3.8 Configuring MDT Deployment Bundles

The MDT Deployment bundle supports the deployment of the Windows operating system using Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT). The supported version is Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2013 Update 2. The uploaded MDT content will be replicated to the selected Primary and Imaging Satellite Servers.

To configure an MDT Deployment bundle and assign devices to the bundle:

  1. In ZENworks Control Center, click Bundles in the left pane to display the Bundles panel.

  2. Click New > Bundle to start the Create New Bundle Wizard.

  3. Select Preboot Bundle, then click Next.

  4. On the New Bundle Category page, select MDT Deployment, then click Next to display the Define Details page.

  5. Fill in the fields:

    Bundle Name: (Required) Although bundles can be identified in ZENworks Control Center by their type of icon, as well as the folder they are listed under, you should develop a naming scheme that differentiates the MDT Deployment bundles that are listed together in a folder.

    For more information, see Naming Objects in ZENworks Control Center in the ZENworks 11 SP4 ZENworks Control Center Reference.

    Folder: Browse for the location where you want the MDT Deployment bundle displayed in ZENworks Control Center. The folder must exist. You cannot specify a non-existent folder, because ZENworks does not create them from this wizard.

    Icon: Browse for and select an icon if you plan to use one on your desktop for this bundle.

    Description: Provide a description to help you later recognize the exact purpose of this MDT Deployment bundle.

  6. Click Next to display the MDT Deployment page:

    To select the MDT WIM image that has to be used in this imaging bundle, based on whether it is a 32-bit or 64-bit file, upload the WIM image in the relevant section.

  7. Fill in the fields:

    32-bit MDT: Upload the 32-bit WIM image, in the Upload a New MDT Image section. Click the browse icon, and select and upload the WIM image.

    64-bit MDT: Upload the 64-bit WIM image, in the Upload a New MDT Image section. Click the browse icon, and select and upload the WIM image.

    NOTE:To upload the image, ensure that Microsoft Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (WADK) is installed on the device running ZENworks Control Center. You can download WADK from the Microsoft Download Center website.

  8. Click Next to display the Summary page.

  9. Do the following:

    • If you want to perform other configuration tasks after the bundle has been created, select the Define Additional Properties check box.

      For example, you can make assignments to the bundle in the Relationships tab, add actions in the Actions tab, and so on.

    • If you want to deploy the bundle as a sandbox version, select the Create As Sandbox check box. A sandbox version of a bundle enables you to test it on your device before actually deploying it.

  10. Review the configuration, then click one of the following:

    Back: Allows you to make changes after reviewing the summary.

    Finish: Creates the MDT Deployment bundle.

The zman betf and zman bc commands are not supported for MDT Deployment bundles and for Preboot bundles containing an MDT Deployment Action.

3.8.1 Content Replication for MDT Deployment Action

The replication behavior for the content associated with the MDT Deployment Action is different from other bundle types in ZENworks.

Scenario

Replication Behavior

Primary Servers

Satellite Servers

Create a new MDT Deployment bundle

The bundle inherits the content replication setting established for the Management Zone (Configuration > Management Zone Settings > Content > Primary Server Replication) or the bundle folder, if the settings have been overridden.

To include or exclude servers for replication for the current bundle:

  1. Click the bundle.

  2. Click Settings > Primary Server Replication.

  3. Select the required servers and click Include or Exclude as needed.

The content is not replicated to any of the Imaging Satellite Servers in the zone. You need to explicitly include the Imaging Satellite Servers on which the current bundle content needs to be replicated.

To include Imaging Satellite Servers:

  1. Click the bundle.

  2. Click Settings > Satellite Server Replication.

  3. Select the required Imaging Satellite Servers and click Include.

Create a new MDT Deployment bundle as a sandbox

The content is replicated only to the Primary Server from which the bundle content was uploaded via ZENworks Control Center.

The content is not replicated to any of the Imaging Satellite Servers in the zone.

Edit an existing MDT Deployment Action in a Preboot bundle of any category or add an MDT Deployment action to a non-MDT Deployment Preboot bundle and create a sandbox version of the bundle

The content is replicated only to the Primary Server from which the bundle content was uploaded using ZENworks Control Center.

The content is not replicated to any of the Imaging Satellite Servers in the zone.

Edit an existing MDT Deployment Action in a Preboot bundle of any category or add an MDT Deployment Action to a non-MDT Deployment Preboot bundle and publish it as new version.

The content replication setting of the previous published version is inherited.

To include or exclude servers for replication for the new version:

  1. Click the bundle.

  2. Click Settings > Primary Server Replication.

  3. Select the required servers and click Include or Exclude as needed.

The content replication setting of the previous published version is inherited.

To include or exclude servers for replication for the new version:

  1. Click the bundle.

  2. Click Settings > Satellite Server Replication.

  3. Select the required Imaging Satellite Servers and click Include or Exclude as needed.

Edit an existing MDT Deployment Action in a Preboot bundle of any category or add an MDT Deployment action to a non-MDT Deployment Preboot bundle and publish it as a new bundle (not as a sandbox)

The new bundle inherits the content replication setting of the published version of the original bundle.

To include or exclude servers for replication for the new bundle:

  1. Click the new bundle.

  2. Click Settings > Primary Server Replication.

  3. Select the required servers and click Include or Exclude as needed.

The new bundle inherits the content replication setting of the published version of the original bundle.

To include or exclude servers for replication for the new bundle:

  1. Click the new bundle.

  2. Click Settings > Satellite Server Replication.

  3. Select the required Imaging Satellite Servers and click Include or Exclude as needed.

Edit an existing MDT Deployment Action in a Preboot bundle of any category or add an MDT Deployment action to a non-MDT Deployment Preboot bundle and publish it as a new bundle with Create as Sandbox option selected:

The content is replicated only to the Primary Server from which the bundle content was uploaded using ZENworks Control Center.

The content is not replicated to any of the Imaging Satellite servers in the zone.

Content Extraction: After the replication of the MDT content completes, it is then extracted to the tftp\mdt directory on the included servers. The extraction status can be viewed in the Extracted column on the following page:

Primary Servers: Bundle > Settings >Primary Server Replication

Satellite Servers: Bundle > Settings >Satellite Server Replication

The tick icon indicates that the content has been extracted to the specified folder. Only after the content is extracted successfully, the bundle will be available for use.

NOTE:The files under the tftp\mdt directory will not be replicated during the TFTP Directory Replication.

3.8.2 MDT Deployment Functionality

Currently, only PXE Auto mode is supported as the boot mechanism for MDT Deployment.

On PXE boot, when the device queries for imaging work, the MDT Deployment environment is booted based on the architecture of the device:

BIOS Devices

  • All BIOS Virtual Machines will boot only 32-bit MDT WIM.

  • 32-bit BIOS hardware will boot the 32-bit MDT WIM

    If the applied bundle does not have a 32-bit MDT WIM, then the Expected 32-Bit MDT wim not uploaded error message is displayed on the device and the Message Log of the corresponding bundle and device page in ZENworks Control Center.

  • 64-bit BIOS hardware will boot the 64-bit MDT WIM

    For a 64-bit BIOS hardware, if the applied MDT bundle contains only a 32-bit MDT WIM, it will boot the 32-bit WIM.

UEFI Devices

  • 32-bit UEFI devices (hardware and virtual machines) will boot the 32-bit MDT WIM

    If the applied bundle does not have a 32-bit MDT WIM, then the Expected 32-Bit MDT wim not uploaded error message is displayed on the device and the Message Log of the corresponding bundle and device page in ZENworks Control Center.

  • 64-bit UEFI devices (hardware and virtual machines) will boot the 64-bit MDT WIM

    If the applied bundle does not have a 64-bit MDT WIM, then the Expected 64-Bit MDT wim not uploaded error message is displayed on the device and the Message Log of the corresponding bundle and device page in ZENworks Control Center.

NOTE:To upload a 32 or 64-bit file, you should log into the system as a built-in administrator.

3.8.3 ISDTool for MDT Deployment

The ISDTool is a standalone tool that enables you to send success and error status messages for the tasks in the MDT task sequence and also indicate the failure of the MDT Deployment Action in the Preboot bundle.Download the ISDTool 32-bit or 64-bit from ZENworks Download page (https://zenworks_server_IP_address:port/zenworks-setup) under Imaging Tools.

The following commands are supported in the MDT WinPE and full Windows environment:

  • ISDTool mdt 4 taskReturnCode [rebootoff]: This command is used to indicate the failure of the MDT Deployment Action in the Preboot bundle.

    taskReturnCode - The return code for the MDT Deployment task. Specify a number.

    [rebootoff] - This is an optional parameter. When specified, the device will not reboot. If [rebootoff] is not specified, by default, after sending the status for the final task, the device will reboot.

    The following commands can be used to send status messages for the intermediate tasks in the MDT Task Sequence:

  • ISDTool mdt e “error status message” - Specify the error status message that you want to send to the server.

  • ISDTool mdt s “success status message” - Specify the success status message that you want to send to the server.

NOTE:Only the English language is supported for status messages.