You are likely to find yourself installing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 in various circumstances—a new installation for a new system, an upgrade of an existing Microsoft Windows installation, or perhaps even a new installation into a multiboot environment. You might need to install just a few systems, or you might need to deploy hundreds—or even thousands—in a diverse network environment.
Windows Server 2003 supports both interactive and automated setup processes, providing flexibility in how you install and configure the operating system. You can even fully automate the installation of a basic or fully configured operating system onto a brand new computer to ease the administrative burden in large deployments.
In this chapter, we discuss the things you should know to help you prepare for the installation and get started. There are three methods of performing a new installation of Windows Server 2003: interactive, unattended (using an Unattend.txt file), and by using Remote Installation Services (RIS). By using one of these three options, you can deploy Windows Server 2003 to one system or a hundred—although the latter requires a lot more planning, as you might remember from Chapter 2.
Installation of a new operating system involves assessment, preparation, and choices in methods and tools used for deployments. The process of preparing to install Windows Server 2003 is examined in this chapter. We highlight requirements, implementation methods, and preinstallation tasks. In Chapter 4, the interactive setup process is explained, including functionality provided by command-line parameters on the Setup program. Methods of automating the installations are explored in Chapter 5, including the steps necessary to automate setup as well as the automated setup procedures. In Chapter 6, we discuss RIS, an enhanced feature that provides improved automation and remote setup capabilities. By using RIS and the Setup Manager, you can create answer files that control automated installations and subsequent configuration of the deployed operating system. RIS provides administrative advantages in managing multiple operating system (OS) images for remote installation and deploying them to target systems by a controlled, secure process as well.
Note
Chapter 3 through Chapter 6 focus on the essentials of new installations of Windows Server 2003 to the exclusion of upgrading and migrating earlier Windows servers. Information on upgrading Windows servers and migrating user, service, and server settings is covered in Part 3.
To install Windows Server 2003, you can boot from the Windows CD, run Setup from within your current Windows operating system, perform a command-line installation, or use one of the automated installation options. You can also use network installations, which allow installation from a shared distribution point on your network. You should know about a few changes and enhancements in the setup processes as well.
For security reasons, most network services are not installed by default, and, unlike earlier versions of the Windows operating system, they can't be installed during the main setup procedure. Automated setup has been improved in several useful ways: Setup Manager is much easier to use and RIS now supports deploying Windows Server 2003 remotely to computers with no operating system previously installed. Licensing has also changed since Microsoft Windows 2000 Server, and product activation might now be required after installation.
Several aspects of installation have been improved in Windows Server 2003. Highlights of these improvements include the following:
Dynamic Update You can use the Dynamic Update feature to ensure that only the latest files are installed on your computers. Dynamic Update allows you to download updated drivers and Windows setup files and easily deploy them as part of every Windows installation. This also helps ensure that all copies of the Windows operating system are using the latest security updates.
Windows Product Activation Remember that to continue to operate each retail copy of Windows Server 2003 requires activation during the first 14 days after installation. Windows Product Activation (WPA) is not implemented, however, in volume-licensing programs—some sort of volume license key is used instead. This antipiracy measure requires consideration, especially by administrators of small networks who are less likely to have volume licensing and to thus be exempt from WPA. If you must deal with WPA, you must decide if you are going to do so over an Internet connection or by calling Microsoft and registering over the phone. Clearly, activating online presents advantages of speed and ease to a busy network administrator.
Deployment of Windows Server 2003 by using RIS The capability to deploy server versions of the Windows operating system was added in a Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 3 and has been enhanced in Windows Server 2003. RIS now encrypts the local administrator password, detects client hardware abstraction layer (HAL) so only OS installations with a compatible HAL are offered, performs automatic Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) authorization, and can automate the entire setup process—including the Client Installation Wizard (CIW) text-mode portion. RIS also provides important support for two new features of Windows Server 2003.
Headless servers—To allow companies to avoid the extra cost of additional monitors, keyboards, and mice, and to facilitate operation on rack-mounted systems, Windows Server 2003 supports headless servers. RIS is important to this feature, because it can be used for the installation of these systems.
Emergency Management Services—Windows Server 2003 implements a new feature for server management, Emergency Management Services (EMS). EMS allows administrators to remotely control a server in situations that would normally require local access to the machine. EMS requires serial hardware that supports out-of-bandwidth functionality. You'll find detailed guides on what EMS is and how it works on the CD-ROM that accompanies this book.
Inside Out: Product activation can recur
Although most enterprise and midsize corporate environments will be largely unaffected by WPA because they use volume license programs, it remains an ongoing concern for small businesses and users. If you are using a retail, original equipment manufacturer (OEM), or generic open-license version and change your computer hardware frequently, you are likely to be repeatedly required to perform product activation.
Keep in mind that once the product is activated, the product ID is tied to the hardware upon which the operating system is installed. If multiple components of the computer system, such as the central processing unit (CPU), hard disk, and random access memory (RAM), are changed and Windows Server 2003 is reinstalled upon this changed server hardware, the product activation is likely to fail.
In fact, you can actually change enough hardware in an existing system to elicit WPA again. Upgrade your CPU, double your system RAM, and buy a bigger hard disk—the system will work better, but you will have to get Microsoft's assistance to continue to use your operating system by reactivating Windows within three days.
In performing the installation, there are two basic approaches to setting up Windows Server 2003—interactively or as an automated process. An interactive installation is what many people regard as the regular Windows installation: the kind where you walk through the setup process and enter a lot of information during setup. It can be performed from a distribution CD (by booting from the CD or running Windows Setup from a command line) or can be run across the network. The default Windows setup process when booting from the retail Windows Server 2003 CD is interactive, prompting you for configuration information throughout the process.
There are several types of automated setup, which actually have administrator-configurable amounts of user interaction. The automated setup methods available in Windows Server 2003 are as follows:
Unattended The unattended setup is the only automated setup that can do upgrades. Unattended installations can be done from a distribution folder or from the Windows Server 2003 CD.
RIS RIS enables the automated (or interactive) installation of operating systems to computers with no operating system previously installed. RIS requires the target computers to be Preboot Execution Environment–enabled systems.
Sysprep The System Preparation Wizard supports the deployment of an operating system partition onto target computers. It does this by preparing a source computer to be imaged and then requires third-party disk-imaging software to make the actual image.
Which approach you use depends upon a number of factors: your network environment, the number of computers that must be installed, the resources available to you, the specific deployment goals, and so on.
Windows Server 2003 comes with two different versions of its Setup program, with one Setup program (Winnt) designed to run on 16-bit operating systems, and the other (Winnt32) on 32-bit operating systems. Which you use depends on the environment in which you are running Setup and whether you are installing from a MS-DOS command line or from inside the Windows operating system.
Winnt Winnt.exe is designed to support booting from a MS-DOS-based floppy disk with networking or CD-ROM support to enable the installation of Windows Server 2003. Winnt.exe can be run from any Microsoft 16-bit operating system platform, including MS-DOS as well as legacy Windows operating systems. Note that this 16-bit MS-DOS-based Winnt installation does not support upgrading operating systems existing on the computer, but rather provides a clean installation.
Winnt32 You can run Winnt32.exe from within the Windows operating system to upgrade the existing operating system or to install Windows Server 2003 to a different partition. Winnt32.exe can be run from within the following versions of the operating system: Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me), Windows NT (with Service Pack 5 or later), Windows 2000, Windows XP, or another Windows Server 2003 installation. In general, use Winnt32 whenever possible— it is faster and offers functionality not found in Winnt.
IA-64 Setup Unlike 32-bit Intel systems that boot from CD-ROM, the Intel Architecture 64-bit (IA-64) Itanium-based systems do not—starting Setup is accomplished through the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) shell. To start Windows Setup, run the IA64Setupldr.efi Setup boot loader on the CD, and other than the partitioning method, Setup for an IA-64 system works the same as the 32-bit version.
Inside Out: Use Smartdrv with Winnt
In the Standard and Enterprise Editions, if you run Winnt to start the installation and haven't loaded Smartdrv, the installation will perform slowly (and can seem to hang), taking up to 4 hours to complete the process. You should run Smartdrv without any additional commandline parameters, because using them causes additional installation problems, such as Setup hanging during the file copy phase of installation. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 317512. (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=317512).
The command-line switches on the Windows Setup programs offer you numerous options for configuring the installation process as well as the installation of special consoles. The DOS-based Winnt.exe program and the Windows-based Winnt32.exe share some of the fundamental capabilities provided by Setup (such as unattended installation), yet they sometimes use different command-line parameters to accomplish the goal (i.e., Winnt /u versus Winnt32 /unattend).
Command-line options available using both programs allow you to accomplish the following:
Set the source path and location for temporary files
Specify an answer file and a uniqueness database file
Create permanent or temporary folders
Run a command at the end of setup
Enable accessibility options
Winnt32.exe contains quite a few more command-line parameters, adding useful additional capabilities such as /checkupgradeonly that test your system for compatibility with Windows Server 2003.
The command-line parameters used with Winnt support customization of the installation process. You can specify source and temp file locations, enable accessibility options, create folders, run commands, and specify unattended installation options.
The command-line parameters for setting up Windows Server 2003 using Winnt are as follows:
Winnt /a The /a parameter instructs Setup to enable the accessibility options during installation.
Winnt /e:command To run a command at the end of the graphical user interface (GUI) portion of the installation process, use the /e:command parameter, where command is the name of the command to be run.
Winnt /r:folder The /r:folder option designates a permanent folder to be created upon installation.
Winnt /rx:folder The /rx:folder option designates a temporary folder to be copied upon installation, which is removed upon completion of the setup process.
Winnt /s:sourcepath The /s:sourcepath option sets the location of Windows Server 2003 installation files to be used during setup. The source path specified has to be a complete path to the files, either as a Universal Naming Convention (UNC) value for a network location (such as \Server\Share\Directorypath or as a local disk location; i.e., E:I386). If this option is omitted, the current directory is assumed to be the location of the source files.
Winnt /t:tempdrive The /t:tempdrive option designates the hard disk drive location where the temporary installation files will be placed and the drive to install Windows Server 2003 upon. If this value isn't specified, the available drives will be scanned and you will be prompted to select the drive during the installation process.
Tip
Get to the command line during installation
If you boot from the Windows Server 2003 distribution CD to install the operating system, you won't have access to the command-line options. You can use a boot floppy disk with CD-ROM device drivers to allow you to run Winnt from the command line. Alternately, if an existing 32-bit client OS exists on the computer, you can go to a command line and run Winnt32.
Winnt /u:answer_file The /u:answer_file parameter instructs Setup to do an unattended installation based on the values specified in the answer file (specifying an unattended installation at the command line also requires the /s parameter). The answer file may contain all or part of the configuration information usually prompted for during a standard installation process.
Winnt /udf:id,UDB_file The /udf:id,UDB_file parameter is used in an unattended installation. It specifies the identifier that is used by Setup to determine which contents in a Uniqueness Database File (UDF) are used to replace (override) a parameter set in the answer file. The identifier (id) value selects the set of values to be pulled from the UDF file during unattended installation. You will be prompted for a $Unique$.udb file if one is not named on the command line.
Winnt32 has even more command-line parameters (than Winnt) to support customization of the installation process. In addition to running commands and setting file locations, accessibility, folders, and answer files, you can check the compatibility of systems you intend to upgrade, install a Recovery Console or Emergency Management Services, and implement the new Dynamic Update feature of Windows Server 2003.
The command-line parameters for Winnt32 can be divided into several groupings, based on the process the arguments support. Winnt32 provides functionality in these areas:
General installation
Unattended installation
Dynamic Update
Recovery Console
Emergency Management Services
The first three groups are used to control Setup, and the last two install additional services.
The general installation parameters include the following:
Winnt32 /checkupgradeonly The /checkupgradeonly parameter tests your system for compatibility with Windows Server 2003. By default, the compatibility results are displayed and are saved to disk in the %SystemRoot% folder as Upgrade.txt. The /checkupgradeonly parameter can be used with /unattend to defer the need for user responses.
Winnt32 /cmd:command_line The /cmd:command_line parameter specifies the command-line argument to be run immediately prior to Setup's final phase—the command is run after the final reboot but prior to completion of the setup process.
Winnt32 /copydir:{i386|ia64}folder_name The /copydir:{i386|ia64}folder_name parameter allows you to specify custom folders that will be created within the system root folder upon installation. This could be used, for instance, to copy a folder of device drivers specific to your hardware platform as part of the standard installation process. To do this, create a custom folder (populated with files) within the distribution folder containing the Windows Server 2003 files, and then use the /copydir parameter to copy these drivers to the system during the installation.
Winnt32 /copysource:folder_name The /copysource:folder_name parameter works the same way as the /copydir parameter, except that the folders that are created during installation are deleted upon completion of the installation process.
Winnt32 /debug[level]:filename The /debug[level]:filename parameter enables the creation of a debug log with the levels of error reporting selected by the administrator. The error level is appended directly to the end of the word debug followed by a colon and the name of the file to which to write the debug information. Each error level is inclusive of the lower error levels (for example, error level 2 includes error levels 0 and 1).
Error Level
Description
0
Severe errors
1
Errors
2
Warnings
3
Information
4
Detailed information
Winnt32 /m:folder_name The /m:folder_name option sets an alternate location for files to be used by Setup during the installation process—during setup, the alternate location is searched first, and files in the default location are used only if the installation files are not found in the specified alternate location.
Winnt32 /makelocalsource The /makelocalsource parameter causes the installation sources files to be copied to the local drive, thus making a hard disk drive copy of the installation source files available when the CD isn't present throughout the setup process.
Winnt32 /noreboot The /noreboot parameter prevents the rebooting of the system upon completion of the file copy phase. This is used to allow other commands or operations to be performed once the files have been copied, but prior to further Setup phases.
Winnt32 /s:sourcepath The /s:sourcepath parameter sets the location of Windows Server 2003 installation files to be used during setup. The source path specified must be a complete path to the files, either as a UNC value for a network location \Server\ Share\Directorypath or as a local disk location (E:I386). You can specify multiple source paths (a maximum of eight) to enable simultaneous copying of files from different servers.
Winnt32 /syspart:drive_letter To create a bootable drive with Windows Setup on the system partition, use the /syspart:drive_letter parameter. The /syspart parameter sets a logical drive and copies the startup files used by Setup to it, then makes it an active partition. Once created, this drive can then be put into a different system, and upon boot, the new system will automatically begin the next phase of setup. For /syspart to work, the /tempdrive parameter must also be specified.
Winnt32 /tempdrive:drive_letter The /tempdrive:drive_letter parameter designates the hard disk drive location where the temporary installation files will be placed and the drive upon which to install Windows Server 2003. If this value isn't specified, the available drives will be scanned and you will be prompted to select the drive during the installation process.
The unattended installation parameters include the following:
Winnt32 /udf:id[,UDB_file] The /udf:id[,UDB_file] parameter specifies the identifier that is used by Setup to determine which portions of a UDF are used to replace (override) a parameter set in the answer file. The identifier (id) value selects the set of values to be pulled from the UDF file during unattended installation. If no UDF file is named on the command line, you will be prompted for a $Unique$.udb file.
Winnt32 /unattend The /unattend parameter, when used without an answer file, instructs Setup to do an unattended upgrade installation using the values in the existing version of the Windows operating system. This parameter works only on versions of the Windows operating system that can be upgraded to Windows Server 2003, meaning Windows NT (with Service Pack 5) or Windows 2000 Server. User intervention is not required in this unattended upgrade process.
Winnt32 /unattend[num]:answer_file The /unattend[num]:answer_file parameter, when used with an answer file, instructs Setup to do an unattended new installation (a fresh installation as opposed to an upgrade) based on the values specified in the answer file. Specifying /unattend:answer_file at the command line also requires the /s parameter to specify the location of the source files. The num value sets the number of seconds that Setup pauses between copying the files and rebooting the system. The answer file can contain all or part of the configuration information for which the installation process would normally prompt the user.
The Dynamic Update–related parameters include the following:
Winnt32 /duprepare:pathname The /duprepare:pathname parameter is used by administrators to prepare an installation folder for Dynamic Update files (obtained through the Windows Update Web site). Folders must be prepared (by /duprepare) prior to using /dushare to provide a shared location for updated files used in client installations.
Winnt32 /dudisable The /dudisable parameter blocks the Dynamic Update service from operating during setup, forcing Windows Server 2003 Setup to use only the original installation files (on the distribution CD or the network shared location). Note that Dynamic Update settings specified within an answer file will not override this setting.
Winnt32 /dushare:pathname Use the /dushare:pathname parameter to specify the shared folder containing the Dynamic Update files to be used during setup.
The Recovery Console–related parameter includes the following:
Winnt32 /cmdcons The /cmdcons parameter instructs Setup to add the Recovery Console to the options available at startup, enabling the user to start or stop services and access drives from a command line. This parameter is available only after Setup has completed and only on the x86-based hardware platform.
Note
For more information about the Recovery Console, see the section entitled "Installing and Using the Recovery Console".
The Emergency Management Services–related parameters are the following:
Winnt32 /emsport:{com1|com2|usebiossettings|off} The /emsport parameter is used to specify and enable or disable the Emergency Management Services. The default value for /emsport is usebiossettings and draws its information from the Serial Port Console Redirection (SPCR) in the basic input/output system (BIOS) (for 32-bit systems) or the console device path in the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) of Itaniumbased (64-bit) systems. If this is specified on a system that does not support SPCR or EFI, the command will be ignored.
Note
The COM1 and COM2 parameters can be used only on the 32-bit x86-based platforms and are not supported on Itanium-based systems. If EMS is disabled from the command line, it can be reenabled by the boot settings—you configure EMS boot settings by using the Bootcfg command. Type bootcfg /ems /? at the command line to display all EMS configuration parameters. You can enable EMS, for example, on COM1 by using the following command line:
bootcfg /ems on /port com1 /baud 115200
Winnt32 /emsbaudrate:baudrate The baud rate used in Emergency Management Services is set by using the /emsbaudrate:baudrate parameter, with the slowest rate (9600 baud) as the default—accepted baud rates include 19200, 57600, and 115200. The /emsbaudrate option is used in conjunction with the /emsport:com1 (or com2) parameter. The /emsbaudrate parameter settings can be used only on 32-bit x86-based platforms.
Several tools can be used to manage automated installations. Tools to perform automated installations are available, as is an upgrade answer file creation tool. Some tools are automation method–specific, while others (Setup Manager) are used in all methods. The primary tools used when installing the Windows operating system are the following:
Setup Manager You use Setup Manager to create answer files used in automated installation. Answer files are text files containing information used to customize automated Windows installations. The Setup Manager Wizard presents the set of questions posed during the setup process, enabling you to configure the desired responses to each installation question. Windows Server 2003 includes improvements to Setup Manager, using a single screen to display the installation options.
Sysprep The System Preparation Wizard (Sysprep) prepares an operating system installation for duplication and replication to remote computers. Sysprep relies upon you using some kind of disk-imaging software (Norton Ghost or similar software) to create and distribute the image—Sysprep only prepares the OS image (before and after OS image creation/deployment). Sysprep removes the security identifiers (SIDs) and enables the Mini-Setup program, facilitating operating system deployment on new system hardware.
RISetup The Remote Installation Setup Wizard creates an operating system image in a network-accessible distribution folder for remote installation.
RIPrep The Remote Installation Preparation Wizard creates a file system image of an existing master installation of an operating system.
Tip
Choose the right version of Setup Manager
The Windows Server 2003 Setup Manager Wizard cannot create answer files for Windows 2000 installations—you must use the Windows 2000 Setup Manager Wizard if you must create an answer file for a Windows 2000 installation.
Additional ancillary tools are available in the Windows Server 2003 Deployment Kit. The following tools help in large-scale deployments of client machines running Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP:
Convert.exe Converts file allocation table (FAT) and FAT32 partitions to NTFS.
Cvtarea.exe Enables control over placement of files in the partition, allowing creation of contiguous files in specified partition locations.
DiskPart Flexible disk management tool with scripting support.
Oformat.com Formats a partition as FAT32 optimized for upgrade to NTFS.
Factory.exe Invoked by using sysprep -factory and causes the image to reboot with network connectivity, but without Mini-Setup or Windows Welcome. Upon initial startup, running sysprep -factory processes the Winbom.ini answer file, performs application install/uninstall, provides plug and play enumeration, copies drivers, and sets user information.
These tools can assist in the automated installation of client workstations and servers. For more information on these tools, refer to the "Helpful Command-Line Tools" section of the Microsoft Windows Corporate Deployment Tools Users Guide (Deploy.chm), which is included in the Deploy.cab file in the Support folder on the Windows Server 2003 CD-ROM.
Licensing for Windows Server 2003 has two aspects: server licenses and client access licenses (CALs). Each installation of Windows Server 2003 on a computer requires a server license. In addition to ensuring you have the required licenses for Windows Server 2003, you must decide on the client access licensing scheme you will use before installing Windows Server 2003. Your choices are as follows:
Per server One CAL is required for each concurrent connection to the server. This usually means 1 CAL for every connection to that server.
Per device or per user A CAL is purchased for each user or device connecting to the server—this usually corresponds to 1 CAL for every user or computer that will access the server.
Your licensing program determines how you handle both the product key and product activation. Table 3-1 describes how each type of licensing affects installation.
Table 3-1. Overview of Windows Server 2003 Product Keys and Activation
Product License | Product Key | Product Activation |
|---|---|---|
Retail Product License | Unique product key needed | WPA |
Open License program | Reusable product key No | WPA |
Select License | On volume license CD No | WPA |
Enterprise Agreement License | On volume license CD No | WPA |
Note
For more information about software licensing, see the section entitled "Product Licensing" earlier in this chapter.