File name: buildlab.1.0.pdf  Version: 1.0 Date published: Friday, November 30, 2007 Download size: 968 KB Language: English

Building a client with minimum user interaction is an interim goal of the many projects. The build method chosen must have the ability to rebuild a machine in a timely manner and be generic in the sense that it can build many machines using the same set of rules. When choosing a build procedure, it is essential that you can modify the build without needing to redesign the process in its entirety. Two build procedures meeting these requirements:

• Scripteded build at deployment time. A scripted build has a number of advantages, including the script can be used on any hardware (assuming its on the hardware compatibility list) to install required device drivers, make modular changes ( an entire redesign of the script is not required), and efficiently monitor change control.
• Disk imaging at deployment time. Disk imaging requires minimal user interaction once the image copy has started and it is a quick way of installing the required base OS.

Microsoft Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007 allows you to use a combination of the two build processes. This ensures that you deploy optimal configurations in the most efficient manner. This white paper outlines the requirements and technical steps for implementing a client-build development lab so you can use BDD 2007 to create a scripted installation. You then capture the scripted installation with ImageX for rapid deployment in to the environment. Using Microsoft’s ImageX imaging technology, target machines for the image can have different hardware abstraction layers (HALs), Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) environments, and disk size of the original master machine. Also ImageX allows offline servicing of the captured image making modification of the build and change control simple.