Additional Study Topics: Utilities | Groups | Migration Issues | RIS
I.
Preparing for
installation
Before
depending on RIS servers for deployment of Windows 2000 Professional, there are a number
of configuration concerns to be addressed. There are several scenarios in which RIS will
not be a valid solution.
A. Pre-installation
checklist
1. Check
hardware
a. All
system hardware needs to be on the Hardware Compatibility List, which can be found on the
Microsoft Web site.
b. Be
sure system supports hardware minimum requirements to meet those of Windows 2000
Professional
i.
RAM
ii.
Processor
iii.
HDD Space
2. Check
RIS server configuration
a. All
predefined services need to be running and correctly configured, including DHCP and DNS.
b. DHCP
scope has to be created to match the IP subnet to which the computer is connected.
i.
When
installing RIS clients in subnets that do not contain the RIS (or DHCP) server, a method
of DCHP forwarding needs to be established.
ii.
Most routers
can function as DHCP helpers and forward the request to the RIS server.
iii.
Preconfigured
Windows 2000 Professional and Server can be used as a DHCP forwarder as well.
3. Check
network adapters
a. All
systems that are not PXE-based need to have PCI network adapters, which are supported by
the RIS boot disk.
4. Plan
which images to install
a. Time
needs to be spent identifying which systems in which groups will receive which system
images.
i.
Normally
dictated by application packages
ii.
Can match the
OU structure of the organizational structure of the company
5. Decide
who will perform RIS installation
a. Due
to system rights (addressed in the previous lesson), who will install the systems is an
important factor.
b. Whoever
starts the RIS installation needs to have permission to add Windows 2000 systems to the
domain.
c. May
also play a factor in ongoing support issues, in which users are given the disks necessary
to reinstall the OS on their desktops when needed
B. Supported
hardware
1. Hardware
a. Pentium
processor (or equivalent), 166MHz or faster
b. Minimum
of 32MB of RAM; 64–128 recommended
c. 800MB
free HDD space
d. PXE-based
remote boot ROM version .99 or later or PCI plug-and-play adapter supported by the RIS
boot disk
e. Net-PC-compliant
desktops can be used as RIS desktops as well if they meet certain requirements.
i.
Must be
configured to boot from the network adapter
ii.
User account
that is used to run the remote installation must be given “Logon as Batch Job”
rights.
iii.
User account
must be given the ability to create new computer accounts in the domain.
C. Unsupported
hardware
1. There
are some systems that are never supported by the RIS server and its services.
a. All
ISA, EISA, or token ring network cards
b. PCI
network adapters, which are not supported by the RBFG.EXE utility (Some additional network
cards work with the RBFG.exe utility due to their similarity with one of the listed cards,
but are not one of the 25 officially support cards)
D. Group Policy
settings
1. Group
Policy can be used to modify which images are available to certain users within the
network.
a. Restricting
the operating system image options
b. Ensuring
users select the right image
i.
Determine the
client requirements and make groups of users with identical requirements
ii.
Prepare
images based on the group requirements
iii.
Set
permissions on images based on the user groups; do not allow all user groups access to all
images
II.
Installing an
image to a client machine
When the
planning stages of the RIS process are completed, the installation process for the client
machines is undertaken.
A. Creating the
RIS boot disk
1. When
non PXE-based systems are used within the organization, RIS boot disks need to be created
for use in the installation.
2. RBFG.EXE
utility used to create the disk
3. One
disk is created which will work with all 25 network cards.
4. Can
be created for the RIS server, a client connected to the RIS server, or any client
connected to the RIS server on which the Windows 2000 Server administrative tools are
installed
B. Installation
scenarios
1. Depending
on the size and structure of the organization, different installation scenarios are
available for use:
a. Attended
installation
i.
Traditional
Windows 2000 installation method
ii.
Uses Windows
2000 CD-ROM
iii.
Someone must
manually answer every question the setup program presents.
b. Unattended
installation
i.
Used in
larger Windows 2000 organizations in which the need for an automated setup process relates
to the administrative costs involved in mass Windows 2000 professional deployments
c. Imaging
installation
i.
One step
higher than a unattended installation
ii.
Involves
duplication of a preconfigured installation
iii.
Can include
the use of preconfigured applications and system settings
iv.
These
installations are common, but can be expensive due to the need to purchase third-party
imaging software.
C. Fresh
installations
1. Operating
systems can be installed “fresh,” without the use of pre-existing OS settings or
files.
a. Can
take place whether or not the system currently contains an OS
b. Can
also be used during operating system upgrades, but all existing applications will have to
be reinstalled
2. Can
be used in correlation with imaging utilities, such as RIPrep, which allow for the
installation of application software during the initial system installation
3. Normally
the preferred installation option for organizations
a. Decreases
the number of variables involved with installation
b. Allows
all desktops to have an identical installation
D. OS recovery
1. When
existing systems fail, RIS can be used to reinstall the OS to the exact state it was in
prior to the failure, assuming restrictive measures are placed on all desktops preventing
change by users.
a. Failure
can be determined by application corruption and system instability.
b. Failure
can also be caused by hardware failure, such as loss of the data on the HDD.
E. Preinstall
versus prestage
1. Preinstall
a. When
new systems are purchased, they are normally preinstalled with the operating system and
applications
b. This
installation may not always meet the needs of the organization and can sometimes be
slightly modified.
2. Prestage
a. Term
used within the RIS world (and described in the last lesson)
b. When
a system is pre-staged, its computer account is created in the AD and the necessary system
identification is associated with the system at that time as well.
c. Used
when multiple RIS servers are installed on the network and you want a specific RIS server
to respond to specific clients
d. Used
when multiple images are spread across multiple RIS servers
F. Using
RIPrep
1. Remote
Installation Preparation (RIPrep) is a utility provided with RIS which is capable of
creating Windows 2000 images from pre-existing Windows 2000 Professional systems.
2. System
hardware does not have to be identical.
3. The
hardware abstraction layer (HAL) on both source and destination computers must be
identical.
4. Only
available for Windows 2000 Professional systems
G. Advantages and
disadvantages of RIPrep
1. Advantages
a. Free,
in that it is included with Windows 2000 Server
b. Uses
single instance store (SIS) to reduce the space consumed with multiple images
c. Independent
of hardware configuration
d. Helps
in standardizing a Windows 2000 Professional-based desktop environment in an organization
2. Disadvantages
and limitations
a. Only
used for clean installations
b. Only
used for Windows 2000 Professional
c. Can
only duplicate single HDD, single partition images
d. Limited
in the number of systems it will support
H. Preparations
for using RIPrep
1. Only
clean, “fresh” systems should be imaged using RIPrep.
2. Systems
need to have all of the necessary software installed on them prior to implementation.
3. The
source computer has to be tested thoroughly, as well as the image created, before anything
is used on the real network.
III.
Installation
options
1. Boot
Installation Wizard: part of the RIS installation process and called by the BINL, is used
for the actual installation on the client computer. The wizard is not actually installed
on the boot disk, but rather downloaded via TFTP from the RIS server to the client. The
wizard has four installation options.
a. Automatic
setup
i.
Users only
see the images that have been configured for them in the Group Policy object.
ii.
This is the
default option and the easiest installation method.
b. Custom
setup
i.
Used normally
when helpdesk or network administrators are doing the system installation.
ii.
Allows users
to select the location within AD where the computer object will be created
iii.
Allows for
overriding the default naming format
c. Restart
a previous setup attempt
i.
Used to
continue previous installation which failed
ii.
User only
asked for information not already provided to the setup wizard
iii.
Works well in
situations in which installation is occurring over unstable network links
d. Maintenance
and troubleshooting
i.
Used to
provide access to third-party maintenance tools that may need to be utilized before
installation starts
ii.
Can be
restricted by the administration so it’s not used by unauthorized personnel
iii.
No tools are
provided with the RIS server by default; any tools that need to be added to this section
will have to come from the hardware OEM.
IV.
Troubleshooting
A. Network
errors: Sequence of events when the client computer starts
1. DHCP
a. Used
to get the IP address and network configuration used to communicate with the network
services, including the RIS server
2. BINL
a. Used
to locate and connect to the RIS server
3. TFTP
a. Used
to download the necessary installation files to the client computer and start the Client
Installation Wizard
4. CIW
welcome screen
B. Hardware
issues
1. Check
hardware requirements
2. Using
RIPrep images
a. Make
sure the disk space for the image does not exceed the available disk space on the client
system
b. Make
sure the HAL on the source and client machines matches
3. Network
adapters
a. Make
sure the RIS boot disk supports the NIC used, or the system meets the PXE guidelines
4. Laptop
computer considerations
a. Most
laptops use PCMCIA network adapters, which are not supported by the RIS boot disk and do
not conform to the PXE standard.
5. PXE
boot ROM version
a. Be
sure the PXE bios is .99 or later; this is normally displayed during the system boot
screens.