Overview
Deployment media is similar to the rescue media found in SiteBackup. The deployment media is used to boot computers for golden image creation and deployment. Deployment media can be created and managed on the 'Deployment Media' page of SiteDeploy.
There are two types of deployment media that can be created:
Deployment Media – This will create an ISO file that can be downloaded from SiteDeploy, and optionally, mounted on a USB drive.
PXE Network Boot Components – This option creates PXE deployment media and all the files necessary to support PXE booting clients using the in-box PXE server, a third-party TFTP server, or Windows Deployment Services (WDS).
Building Deployment Media
Selecting 'Build' next to the relevant deployment media will open a window where the relevant PE version(s) to include in the deployment media can be selected:
These versions of Windows PE ensure that the deployment media can be booted on a wide variety of systems, including legacy systems.
Once the relevant Windows PE versions have been selected, click 'Build' to begin building the deployment media. The progress of the deployment media building will be shown on the 'Deployment Media' tab in SiteDeploy:
Progress can also be viewed using the ‘Activity’ widget on the dashboard page of the SiteManager Platform:
Once the deployment media has been created, it can be viewed under the 'Deployment' and 'PXE' headings. Deployment ISOs can be downloaded to the computer that is accessing the SiteManager Platform using the ‘Download’ button and PXE components can be found at the default path of C:\ProgramData\Macrium\SiteManager\RescueMedia\PXE.
The default location for the deployment media creation can be changed using the 'Working Directory' option on the 'Rescue Media' page of the SiteManager Platform settings.
Using the in-box PXE server
PXE booting is made up of two components, a TFTP server that provides the boot files, and the DHCP server which enables endpoints to discover the bootable options stored on the TFTP server.
Once the PXE network boot components have been created, the option to enable the in-box TFTP server will be displayed:
TFTP Server - When the 'TFTP Server' option is enabled, the PXE boot files will be made available on port 69 of the SiteDeploy server. The environment's DHCP server can then be configured to server these PXE files to booting endpoints.
Proxy-DHCP - When the 'Proxy-DHCP' option is selected, the SiteDeploy will respond to DHCP queries from endpoints with PXE information. The assigning of IP addresses is then handled by the DHCP server. This option should only be used if the PXE boot options have not been configured on the DHCP server. This option is perfect for times when PXE options cannot be configured on the DHCP server, for example when a SOHO router is acting as the DHCP server and may not allow PXE options to be configured.
Adapter - This option enables you to select which network adapter is used to respond to DHCP queries. When 'Auto' is selected, SiteDeploy will reply on all adapters.
Once the DHCP options have been configured on the DHCP server, or the proxy-DHCP option has been enabled, endpoints can boot using the deployment media, which is stored on the SiteDeploy server, over the network.
Rescue USB Builder
Deploy media can be loaded onto USB flash drives to create deploy USB sticks. Drivers can be copied onto rescue USB media after it has been created as the root of the USB is included in the driver load process.
The ‘Rescue USB Builder’ can be downloaded at the bottom of the ‘Deploy Media’ tab.
The Rescue USB Builder has a command line interface and supports the following commands:
|
Command |
Shortcut |
Description |
|
--help |
-h |
Prints help and copyright information. |
|
--list-devices |
-l |
Lists USB devices suitable for use as a deployment USB stick. |
|
--create |
-c |
Creates the rescue USB stick. Takes the path to the iso file (-i) and a device number (-d) as mandatory arguments. -f and -q are optional arguments to suppress the confirmation prompt and progress output, respectively. |
Alternatively, the Rescue USB Builder can be launched with a GUI. A list of available USB devices will be shown that can be used for the deployment media creation:
'Browse' can be used to select the deployment ISO that can be mounted onto the USB drive.