(16) | FAT32 | NTFS |
|
Support
by all (incl. Linux) |
Windows 95b, 98, 2000, XP |
Files
and folder level security |
|
Max. 4
GB partition technical (65524 clusters of 32 KB), max 2 GB to maintain
compatibility. Max 216
files |
Larger
partitions than FAT16. Theoretically up to 2 TB. Windows 2000 can format
to 32 GB but read up to 2 TB. Max 222
files |
Practical
limit 2 TB, theoretical 16 exabytes. (EB) Max 232
-1 files |
|
No
security |
Not
supported by NT 4.0 |
Disk
quotas, disk compression, file encryption |
|
|
Smaller
clusters than FAT, more safeguards and faster. |
Misc.
NTFS functions like reparse points, change journal. Etc. |
Use FAT if a system has to be dual boot with older operating systems like Windows 95 and 98. Only the system partition should be FAT. If the partition is smaller than 2 GB FAT is used, otherwise FAT32 is installed. Default cluster sizes :
| Disk size | FAT(16) | FAT32 | NTFS |
|
260 –
512 MB |
8
KB |
Not supported |
512
bytes |
|
513–
1023 MB |
16 KB |
4 KB |
1 KB |
|
1024 MB
– 2 GB |
32 KB |
4 KB |
2 KB |
|
2 GB –
8 GB |
64 KB (cannot be read by Windows 95) |
4 KB |
4 KB |
|
8 GB –
16 GB |
Not
supported |
8 KB |
4 KB |
|
16 GB
– 32 GB |
Not
supported |
16 KB |
4 KB |
|
32 GB
– 2 TB |
Not
supported |
Not recommended |
4 KB |
FAT 12 is used on floppies and partitions smaller than 16 MB.
Client Access License (CAL) = Right to connect to computer running Windows 2000 server to use network services.
A license is required for each Windows 2000 server and professional installation and a CAL for each authenticated connection to the server.
No CAL required for :
| Anonymous or authenticated access to Windows 2000 server with IIS or other HTTP-services. |
| Telnet and FTP connections. |
Per seat licensing = CAL required for each client computer. For large companies with many servers.
Per server licensing = One CAL for each connection to the server. Useful for small companies with one server.
Per server licensing can be converted to per seat licensing once.
Joining a domain can be done during or after the installation. The computer is added as a member server. Required are :
| Domain name |
| Computer account |
| Available domain controller |
| Available DNS-server |
The first time setup is started via winnt.exe if the system did boot via Dos, Windows 3.x or from a cd-rom. An upgrade or fresh install on a Windows 95, 98 or NT4.0 environment is started via winnt32.exe.
Extra options using winnt.exe program :
| /a. Enable accessibility options. |
| /e:command. Command to be executed after GUI setup, before the final phase of setup. |
| /I:inffile. Filename of setup information file. (default dosnet.inf, not available in Windows XP) |
| /r:folder. Copies this folder to the system root. Can be used more than once. |
| /rx:folder. Copies this folder to the system root but data will be deleted after installation. Can be used more than once. |
| /s:sourcepath. Source of Windows 2000/XP files. (Can be drive letter or UNC path.) Default current folder. |
| /t:tempdrive. Drive for temporary setup files. Default drive with most free space if not specified. |
| /u:Answer_file. Unattended operation via answer file. (requires /s) |
| /udf:id[,udf_file]. Unique identifier and Unique Database file. If no file is specified, setup will ask for a floppy with $unique$.udb |
Extra options for the winnt32.exe program :
| /checkupgradeonly. Checks your computer for upgrade compatibility with Windows 2000. For Windows 95 or Windows 98 upgrades, Setup creates a report named Upgrade.txt in the Windows installation folder. For Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0 upgrades, it saves the report to the Winnt32.log in the installation folder. |
| /copydir:folder. Copies this folder to the system root. Can be used more than once. |
| /copysource:folder. Copies this folder to the system root but data will be deleted after installation. Can be used more than once. |
| /cmd:command. Command to be executed after GUI setup, before the final phase of setup. |
| /cmdcons. Installs additional files to the hard disk that are required to load a command-line interface for repair and recovery purposes. Does not work on mirrored disks. |
| /debug:level:filename. By default level 2, c:\winnt32.log (warning level) |
| /dudisable. Disable dynamic updates during installation. (Windows XP only) |
| /duprepare:pathname. Prepare an installation share for the offering of Windows update files as used by the /dushare option. |
| /dushare: Path where Windows Update files are downloaded and prepared by the /duprepare option. |
| /m:folder. Specifies that setup copies replacement files from an alternate location. Instructs setup to look in the alternate location first and if files are present, use them instead of the files from the default location. |
| /makelocalsource. Instructs Setup to copy all installation source files to your local hard disk. |
| /nodownload. Copies winnt32 and related files to loacl system when doing a remote Windows 95/98 upgrade. |
| /noreboot. The system does no automatically reboot, it waits for input. |
| /s:sourcepath. Source of Windows 200 files. You can specify a maximum of 8 paths but the first must be available. Can be drive letter or UNC path. |
| /syspart:drive-letter. Marks hard-disk as active after copying setup startup file so disk can be moved to another computer. Requires /tempdrive switch. |
| /tempdrive:drive-letter. Installs Windows 2000 on that drive and puts temporary files there. |
| /unattend. Unattended upgrade by using old settings. |
| /unattend:number:answer file. Number specifies the number of seconds to wait before it restarts, the answer file provides the custom specifications. If not specified, user settings from previous installation are used. |
| /udf:id,udf file. The id specifies how setup modifies the Uniqueness Database File (UDF). If no UDF file is specified with the switch, Windows 2000 will prompt for a disk. |
Bootdisks can be made by starting \bootdisk\makeboot a: (16 bit) or \bootdisk\makebt32 a: (32 bit) command from the installation cd-rom. The first disk is called Windows 2000 boot disk, the other ones Windows 2000 setup disk #x. (Not available on Windows XP)
- Start setup-program from setup-floppy, installation directory or boot from cd-rom (El Torito compatible)
- Minimal version of Windows 2000/XP starts setup program. F6 can be used to load additional mass storage drivers
- Question if this is a new, upgrade or repair installation.
- Accept license agreement via F8. Use F3 to quit.
- System looks for previous installation. If available repair is offered.
- Select system partition. Create one if required
- Choose file system for system partition. After this, conversion is done.
- Files are copied, setup information is saved
- The following directory setup is made :
On the boot-partition the \winnt folder (Windows XP uses the Windows folder) is created and contains all files to access the network or source cd. In this folder the file \system32\$winnt$.inf contains the installation options. The file \repair\setup.log contains the copied files. Boot.ini is configured to restart the installation on the installation partition by default after 1 second.
- Restart of computer. Setup wizard is started. (default from c:\winnt)
If you ran setup via winnt32.exe, the setup starts in graphical mode and takes the following steps :
- Accept license agreement via F8. Use F3 to quit.
- Choose language, advanced options (where to install, where are source files, choosing installation partition), accessibility options.
- Check diskspace.
- Copy files.
- Restart of computer
On the boot-partition a directory named $win_nt$.~bt is created and contains all boot files and need drivers to access the network or source cd. In this directory the file winnt.sif contains the information provided. Boot.ini is configured to start $win_nt$.~bt\bootsect.dat by default after 5 seconds. After the restart the computer will boot in text-mode and the computer will check for a previous installation, ask to select a partition and copy the files. When this is done, it will reboot again and continue with the GUI-based setup.
- Installing security features (automatic)
- Installing and configuring devices (automatic)
- Regional settings (language, locale and keyboard)
- Name and organization of user licensed for usage.
- If required a 25 character product key should be entered.
- Computer name (max. 15 characters, default organization name, computer name is always shown in capitals) and password for administrator account. (max. 127 characters)
- If a modem is connected, dialing information can be entered.
- Which optional components to install.
- Time and date (incl. time zone settings)
- Detect and configures network card(s) and looks for a DHCP server.
- Select network component. Choose Default (DHCP via IP, Client for Microsoft Network and File and printer sharing) or Customize :
- Client for Microsoft Networks (connect to network resources)
- File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks (offer network resources)
- TCP/IP iv. Other clients/services/protocols (Netbeui, Appletalk, IPX/SPX, Netware client etc.)
- Join workgroup or domain (incl. computer account if domain)
- Install and configuration of networking components
- Copy remaining files (accessories, bitmaps, etc.)
- Configure computer by applying settings specified before. (Start menu, register components)
- Save configuration.
- Remove temporary files.
- Restart computer.
After the installation you can create a local account via a wizard or specify that you do not want to logon on the machine in the future. After this the Getting Started display is shown. All actions made during the installation are logged in setuplog.txt.
- Start setup-program from setup-floppy or boot from cd-rom. (El Torito compatible)
- Minimal version of Windows 2000 starts setup program .
- Restart of computer. Setup program starts in text-based version.
- Accept license agreement via F8. Use F3 to quit.
- Select system partition. Create one if required.
- Choose file system for system partition. After this, format is done g. Files are copied, setup information is saved.
- The following directory setup is made :
On the boot-partition a directory named $win_nt$.~bt is created and contains all boot files and need drivers to access the network or source cd. In this directory the file winnt.sif contains the information provided. Boot.ini is configured to start $win_nt$.~bt\bootsect.dat by default after 5 seconds.
- Restart of computer. Setup wizard is started. (default from c:\winnt)
- Installing security features. (automatic)
- Installing and configuring devices. (automatic)
- Regional settings. (language, locale and keyboard)
- Name and organization of user licensed for usage.
- Licensing mode. (per seat or per server mode)
- Computer name. (max. 15 characters, default organization name, computer name is always shown in capitals)
- Password for administrator account.
- If a modem is connected, dialing information can be entered.
- Optional components :
- Accessories and utilities (Word Pad, multimedia, games, etc.)
- Certificate services (Create/request X509 certificates)
- Cluster server (Advanced or Datacenter server)
- Indexing server. (Dynamic full text search on data stored on the server)
- IIS (Internet Information Services) -> Default selected
- Management and monitoring tools.
- Message queuing services (MSMQ routing server/client for transaction support for transaction server MTS)
- Networking options (DHCP, DNS, TCPIP print services, file services, etc)
- Other network file and print services. (Unix, Macintosh file/print sharing)
- Remote installation services (Remote installation of Windows 2000 professional over a network)
- Script debugger. Debugging of ActiveX scripts on client- or server-side.
- Terminal services xiii. Windows Media Services. (streaming multimedia)
- Display settings. (resolution, colors and refresh frequency)
- Time and date. (incl. time zone settings)
- Detect and configures network card(s) and look for a DHCP server.
- Select network components
- Client for Microsoft Networks (connect to network resources)
- File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks (offer network resources)
- TCP/IP
- Other clients/services/protocols (Netbeui, Appletalk, IPX/SPX etc.)
- c. Join workgroup or domain. (incl. computer account if domain)
- d. Install and configuration of networking components.
- Copy remaining files. (accessories, bitmaps etc.)
- Configure computer by applying settings specified before.
- Save configuration.
- Remove temporary files.
- Restart computer. (stand-alone -> workgroup or member-server -> domain is ready !)
Setup stages network installation
- Distribution server. (server that shares I386 directory)
- FAT formatted partition of at least 500 MB on target computer. (1 GB recommended)
- Network client for target computer.
- 4 formatted floppies.
- Create four Windows 2000 setup boot disks on target computer.
- Create $win_nt$.~ls directory on target computer.
- Copies installation files form distribution server to target computer.
When upgrade via Winnt32.exe you will start with a graphical setup. You have to ability to :
| Determine if you want a fresh install or an upgrade. |
| Choose the default and additional languages. |
| The location of the Windows 2000 installation files. (I386) |
| To specify the directory in Windows 2000 will be installed. |
| If you want to copy all setup file to the local hard-disk. (\$win-nt$.~ls) |
| If you want to specify an installation partition during the setup. |
| Accessibility options. |
After the installation check the following items :
| Finish disk partitions. |
| Check ip-settings. By default DHCP is used. |
| Check control panel settings, in particular page file and max. registry size. |
| Restart server to check changes, create ERD and document server. |
The usage of answer files is useful if you want to automate the installation of a new operating system or an upgrade to a newer version. Answer files can only be used to install/upgrade the operating system. It cannot be used to install additional applications. (except by starting a program afterwards that does this) A UDF file offers the ability to activate computer-specific settings during to automatic installation. (e.g machine name). The Setup Manager Wizard (setupmgr in the resource kit or \tools\support\deploy.cab on the installation cd-rom) can create answer files for unattended installations, Sysprep's and Riprep's. You have to following possibilities :
| Provide defaults. The user can use the default settings or change them during the installation. |
| Fully automated. No user input required or possible during the installation. |
| Hide pages. Only pages not filled in by the answer file can be changed during the installation. |
| Read only. The user can only view the settings during the installation that are filled in with the answer file. |
| GUI attended. Only the text-based part of the setup is automated during the installation. |
An answer file will contain the following sections :
| [Unattended]. This section describes the input a user can deliver. |
| [GUIUnattended]. It contains info about the password, auto logon and timezones. |
| [Userdata]. Computer and username and organization of the user. |
| [GUIRunOnce]. Command(s) to run after the setup. |
| [Display] Display settings. |
| [LicenseFilePrintData] Licensing mode. |
| [TapiLocation] Country code. |
| [Indentification] Domain and account required to join a domain. |
| [Networking] Networking components to install. |
| [NetAdapters] Adapter settings. |
| [params.adapterx] Parameters for an adapter. |
| [netclients] |
| [netservices] |
| [netprotocols] |
| [params.MS_TCPIP] General TCP/IP settings. |
| [params.MS_TCPIP.adapterx] IP settings per adapter. |
The Setup manager creates an unattend.txt and an unattend.bat. An unattend.udf will also be created if more than one computer name is specified. In this case unattend.bat needs to be fed with a parameter referring to the computername.
An extended description of the parameters in an answer file can be found in the unattended.doc file which is part of the \support\tools\deploy.cab file on the installation cd-rom. A newer version of this document is available in SP2.
To create un unattended cd-rom based installation, the machine must boot from cd-rom and a floppy with winnt.sif must be available. Winnt.sif is a copy of the answer-file that must contain the following entries in the [Data] section :
unattendedinstall = "yes"
msdosinitiated = "0"
autopartition = "1"
You can create a distribution folder with the Setup Manager. This shared folder can be used to perform an unattended installation. It contains the installation files, additional mass storage drivers, a program to run after the setup, OEM pictures to use during the installation. It can also contain various directories that should be copied to the new server. (e.g. drivers) The share will also contain the unattended installation file. Do not name it unattend.txt as it will be overwritten when \I386 is copied to the share.
All files in the $oem$ directory in the distribution folder are copied to the new installation. It can be used for drivers and files. You must set the [OEMPreInstall] variable to Yes to enable the copy. You can use the OEMFILESPATH-variable to change the path of the OEM-directory in answer-files.
Structure of the $oem$-directory :
| $oem$\cmdlines.txt can be used to execute files during the gui-part of the installation. The programs to be executed can be stored in the $oem$-folder. Use the [Commands] section to run the programs, e.g ".\programname.exe" |
| $oem$\textmode can contains files (HAL, mass storage drivers) to be used during the textmode setup. The directory will than also contain txtsetup.oem that is referred to from the [OEMbootfiles] in the answer-file. |
| \$OEM$\$$\ These files and directories are copied to the systemroot. (e.g c:\winnt) |
| \$OEM$\$1. These files and directories are copied to the systemdrive. (e.g c:\) |
| $OEM$\$1\PnPdrives. Add files in this directory to the systemroot\PnPdrivers directory. Use the OEMPnPDrivers-variable in the answer-file to refer to files. (OEMPnPDriversPath = "PnPdrives" |
| $OEM$\$1\Sysprep. File that are needed for the sysprep-utility. |
| $OEM$\driveletter. Files and directories in this folder are copied to that drive during the textmode setup. You can use $$rename.txt to rename the files after the copy. |
The information of the supporting company can be add to the Properties of the machine by modifying and copying the oeminfo.ini file to the \$oem$\$$\system32 folder on the distribution share. If you want to add your own logo, create a 172*172 pixel bmp file called oemlogo.bmp and place in in the same folder.
There are three requirements for a network installation via a distribution server :
| A distribution server contains shares I386 files. |
| A 2 GB partition on the local computer. |
| Network client software to connect to the distribution server. |
After the client made the network connection winnt.exe is started and the I386 files are copied to $win_nt$.~ls. After this, the installation is restarted by using the boot-files in the $win_nt$.~ls directory.
If you want to automate the installation of a domain controller, use the normal installation procedure but specify the following command to run after the installation :
Dcpromo /answer:<answer_file>
This answer file should only contain de [DCInstall] section with the parameters. See document Unattended setup parameters.
Sysprep is a tool to create images that can be cloned on new computers or disks with the same HAL (ACPI) and mass storage driver by using a third-party application. It can be used for Windows 2000 Professional and server and Windows XP. First create an image with the installed software and settings by using the administrator account. After this, copy the Administrator' profile to the All Users profile. Finally you can create the image and distribute it to new pc's or servers. The tool to prepare the image is Sysprep which removes the computer name and the SID. It uses the following programs that must be stored in the \sysprep folder on the client :
| Sysprep.exe. The tools that prepares the disk for duplication. |
| Setupcl.exe. This tool should be in the same folder a sysprep.exe. It is used to create new SID's after an image is duplicated and started. |
| Factory.exe. (XP only) |
| Sysprep.inf. This file should be in the \sysprep directory or on a floppy. It is an answer file to the Mini Setup process that is start after an image is duplicated and started. |
When using Sysprep version 1.1 (deploy.cab -> SP2) you can specify which mass storage controller to use. You can also add new drivers by referring to them in the sysprep.inf answer file with the OempnpDriversPath.
The answer file sysprep.inf can be created or modified with the Setup Manager wizard. (part of \Support\Tools\Deploy.cab)
Sysprep has the following parameters :
| Quiet. No confirmation boxes are shown when sysprep runs on the master computer. |
| Nosidgen. Does not recreate the SID when rebooting. · |
| Reboot. Forces a reboot instead of a shut-down. |
| Pnp. Forces a re-enumeration of all devices in the system. This can be useful for non-plug-and-play devices (ISA) · |
| Forceshutdown. Forces the system to shutdown after Sysprep ran. |
| Activated. Tell sysprep not to resets the Windows XP WPA grace period. (XP only) |
| Factory. Restarts machine in network-enabled state without displaying Windows Welcome-screen or mini-setup. (XP only) |
| Audit. Reboots in factory mode without creating a sid or processing items in the [OEMRunOnce]-section of the winbom.ini file. (XP only) |
| Clean. Clears the critical devices database. (XP only) |
| Reseal. Prepare the computer for end-user delivery. (XP only) |
| Mini. Run mini-setup instead of Welcome screen. (XP Professional only) |
| Noreboot. Can be used to test generation of sids and other registry changes without a reboot. (XP only) |
To create images with Sysprep follow the next steps :
| Install the computer as professional or server. Do not join the domain and leave the administrator password blank. |
| Create a local account with admin-rights and install and customize the applications. After this is done copy the user profile of this account to the Default Users folder. |
| Validate the image and remove all 'trash', mapped drives, logs etc. |
| Use sysprep.exe to create the image. |
| Duplicate the image via the network, cloned harddisks or a bootable cd-rom. When the new machine starts, new SID's are created by setupcl.exe and the Mini-Setup wizards start. This wizard can be automated by using the sysprep.inf file in the \sysprep directory or on a floppy. |
Sysprep cannot be used for upgrades. It is found in deploy.cab in the support\tools directory on the installation cd-rom.
Riprep creates images that can be distributed by a distribution server.
To be able to use RIS, the following services are required :
| DNS. DNS is used to find the Active Directory. |
| DHCP. To provide the client with an IP-address. |
| Active Directory. Used to locate the RIS server(s). |
A volume storing RIS must meet the following requirements :
| NTFS |
| No Windows 2000 server operating system files. (no boot- or system partition) |
| Enough diskspace (> 2 GB recommended) · |
| The volume must be shared. |
Client requirements :
| Pentium 166 MHz, 32 MB memory. (64 recommended) |
| 800 MB harddisk. (at least size of images) |
| Supported plug-and-play PCI network adapter card. |
| Optional PXE remote boot ROM .99c or newer. |
Remote Installation Service (RIS) is installed on a server via Add/Remove programs (1.7 MB). After the installation, and reboot, it is customized via Risetup.exe. You have to customize :
| Remote Installation Folder. A folder on a partition without Windows 200 files and formatted with NTFS. There should be enough diskspace. (Default: \RemoteInstall) |
| Client support. Will all clients be supported or only the ones registered in the Active Directory. |
| Path for installation files. Path to Windows 2000 Professional source files. |
| Folder. Folder in which the source files are stored within RIS-folder. (Default win2000.pro) |
| Description. Description and help text. |
While customizing, it will copy the files, create the client installation wizards, create unattended setup files, create remote installation services, update the registry, start Single-Instance-Store (SIS) on the partition and start the BINL, TFTP and SIS groveler services.
RIS services :
| BINL. Boot Information Negotiation layer. Answers the client's request by querying Active Directory and setting the policies during the installation. It also creates the computer account if needed. |
| TFTP. Trivial File Transfer Protocol. FTP service for hosting file downloads. Used for Client Installation Wizards (CIW). |
| SIS. Single Instance Store. Arranges that files are only stored once on the RIS-volume. When duplicates are found the file is moved to a special area and links are made. If one of the duplicate files is changed, the original stays in the special area. |
Directory structure of the RIS-partition :
| \Admin\I386. Contains rbfg.exe to create PXE-boot floppies, riprep to create an image and setupcl to generate SID's on new clients. |
| Oschooser\I386. Contains boot files for PXE-boot. (ntldr, startrom.com, startrom.n12) |
| Oschooser\I386. Contains CIW files that can be customized (.osc-files) Welcome.osc and multilng.osc are stored in in \oschooser. |
| Setup\English\images. Contains the directory with the installation images. The templates are stored in the setup\English\images\name image\templates\i386\templates. This folder also contains PXE-boot files. |
| Tmp. Used for temporary files. |
Types of installation offered by RIS :
| CD-based installation. Created on RIS-share during installation of RIS. |
| RIPrep image. First a machine is installed and customized. Then Riprep is run from the \admin\i386 directory of the remote installation share. (Default Reminst). This wizard copies the files from the installation partition to the RIS-server and offers it for new installations. |
In both situations the Client Installation Wizard is used to install the image. This part can be automated by creating answer files with the Setup Manager.
How to access a RIS-share :
| PXE (Pre-boot Execution Environment) or RIS remote boot disk are used to boot the machine. PXE is available on Net PC/PC98-compliant systems. Boot disk can be used by PCI NIC's that are supported by the boot-disk. They are created with rbfg.exe in the admin\i386-directory of the RIS-share. |
| Client asks for IP-address. (DHCP discover port 67) Packet contains PXE extension tasks so RIS servers are asked to respond. It contains a Client Identifier (if available), a tag for the Client Network Interface identifier and the client architecture. |
| Answers are received on port 68. If the answer if received from a server with DHCP and RIS, this ip-address is chosen otherwise the ip-address of a DHCP-server is chosen and handled and a new request for a RIS-server is send. RIS server will than respond again and one is chosen The time-values for PXE-DHCP request are smaller than for normal DHCP, 4,8 and 16 seconds. From the RIS server the client receives the IP-address of the BINL-service in the Siaddr-field. |
| A DHCP request is send to the BINL-service on port 4011. It contains the ip-address of the client and PXE-option fields. |
| The BINL-service replies on port 4011 with a boot file name and location and with a UUID (Universal Unique Identifier) or GUID option. This after the service did check if there was a pre-staged client in the Active Directory with the same GUID. |
| The client downloads the file by using TFTP. The file is places in the memory of the client. |
| The file is executed by the PXE-client starting the CIW. |
| The user can choose to use the automatic setup, custom setup (customize computer name and OU for computer account), restart previous installation, maintenance and troubleshooting. (Execute third party tools) The availability of these options is set in the domain group policy. |
| User logs on to the network. RIS checks the account in Active Directory, looks for the group policies to check which installation options are available and checks which images are available. |
| If there is more than one image, the user can choose which one to install. |
Security issues of RIS :
| A RIS server must be authorized via the DHCP manager. (Manage authorized servers) | ||||||||||
| You can customize the server via the properties of the machine in the
Active Directory User and Computers. On the Remote install tab the following
settings can be set :
|
| Generation of computer names. (By default: User name) |
| Where to store computer account. (default, Computer container) |
| Overview of installed images and tools and security settings. Here you can add new images of new answer files to images. |
| Set the policy for RIS use the Default Domain Policy, User Configuration, Windows Settings, Remote installation Services, Choice icon. You can set if the user is able to use the Automatic Setup, Custom setup, Restart setup and Tools section. |
| Automatic setup. If you gave users access to the automatic setup, all users will be able to select the available images to install. If there is one image available for the user, this installation will automatically be selected. |
| Custom setup. Allows the person installing the machine to overrule the default computer name and computer account location. |
| Restart a previous setup. If a failure occurs during the installation, users do not have to re-enter the settings. Keep in mind that the installation does restart, it does not continue at the point where the problem did occur. |
| Maintenance and troubleshooting. This option gives access to installed third-party tools like Bios updates and virus-scanners. |
| Set DACL's on the sif-files in the d:\RemoteInstall\Setup\English\Images\Win2000.pro\I386\templates-directory to determine who is able to use an installation |
| Pre-stage a computer by entering the GUID/UUID when creating the computer account and set it as a managed computer. You can specify the RIS server to only service pre-staged computers. Also per client can be set which RIS server to use. |
When the files are copied to the client, they are stored in the $win-nt$.~ls directory. Only one partition can be copied by Riprep.
For computers with different HAL's (1 or 2 processors, ACPI-non ACPI) different images must be made.
RIPrep cannot be used for upgrades but an upgrade is available to use it for Windows 2000 Server or Advanced server. (Q308508) RIS does not replicate encrypted files.
A user installing a client via RIS needs permissions to create the computer account if the client is not pre-staged. Also needs the user the right to log on as a batchjob.
The following logfiles are created during a setup in the installation directory :
| Setupact.log. Contains the action log file. Files copied and regustry entries made during the setup and errors that occured. |
| Setuperr.log. Errors that occurred during the setup. |
| Setuplog.txt. Details about device drivers that were copied during setup. |
| Winnt32.log. Debug logging, by default at level 2 stored in c:\ |
| Comsetup.log. Installation of optional component manager and com+ components. |
| Mmdet.log. Log with detected multimedia devices and their port ranges. |
| Setupapi.log. Log of implemented .inf lines. |
| \debug\netsetup.log. Log created when joining domain or workgroup. |
The User State Migration Tool is a command-line utility that can be used for Windows 2000 and Windows XP to preserve the settings of a user. It uses ScanState.exe and LoadState.exe to transfer user data and settings to a newly installed system. Run ScanState.exe before the system is reinstalled, use LoadState.exe to restore the user's data and settings. The tool is in the \valueadd\msft \usmt on the Windows XP cd-rom.
The File and Settings Transfer wizard is a graphic Windows XP utility to transfer user's data and settings.
| 3com RIS editor |
Last update : 3 September 2002
