Configuring the data store

Configuring the data store sets required values for accessing the data sources for provisioning.

In particular, you define the location of the data store, which is where you store sets of installation files that are used for provisioning operating systems. Data store values are stored in the Data Store system object, which you can edit by using the Property Dictionary.

Before you begin

• Any data store you specify must already be set up. For information about setting up a data store, see Setting up the provisioning system.
• To provision from a local data store, set up the local data store and use the local data store instance as described in Provisioning Windows 2003 or 2008 servers from a local data store.

To configure the data store

1. Select Configuration > Property Dictionary View.
2. In the Property Class Navigation panel at the left, open the Built-in Property Classes folder. Then open the DataStore sub-folder. Click Jumpstart DataStore, Pxe DataStore, NIM DataStore, or Ignite DataStore.
3. In the right panel, click the Instances tab.
   A DataStore instance specifies the server that functions as a data store. You must create at least one instance of a data store. You can create more than one instance. For example:
   • One data store instance could contain files for provisioning Windows systems, and another instance could contain files for provisioning Linux systems.
   • For an enterprise WAN, you could create one data store instance to serve the London network segment, another to serve the New York network segment, and a third to serve the Tokyo network segment.
4. Create a data store instance. As you create this instance, fill in the properties required by the provisioning technology:
   • PXE Properties
   • JumpStart properties
   • NIM properties
   • Ignite properties