Introduction
The following is a detailed description of the OS Deployment client process. When booting an OS Deployment client, you have several options available. Which one to choose depends mainly on the environment in which the client is booted.
Guide
Deploying a Windows Operating System with the desired Disk configuration, drivers, domain settings and the CapaInstaller agent only requires 3 simple steps >
Enter a Computer name
Select an image and a Disk configuration
Wait as CapaInstaller OSD partitions your disk, applies the OS image, drivers, configurations and installs the CI Agent
The OS Deployment process illustrated (image download speed may wary depending on network and disk performance)
All stages of the deployment process is described in detail below
Click here to expand descriptions...
| Stage | Description |
|---|
| Initial Boot | NBP is loaded via PXE. NBP initiates WinPE load What is an NBP? A network boot program (NBP) is the first file downloaded and executed as part of the Pre-Boot Execution Environment (PXE) boot process. The NBP dictates whether the client can boot from the network, whether the client must press F12 to initiate the boot, and which boot image the client will receive. NBPs are both architecture and firmware specific (BIOS or EFI) specific. On BIOS computers (per the PXE specification), the NBP is a 16-bit, real-mode application. As such, you can use the same NBP for both x86-based and x64-based operating systems that have BIOS .
Read more about How Network Boot Programs Work |
Load WinPE with injected drivers | The Windows PE Boot image is fetched and booted The drives injected in the Boot.wim are activated to allow the OS Deployment Client to use the network and storage devices of the client What is Windows PE? Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) is a minimal operating system with limited services. It is used to install, deploy, and repair Microsoft Windows Operating Systems Windows PE is not designed to be the primary operating system on a computer but is instead used as a standalone preinstallation environment and as an integral component of other setup and recovery technologies.
Read more about Windows PE |
| Load osdbootstrap with enviroment | The CapaInstaller OSD Bootstrapper loads and sets up the enviroment for OSD operations |
| Run OSDClient | The OSDClient is loaded |
| Source selection (server/point) | Selection of server/point source |
| Run Pre-GUI script from point | Execution of the Pre-GUI script from the selected source |
| Select Image and configuration | Selection of OS image and Disk configuration |
| Run Pre disk-part | Pre Disk part script is executed |
Disk config and download image | Partitioning and setup of the target hard disk according to the Disk configuration selected |
| Run Pre image script | Pre Image script is executed |
| Applying image and download additional files | The OS image is applied and additional files downloaded to the target |
| Run Pre driver copy script | Pre Driver script is executed |
| driver download and inject to c: | Drivers for the Model is downloaded and injected to the target |
| Run Pre patch script | Pre patch script is run |
Generate an unattend.xml | The unattend file is modified dynamically with parameters from OSD |
| Run Pre boot script | Pre Boot script is executed just before the first boot of the target machine |
| Windows Setup | Processing and applying of the settings from the unattended.xml answer file |
| Run Post Install (async) | The setup will asynchronously run the Post Install script |
| CI agent install | The CapaInstaller Agent installer will be run asynchronously |
| OS Ready | The target machine is ready for installation of assigned software packages |
Read more