Provisioning Windows 2003 or 2008 servers from a local data store

You can provision Windows 2003 or 2008 servers from a local data store instead of a PXE server.

Provisioning the Windows operating system to bare-metal servers is most often done in a PXE environment, where files for operating system installation reside on a remote PXE data store. However, BMC Server Automation provisioning also lets you provision Windows 2003 or 2008 servers from a local data store. For more information about this approach, see About-provisioning-from-a-local-data-store.

This topic describes how to provision target servers from a local data store. It includes the following sections:

• • Before you begin
  • To provision target servers from a local data store:

To create a WinPE image for booting the target server from the PXE server (PXE boot), see Creating an image for booting from the PXE server.

Before you begin

• The CD/DVD media must be removable or CD-ROM drive types. These types include: CD, DVD, Integrated Lights Out (HP iLO), Dell Remote Access Controller (DRAC), and USB devices.
• The CD/DVD media must be connected to the target server and available.
• The CD/DVD media must contain valid operating system installation files for the Windows 2003 or 2008 installation you want to perform.

• You must prepare the machine on which images are created. See Preparing a machine for WinPE 2.0 and later image creation.
• If you plan to specify network details for the target server (static IP addresses, WINS server, DNS server) in the image, create a network.ini file. For information, see Creating-a-network-ini-file.

To provision target servers from a local data store:

1. Create a WinPE 2.0 and later image to use in provisioning by booting from local media (local boot), use one of the following methods.

   To use the image creation wizard to create the image for local boot

   Click here to review the steps for using the wizard.  Select Configuration > Provisioning Image Creation. In the Toolkit Select window, do the following: For the following options, provide information as you normally would in creating a WinPE 2.0 and later boot image: Image Toolkit Host Architecture Win AIK Directory Path CreateWinPE Script Directory Path For Image Type, select one or more of the following: ISO Image: Creates an image in ISO format (bootImageName.iso) for booting from media connected to the target server. You can burn this ISO image to CD/DVD or use it directly through iLO (integrated Lights-Out server management technology), virtual CD-ROM, or a mapped network drive. UFD Image : Creates an image in UFD format for booting from USB flash drive. The image is a directory with the name bootImageName_UFD; the directory contains the files for booting from a USB flash drive. For Boot Image Target Directory, type the full path to the directory in which you want the image created, or click Browse to select a location. Use NSH format for the path. The image creation process uses the name of last directory in the path as the image name. For example: //myComputerHostname/myImageDirectory/boot_2_0_x86 Note Spaces are not supported in the boot image name. (The image creation process considers the last directory in the Boot Image Target Directory Path as the image name.) In the Driver Selection window and Custom Script window, provide information as you normally would in creating a WinPE image. (For information, see Creating WinPE 2.0 and later images using the Image Creation wizard.) In the Configuration Details window, do the following: Select the network.ini file. (Click Browse.) You would specify this file if the provisioning environment does not contain a DHCP server. For information about this file, see Creating-a-network-ini-file.  This step is optional. If you do not select a file, you can: Manually copy the file to the root directory of the media (CD, DVD, USB) you use for local provisioning of the server. Provide network details during the provisioning of the target server — if there is no DHCP server present in the provisioning environment. Accept or change the Application Server IP address and port. (Specify this information if there is no DHCP server present in the provisioning environment.) Select Copy to root of ISO/UFD. Specify the location of Configuration Components (bmiwin.exe, RSCD agent installers, and operating system driver files) to be copied.  For information about Configuration Details options, see Creating WinPE 2.0 and later images using the Image Creation wizard. Click Finish.

   To use the script to create an image for local boot

   Click here to review the steps for using the script.  Create the input file containing image creation parameters. In the file, specify all required parameters and all parameters labelled "Local boot image only." For parameter descriptions and an example script, see Creating-the-input-parameters-ini-file. Run the CreateWinPE2_x.vbs script as described in Running-the-CreateWinPE2_x-vbs-script. Copy the WinPE image file to the media you plan to use for provisioning the target server. See Copying-image-files-to-a-location-for-provisioning.

2. Create a system package that points to the local data store as the location of the installation files. 

   Click here to review the steps for creating a Windows system package for use with a local data store.

   1. Edit the system package type to specify the location of the operating system installer as relative to the local data store and the RSCD agent installer as relative to the CONFIG_STORE location.
      1. Select Configuration > Provisioning Configurations.
      2. On the System Package Type tab, under Relative Paths for OS images, select the type of system package and click Edit.
      3. On the System Package Type window, for OS Installer location, type the path to the directory where the operating system installation files reside in the local data store (CD/DVD, USB flash drive). The path must be relative to the root directory of this local data store. If these files are at the root directory of the local data store, type a backslash.
      4. For RSCD Installer location, type the path to the directory where the RSCD agent installer files reside.
         If these files are in an ISO or UFD boot image, specify a path relative to the root of ISO or UFD.
         During image creation, if you selected Copy to root of ISO/UFD or Copy to WinPE image, specify the name of the leaf directory that you provided for RSCD Installer Path. (This directory contains the rscd.msi file.) For example, if the RSCD Installer Path specified during image creation was D:\DataStore\RSCD\rscd_76_x86, you would type:
         rscd_76_x86
   2. Create the system package.

   3. In the system package, define settings on the Disk Partition, Basic Config, OS Components, Network, and Post-Install Config tabs.

      Click here to view the steps for defining the system package settings.

      1. In the Depot folder, navigate to the system package you want to define. Right-click the system package and select Open.
          A tab for the system package appears in the content editor.

      2. To define standard system package settings, click the tabs at the bottom of the system package tab. Each tab represents a category of settings, as described in the following sections:
      3. When you finish defining settings for the system package, click the system package tab and select File > Save.

   4. On the Local Properties tab, accept or change the default setting for the CONFIG_STORE property. This property specifies the locations that the provisioning process searches for the configuration components (bmiwin.exe, RSCD agent installers, and operating system drivers) when booting from local media. 

      Click here for more information about the CONFIG_STORE property.

      The CONFIG_STORE property specifies the locations that the provisioning process searches for the configuration components (bmiwin.exe, RSCD agent installers, and operating system drivers) when booting from local media.

      This property is a local property of a system package. Use this property only to provision from a local data store.

      You can set the default value of this property to specify locations to search. The values are:

      • WinPE—The provisioning process searches the LDS directory inside the WinPE image on the local data media.
      • Media—The provisioning process searches all supported removable media connected to the target server. For example:
        • The WinPE ISO image on CD/DVD
        • The media containing the local data store
        • Any other media, such as a USB flash drive (UFD)
      • All—(The default value) The provisioning process searches both locations in this order:
        1. In the LDS directory inside the WinPE image.
        2. On all supported removable media connected to the target server.

      To change the default value of CONFIG_STORE, use the Local properties panel of the Windows system package.

   5. On the Computer Settings tab, define settings for User Information, License setup, and Localization as described below: 

      For Windows 2008

      Click here for field definitions for Windows 2008. Name The user name. Organization Name of the user's organization. PnP driver paths Specifies the location of plug-and-play (PnP) drivers and mass storage drivers in your data store. For configuring PnP or OEM drivers, for PnP driver paths, click Browse to select drivers. For information, see For PnP drivers, you can alternatively enter a semicolon-delimited list of paths in the field. Each path should be relative to the root of the data store. This example shows selection of two PnP drivers: drivers\Compaq\Win2008\Display;drivers\HPDLG30g5\Win2008\RAID License key Enter the key to the software license you are using, including all hyphens in the key. Then, under License key, do one of the following: If the license is granted on a per-server basis, select Per server. For Number of concurrent connections, enter the number of users that can use a license simultaneously. This number must be set higher than 5. If the license is granted on a per-seat basis, select Per seat. Note To install an evaluation version of Windows Server 2008 R2 (or one that uses a Multiple Activation Key), leave the License Key field blank. You can activate the license key on the target server later or you can customize the Unattend.xml file by providing the activation key. By default, the system package accepts the KMS license key. Time zone Select a time zone for the server. Locale Select a language option. For example, in the United States, select English United States.

      For all other Windows operating systems

      Click here for field definitions for all Windows operating systems except Windows 2008. Name The user name. Organization Name of the user's organization. Specify path to $OEM$ directory Specifies whether the $OEM$ drivers are directly beneath the i386 or amd64 directory or in a different location in the data store. If you leave Specify path to $OEM$ directory unchecked, you are telling the provisioning process that either your $OEM$ directory and its drivers are already directly beneath the i386 or amd64 directory, or that you plan to use the GUI to copy your drivers to this location. If you check Specify path to $OEM$ directory, you are telling the provisioning process that your $OEM$ directory is in a different location. Enter this location in the Path to $OEM$ directory field. For more information, see When-to-use-Specify-path-to-OEM-directory. PnP driver paths Specifies the location of plug-and-play (PnP) drivers in your data store. To enter paths, do one of the following: Click Browse  and use the driver selection GUI to automatically fill in the PnP driver paths. For information, see Using-the-driver-selection-GUI-PnP-driver-paths. Note Browsing the data store for the PnP and mass storage drivers has the following requirements: The drivers must be located in the same data store as the rest of the installation files for this system package. There must already exist in the BMC Server Automation environment a server object whose name matches the LOCATION property of the data store instance you selected. Type a semicolon-delimited list of the paths to the directories holding plug-and-play drivers. If you specified a path in the Path to $OEM$ directory field, the paths you enter here must be relative to the $OEM$\$1 directory. If you did not specify a path in the Path to $OEM$ directory field, the paths you enter must be relative to the root of the data store. Mass storage drivers Specifies the location of mass storage drivers in the data store. Click Browse and use the driver selection GUI to automatically fill in the mass storage drivers. For information about how to use this GUI, see Using-the-driver-selection-GUI-mass-storage-drivers. License key Enter the key to the software license you are using, including all hyphens in the key. Then do one of the following: If the license is granted on a per-server basis, select Per server. For Number of concurrent connections, enter the number of users that can use a license simultaneously. This number must be set higher than 5. If the license is granted on a per-seat basis, select Per seat. Time zone Select a time zone for the server. Locale Select a language option. For example, in the United States, select English United States.

   6. For Driver Setup, type the paths to the drivers as relative to the CONFIG_STORE location, according to the OS Drivers Pathyou specified on the Configuration Details panel during image creation. (You cannot browse to select drivers if the LocalDataStore is associated with the system package.)
      • During image creation, if you selected Copy to root of ISO/UFD or Copy to WinPE image, specify the name of the leaf directory that you provided for OS Drivers Path. For example, if the OS Drivers Path specified during image creation was D:\DataStore\Drivers, then for PnP driver paths:
        • Windows 2008 and 2003 system packages: If D:\DataStore\Drivers contains PnP drivers WinPE image at:
          D:\DataStore\Drivers\Dell
          D:\DataStore\Drivers\VmDrivers
           Then for PnP driver paths, type: Drivers\Dell;Drivers\VmDrivers
        • Windows 2003 system packages: If D:\DataStore\Drivers contains PnP drivers at:
          D:\DataStore\Drivers\$OEM$\$1\Dell
          D:\DataStore\Drivers\Drivers\$OEM$\$1\VmDrivers
           Then you would select Specify path to $OEM$ directory and for the Path to $OEM$ directory, you would type: Drivers. For *PnP driver paths,*you would type: Dell;VmDrivers
        • Mass Storage Drivers:
          • Windows 2008 system packages: If D:\DataStore\Drivers contains mass storage drivers at:
            D:\DataStore\Drivers\MassStorage\SCSI
             Then for Mass storage drivers, you would type: MassStorage\SCSI
          • Windows 2003 system packages: If D:\DataStore\Drivers contains mass storage drivers at:
            D:\DataStore\Drivers\$OEM$\$1\MassStorage\SCSI
             Then you would select Specify path to $OEM$ directory and for the Path to $OEM$ directory, you would type: Drivers. For Mass Storage Drivers, you would type: MassStorage\SCSI.
   7. To create a system package for Windows 2003 that includes mass storage drivers, add entries for the drivers in the unattend.txt file, as follows:
      • Click the Unattend Entries tab.
      • Clear the Customize the Unattend Entries file check box and add the entries to the Additional entries for the unattend.txt file.
        For example:
        [MassStorageDrivers]
        "VMware SCSI Controller" = "OEM"
        [OEMBootFiles]
        vmscsi.sys
        vmscsi.inf
        vmscsi.cat
        txtsetup.oem
   8. When you finish defining system package settings, select File > Save.

3. Associate the local data store instance with the system package. 

   Click here to the steps for associating the LocalDataStore instance with the system package.

   1. Create the Provision Job.

      Click here to view the steps for creating a Provision Job.

      1. To start the Provision Job wizard, do either of the following:
         • In the Jobs folder, right-click a folder, and select New > Provision Job > OS_type.
         • In the Devices folder, expand the Imported folder, right-click one or more devices, and select New > Provision Job > OS_type. This option offers a convenient way to provision one or more devices immediately. The job wizard adds the device information into the job for you, and it checks the Execute Now option by default on the Schedules panel, which makes the job execute immediately after you finish the wizard.

      2. Define the Provision Job, as described in the following sections.

         Tip

         When you are familiar with the fields in the wizard, you can streamline some of the wizard selections by using parameterized properties in the system package definitions. For an example, see Streamlining the wizard with parameterized properties - an example.

      3. After completing the last step of the wizard, click Finish.
         A Provision Job is stored in the Jobs folder. You can open the job and edit it.
   2. Provide information to the Provision Device wizard as you normally would.
   3. For System Package Properties, select the DATA_STORE property and click Edit .
   4. Click in the Value column and then click Browse . The Choose Property Class Instance dialog box appears.
   5. Select LocalDataStoreInstance and click OK.
   6. Complete the remaining steps of the Provision Device wizard and click Finish.
      When the Provision Job executes, the target servers are provisioned from the local data store.