The Hydration Kit for Windows Server 2012 and MDT 2012 Update 1 is available for download

What could be more fittingly than deploying a deployment solution with a deployment solution? J

Here is a download for building a complete deployment solution based on Windows Server 2012 and MDT 2012 Update 1 (Lite Touch) in either Hyper-V or VMware. The solution is based on two virtual servers - one domain controller (DC01) and one member server (MDT01). Both servers are running Windows Server 2012.

• DC01. Domain Controller, DNS, and DHCP
• MDT01. File Server, WDS, SQL Server 2012 Express, ADK and MDT 2012 Update 1

Once configured, the total build time for the full lab environment is about 1 hour on a somewhat decent lab machine (Any machine with 4 GB RAM and a 128 GB SSD will do). In my test lab I was using a Lenovo ThinkPad T420 with a Core i5, 16 GB RAM, and a 480 GB SSD drive.

Download the Hydration Kit for Windows Server 2012 and MDT 2012 Update 1 (120 kb)

Overview

To build the lab there are three steps you need to do

1. Download the necessary software
2. Prepare the Hydration Environment
3. Deploy the virtual machines

Detailed instructions are further down this page... see the Step-by-Step Guide section

The MDT01 task sequence, building a complete deployment server

The readymade applications in the hydration kit

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 - Download the necessary software

1. On the machine (client or server) that you use to manage Hyper-V or VMware, create the C:\Downloads folder.
2. Download the following software:

• The Hydration Kit sample files (download)
• BGInfo
• MDT 2012 Update 1
• ADK (run the setup downloader to download the full ADK)
• SQL Server 2012 Express with Tools (SQLEXPRWT_x64_ENU.exe)
• Windows Server 2012 (trial or full version)

Step 2 - Prepare the Hydration Environment

Create the hydration deployment share

1. On the Windows machine that you use to manage Hyper-V or VMware, install ADK (adksetup.exe) selecting only the following components:
   1. Deployment Tools
   2. Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE)
2. Install MDT 2012 Update 1 (MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit2012_x64.msi) with the default settings.
3. Extract the HydrationMDT2012U1.zip sample file to C:\.
4. You should now have the following folder containing a few subfolders and PowerShell scripts.

   C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\Source

5. In an elevated (run as Administrator) PowerShell command prompt, configure Execution Policy in PowerShell by typing the following command:

   Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted –Force

6. In the PowerShell command prompt, create the hydration deployment share by running the following command

   C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\Source\1_CreateHydrationDeploymentShare.ps1

7. Merge the hydration kit content with the new deployment share by running the following command:

   C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\Source\2_MergeDeploymentShareWithHydrationKit.ps1

    

Populate the hydration deployment share with the downloaded files

1. Copy the BGInfo file (bginfo.exe) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\DS\Applications\Install - BGInfo\Source

2. Copy the ADK installation files to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\DS\Applications\Install - ADK\Source

3. Copy the MDT installation file (MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit2012_x64.msi) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\DS\Applications\Install - MDT 2012 Update 1\Source

4. Copy the SQL Server 2012 Express installation file (SQLEXPRWT_x64_ENU.exe) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\DS\Applications\SQL Server 2012 Express\Source

5. Copy the Windows Server 2012 installation files (the content of the ISO, not the actual ISO) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\DS\Operating Systems\Windows Server 2012 x64

Create the hydration ISO (MDT 2012 Update offline media item)

1. Using Deployment Workbench (available on the start menu), expand Deployment Shares, and expand Hydration MDT 2012 Update 1.
2. Review the various nodes. The Applications, Operating Systems and Task Sequences nodes should all have some content in them.
   
   
   The Hydration deployment share, listing the task sequences.
   
3. Expand the Advanced Configuration node, and then select the Media node.
4. In the right pane, right-click the MEDIA001 item, and select Update Media Content.
   Note: The media update will take a while to run, a perfect time for a coffee break…

After the media update you will have a big ISO (HydrationMDT2012U1.iso) in the C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\ISO folder. The HydrationMDT2012U1.iso should be about 6.3 GB in size.

The HydrationMDT2012U1.iso

Step 3 - Deploy the virtual machines

Deploying DC01

1. Using Hyper-V Manager or VMware Sphere, create a virtual machine with the following settings:
   1. Name: DC01
   2. Hard drive: 100 GB (dynamic disk)
   3. Memory: 1 GB
   4. Network: Your lab network
   5. Image file (ISO): C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\ISO\HydrationMDT2012U1.iso
2. Start the DC01 virtual machine. After booting from HydrationMDT2012U1.iso, and after WinPE has loaded, select the DC01 task sequence.
3. Wait until the setup is complete and you see the Hydration Complete message in the final summary.
4. Leave DC01 running while deploying the other virtual machine (MDT01).

Selecting DC01 in the deployment wizard

Deploying MDT01

1. Using Hyper-V Manager or VMware Sphere, create a virtual machine with the following settings:
   1. Name: MDT01
   2. Hard drive: 300 GB (dynamic disk)
   3. Memory: 2 GB
   4. Network: Your lab network
   5. Image file (ISO): C:\HydrationMDT2012U1\ISO\HydrationMDT2012U1.iso
2. Start the MDT01 virtual machine. After booting from HydrationMDT2012U1.iso, and after WinPE has loaded, select the MDT01 task sequence.
3. Wait until the setup is complete and you see the Hydration Complete message in the final summary.

SQL Server 2012 Express being installed

Done! You now a deployment solution based on MDT 2012 Update 1 that is just begging to be used :)

Additional Configuration Notes:

The default administrator password is P@ssw0rd

If you need to change server names, passwords, IP addresses, domain names etc. in the environement, the main configuration is stored in the four .ini files in the ISO\Content\Deploy\Control folder. You also need to update the following file in the DS\Applications folder.

• Configure - Create AD Structure\Configure-CreateADStructures.vbs

/ Johan