A geeks guide to BDD 2007 RC1

[Johan Arwidmark]

BDD 2007 RC1 is released and so are the geeks guides to BDD 2007 RC1

The step-by-step guides explains in detail how to setup a deployment
server with BDD 2007 RC1 Core components, Lite Touch and Zero Touch.

Geeks Guide to BDD 2007 RC1 - Part 1, Core Configuration
http://www.deployvista.com/Blog/tabid/70/EntryID/8/Default.aspx

Geeks Guide to BDD 2007 RC1 - Part 2, Using Lite Touch to deploy
Windows Vista
http://www.deployvista.com/Blog/tabid/70/EntryID/9/Default.aspx

Geeks Guide to BDD 2007 RC1 - Part 3, Using Zero Touch to deploy
Windows Vista
http://www.deployvista.com/Blog/tabid/70/EntryID/10/Default.aspx


PDF versions of the guides are also uploaded to the file repository at
http://www.deployvista.com

I hope you will find them useful, enjoy...


regards

Johan Arwidmark
Microsoft MVP - Setup/Deployment

 

[Guest]

Nice write-up, however it tends to convince me of one thing I was expecting,
namely that BDD is simply not an economically-feasible route outside of the
corporate sector.

As always with MS products, we have the Home and Corporate solutions... and
the 'Mid-sized business vacuum' in which there is no satisfactory deployment
scheme. (Other, that is, than resorting to the disk-imaging which MS for some
reason object so strongly to)

 

[Johan Arwidmark]

Thanks,

But BDD is free... costs nothing... so I cannot agree qwith you

Windows PE 2.0 is also free, not only to deploy Vista, but also
Windows XP and Windows Server 2003

If you don't have SMS you should use the Lite Touch scenarios, for
NewComputer, Refresh, Upgarde or Replace scenarios. Requires only a
fileserver (can even be another XP or Vista box, even though I
recommend using a Windows Server 2003 SP1 box as your deployment
server (includes WDS).


regards

Johan Arwidmark
Microsoft MVP - Setup/Deployment

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Yes, it's free, but that isn't the issue. The true cost is that of
the time involved in preparing and testing any rollout, and that
cost increases by inverse proportion to the number of computers in
the rollout.

Whereas, imaging has a fixed time cost per computer, and a
predictable outcome. I can quote a client a fixed fee for imaging
five XP computers, knowing the time that setting-up one one takes,
plus the time an image takes to copy.

Using BDE I reckon it would be extremely hard to project any sort of
costing, as there are so many complex steps involved, any one of
which could throw-up a problem that might take days to solve. Plus,
since it's sysprepped I'm guessing the user-accounts have to be
re-created too, adding even more post-rollout work per PC if it's
not for a domain. You don't have to do that with images.

WinPE is certainly useful though, and I shall be investigating v2
shortly.

Unattended setups combined with imaging where applicable...
The way to go in my opinion.

With projects like http://unattended.sourceforge.net/ and
http://unattended.msfn.org/ out there - up until now, things have been
working out quite well using a variety of solutions. Each individual should
choose the option that works best for them and their environemtn, however.

 

[Johan Arwidmark]

In my opinion BDD is very easy to get started with, and in my working
experience it is easy to predict and therefor easily sold with a fixed
cost. In fact, most consulting companies I know of are using BDD to
have a standard microsoft deployment to start with, and they are
selling this as a "boxed" product to their customers...

For smaller customers to get started, it's a typical two-day job, for
larger customers (running sms) it's a 3 - 5 days job.

The good part of using a standard deployment platform is that is
already tested by many companies, in the beginning of 2005 there was
at least 5 000 000 desktops deployed using BDD... on companies ranging
from 2 seats to 250 000 seats...

I use BDD for imaging all the time, the only time I use a scripted
install in BDD is when I create the reference computer (to able to
reproduce with the same results each time)


regards

Johan Arwidmark
Microsoft MVP - Setup/Deployment