Creating Distribution Shares

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

To install Windows XP Professional or Windows Server 2003 on multiple computers over a network, you must create at least one set of distribution shares. The distribution shares typically reside on a server to which each of your destination computers can connect. You can use the same set of distribution shares with different answer files to create different system configurations. Even if you intend to use disk imaging as your installation method, building your master installations with distribution shares provides consistent implementations for a variety of system types. In addition, you can use distribution shares to update future images by editing the files in the distribution shares or by modifying the answer files to generate updated images without having to rebuild each of your master computers.

Before you can create your distribution shares, you need to design them. For a worksheet to assist you in recording the design requirements, see "Distribution Share Worksheet" (ACIUI_2.doc) on the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit companion CD (or see "Distribution Share Worksheet" on the Web at https://www.microsoft.com/reskit). You can then use the Distribution Share Worksheet to help you create your distribution shares.

There are two ways to create a distribution share:

  • You can use Setup Manager to create a minimal distribution share that contains the system files and device drivers necessary for an unattended installation. Setup Manager is an interactive tool that prompts you for configuration settings, and then builds a distribution share based on your responses.

  • You can manually copy files and folders to a distribution share. However, this method is vulnerable to mistakes, and it is recommended that you use it to make only minor changes to your distribution shares.

Typically, you use Setup Manager to create your basic distribution shares. Then, you manually add files and folders to the distribution shares based on your design requirements.

To create a distribution share by installing and running Setup Manager

  1. From the Deploy.cab file in the \Support\Tools folder of the operating system CD, copy the Setupmgr.exe file to your hard disk.

  2. At the command prompt, use the cd command to change your current folder to the folder that contains Setupmgr.exe, type setupmgr, and then press Enter.

  3. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Use the following procedure to manually create a distribution share.

To manually create a distribution share

  1. Create a shared folder on a server and give it a name that describes the operating system you are installing. For example, if you are creating a distribution share for Windows XP Professional installations, you might name the folder XP_Pro. Be sure each of your destination computers can connect to the shared folder. This folder is your distribution share.

  2. Set permissions on the shared folder so that only authorized users can access the folder.

    Authorized users are those users who perform unattended installations in your organization.

  3. Copy the contents of the i386 folder on your operating system CD to the i386 folder on your server.

  4. In the shared folder, create a folder named $OEM$.

    The $OEM$ folder is the top level folder for all supplemental installation files — such as device drivers, utilities, programs, and scripts — that you want copied to you destination computers.

  5. Copy all supplemental files to the $OEM$ folder.

    Be sure to follow the structure shown in Figure 2.5. You can also use your "Distribution Share Worksheet" (ACIUI_2.doc) to help you identify the structure and contents of the $OEM$ folder.