Remote Installation Services administration overview

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Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Remote Installation Services administration overview

To administer Remote Installation Services (RIS), you use the property pages that reside on specific objects within Active Directory.

To access the property pages, right-click the server object you want to administer, and then click Properties. For more information on configuring RIS, see Configure Remote Installation Services.

You can set the following options from the Remote Install property page:

Client servicing

You can specify either that servers respond to all clients requesting service, or that they respond only to known (prestaged) clients. Use the following options to specify how the RIS server responds to requests for service from client computers:

  • Respond to clients requesting service. If you select this option, RIS is enabled and will respond to client computers requesting service.

  • Do not respond to unknown client computers. If you select this option, the RIS server responds only to prestaged client computers in Active Directory. Otherwise, the RIS server responds to any client computer requesting remote installation.

For more information about prestaging, see Prestage client computers.

Verify Server

Select this option if the server seems to be failing or is behaving inconsistently, or if you need to restore a RIS volume from backup. This option brings up a wizard that checks to determine whether all of the settings, services, and configuration options are correctly set and functioning.

Before you select this option, make sure you have the installation compact discs available. You might be prompted for them during the Verify Server procedure.

You can only use Verify Server locally on a RIS server, or by connecting to that server through Remote Desktop for Administration. You cannot use Verify Server if you are performing RIS administration tasks from a remote server.

For more information, see Verify the Remote Installation Services configuration.

Important

  • If you are verifying the server configuration because you need to restore a RIS volume from backup, you must verify the server configuration before you restore the volume.

Show Clients

If you select this option, you can search for RIS clients within Active Directory.

Selecting this option displays a list of client computers sorted by their globally unique identifier (GUID). The list also includes client computers that have been prestaged.

For more information, see RIS client computer properties.

Advanced Settings

If you select this option, you can control how a client computer is installed. The advanced setting options are as follows:

  • Automatic client computer account naming format

  • Active Directory location of client computer accounts

  • Manage the installation images and pre-operating system maintenance tools installed on this RIS server

For more information, see Advanced Configuration Settings.

Note

  • This topic does not apply to Windows Server 2003, Web Edition.