Introduction

Article
12/19/2007

Microsoft® Deployment Solution Accelerator, which is the next version of Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) 2007, delivers end-to-end guidance for the efficient planning, building, testing, and deployment of Windows® operating systems, the 2007 Microsoft Office system, and Microsoft Office 2003. Microsoft Deployment helps Information Technology (IT) professionals realize a quick Return on Investment (ROI) while setting new standards for reliability, performance, security, and ease-of-use. Microsoft Deployment provides proven tools and practices with which IT professionals can:

Create a software and hardware inventory to assist in deployment planning.
Test applications for compatibility with Windows operating systems and mitigate compatibility issues discovered during the process.
Set up an initial lab environment with imaging and deployment servers.
Customize, package, and deploy applications.
Automate image creation and deployment.
Manage processes and technologies to produce comprehensive and integrated Lite Touch Installation (LTI) and Zero Touch Installation (ZTI) deployments.
During deployment, migrate users’ documents and settings to their new computer configurations.
During deployment, Microsoft Deployment supports the installation of all Roles such as Active Directory® Domain Services (AD DS), Domain Name System (DNS) server, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server, Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS), Windows Deployment Services, Windows SharePoint® Services, Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) server, and Windows Server® 2003 Terminal Services. Additionally, Microsoft Deployment supports the configuration of the AD DS role.
Ensure that computers are hardened to improve security within the environment.

Microsoft Deployment brings together time-honored and proven practices in addition to the following Microsoft technologies:

Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.0 for gathering application inventory and for testing and mitigating application-compatibility issues
Windows User State Migration Tool (USMT) for migrating user settings and data
Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) for configuring unattended Setup answer files (Unattend.xml) and capturing images
Windows Deployment Services for starting Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) on target computers across the network
Windows PE 2.0 for starting computers

Microsoft Deployment contains guidance, sample templates, and technology files (such as scripts and configuration files). Microsoft Deployment documentation discusses in detail required software that the team must download from the Internet. The documentation also discusses media that the team must provide. The focus of Microsoft Deployment is computer deployment versus the integration that organizations can achieve on the platform by combining computers and domains. Microsoft Deployment supports deployment in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 domains.

Note For the latest information regarding Microsoft Deployment, see Release Notes.doc in the documentation subfolder of the Microsoft Deployment installation folder.

Note Microsoft Deployment combines abstract concepts that are sometimes difficult to follow without citing specific examples. To make these concepts easier to understand, this deployment project references a deployment project at a fictional company named Woodgrove Bank. This deployment project also provides sample job aids for Woodgrove Bank. The content in each planning template is specific to Woodgrove Bank; replace it with information specific to the team’s organization.

Note In this document, Windows applies to the Windows Vista®, Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Tablet PC Edition, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2003 operating systems unless otherwise noted.

Note This release of Microsoft Deployment uses the Windows AIK version that was released with Windows Vista.

Introduction

Additional resources