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KACE Systems Deployment Appliance 7.0 Common Documents - Administrator Guide

About the KACE Systems Deployment Appliance Getting started Using the Dashboard Configuring the KACE SDA Setting up user accounts and user authentication Configuring security settings Preparing for deployment Managing device inventory Using labels Creating a Windows or Linux Boot Environment Managing drivers Capturing images Capturing user states Creating scripted installations Creating a task sequence Automating deployments Performing manual deployments Managing custom deployments Imaging Mac devices About the Remote Site Appliance Importing and exporting appliance components Managing disk space Troubleshooting appliance issues Updating appliance software Glossary About us Legal notices

Capture native WIM images

Capture native WIM images

You can capture WIM images for faster deployments using automated multicast deployments to send the same WIM image to multiple devices simultaneously. You can also deploy WIM images across all devices in the enterprise, and across hard disks of any size in the KACE Boot Environment (KBE).

The device with the image that you want to capture does not have to match the target devices for deployments; however, drivers are required for each device model to which you are deploying the image.

1.
Boot the device with the image that you want to capture in to the KBE. From the KBE Main Menu on the device, click Imaging.
If the device boots in to the hard drive instead of the KBE, boot the device in to the KBE.
2.
Click Capture image of this machine.
3.
In Image Name, create a name to identify the image.
The KACE SDA automatically adds the .wim extension.
4.
In Image Source, select the drive letter from where you are capturing the image.
The KACE SDA automatically adds the colon to the drive letter, for example C:
5.
Select Windows Imaging Format (Fast compression) for Image type.
6.
Click Start capture to upload the image to the System Images page.
A progress bar appears at the bottom of the page, indicating how much progress has been made through the task for each selected partition. You have an option to cancel the capture, if required.

Edit a system image

Edit a system image

You can rename, replace, remove, or edit K-Images and WIM images.

Before modifying a system image, make a backup copy.

The System Image Detail page allows you to view the image settings, add a boot action, download the log files for the image, and set the options for how the appliance responds to errors. For Windows K-Images and WIM images, it also indicates if an image is sysprepped.

You can only edit system images on the appliance that captured them. For example, if you view the details of a system image captured by the KACE SDA, you can edit that image on the System Image Detail page in the KACE SDA Administrator Console, but not in the KACE Remote Appliance Console. If that system image is captured on the KACE SDA and synced to the RSA, the System Image Detail page in the KACE Remote Appliance Console only allows you to review the system image details, but not to edit them. A link appears on this page that allows you to quickly navigate to the System Image Detail in the KACE SDA Administrator Console, and edit the system image, as required.

The Installation Plan enables you to create a task sequence by adding the available pre-installation, mid-level, and post-installation tasks to run in the order that you place the tasks for the deployment.

The Browse Files option is only available for system images.

1.
Select the name of the image to display the System Image Detail page to edit the image.
2.
Click Browse Files to open the Browsing Files dialog box to edit the images with the following options:
◦
K-Images only.
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Click Add Drive to add a partition. The drive name must contain an uppercase letter with a colon at the end.
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To rename or remove a drive, click the appropriate icon next to the desired drive letter.
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All images.
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To add a directory, click Add Directory, then type the name of the new directory that you want to add.
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To add a file, click Add File, navigate to the desired file, and click Submit.
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To rename, delete, or replace files, hover over the file name, and click the appropriate icon.
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To rename, delete or download a directory, click the appropriate icon next to the desired directory.
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To download a file, click the file name.
▪
To drill down to the directory contents, click the directory name.
* 
NOTE: When you replace a file with a different file, the appliance replaces the contents of the files, but retains the original filename.
3.
When you finish your edits, click Cancel to roll back the changes, or Save to apply the changes to the image.
4.
Optional: Under Deploy Options, select Remove local files not in image when restoring the original image to a device, and when files have been added or modified on the device that is not in the original image.

Import WIM images

Import WIM images

You can import an existing WIM image to your collection of system images on the appliance. This allows you to manage system images created by a third-party vendor.

To import a WIM image, place a copy of the image file to the appliance's Samba clientdrop share.

* 
NOTE: You can only import an image contained in a single WIM file, consisting of a single partition.

During a WIM image import, you must specify its OS architecture. The appliance detects if the imported image is sysprepped or not.

* 
NOTE: When the appliance starts importing a system image, if it detects an unattend file, it flags the image as sysprepped. If the image does not include that file, the appliance flags it as not being sysprepped.

This feature is available on the KACE Systems Deployment Appliance, but not on the Remote Site Appliance.

1.
On the left navigation pane, click Deployments, then click System Images to display the Systems Images page.
2.
Select Choose Action > Import to display the System Image Import page.
3.
Specify the following options:

Option

Description

Image Name

Type the name that you want to assign to this system image.

Operating System

Select the OS architecture used by the WIM image.

Wim File

Select the name of the WIM image file on the Samba clientdrop share.

4.
Click Import.
The System Image Import page closes and the System Images list page refreshes, showing the newly imported WIM image in the list. In the row containing the imported image, the Status column indicates the state of the import operation.
5.
Optional. When the import is complete, observe the imported image details, and make any changes, as required.
a.
On theSystem Images page, in the row containing the imported image, click the Name column to display the System Image Details page.
b.
Review the contents of the page.
c.
To download the WIM image, in the Wim Management section, in the row containing the partition that you want to download, Actions column, click the Download icon. In the dialog box that appears, specify the name to give to the WIM file. Then click Save.
d.
Replace the imported WIM image with another one. This is useful, for example if you import a wrong WIM image, or if you make any changes to the WIM image, and want to import the updated image.
* 
NOTE: Like the original WIM image, the replacement image must also be stored in the Samba clientdrop share, in order to be accessible.
To do that, also in the row containing the partition that you want to replace, in the Actions column, click the Replace icon. In the dialog box that appears, select the desired image file, and click Replace.
The System Image Details page closes and the System Images list page refreshes, indicating that the WIM image is being replaced in the row containing the imported image, in the Status column.
e.
To review the contents of the log file created during image import, click Show the log for this System Image.
The contents of the log appear on the page. Use this information to find out whether the image was captured on the appliance or imported from the clientdrop share, who and when imported the image, or whether the image was replaced and by which user. If the image consists of multiple partitions, the log shows any operations performed on the specific partitions.

Best practices for creating Windows system images

Best practices for creating Windows system images

This topic provides information about KACE-recommended best practices for creating a Windows Golden System Image.

Audit the KACE SDA before beginning

•
Keep 20 percent of available space (or more) on the appliance.
•
Back up and remove un-used images, then copy and remove those images from the restore share directory.
•
Remove test images, or images that have been updated. (Updated or outdated.)
* 
CAUTION: Never run a "Delete Unused System Images Files" or delete an image while capturing an image.

Start fresh

•
Create the golden image in a virtual machine to keep it clean of extra drivers. This also is helpful in updating the image on a regular basis.
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Do not image or create a golden master image of a machine that comes directly from the manufacturer. Only use volume license media. Avoid using OEM Media. For more information see https://support.quest.com/kb/135252.
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If applying updates that occurred after capturing the image, only deploy a non-sysprepped image back to original machine.
•
Update images every couple of months and run a cleanup on the images.

Configure the workstation

The following KB articles are recommended best practice methods for creating the base OS installation for System Image capture. If using a Legacy enabled BIOS, use the Single Partition Golden Image KB. If the BIOS is in UEFI mode, use the UEFI KB. Kace highly recommends minimal partitions on your base OS.

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UEFI vs. Legacy BIOS Imaging: https://support.quest.com/kb/190265
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Single Partition Golden Image: https://support.quest.com/kb/187971
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UEFI Imaging: https://support.quest.com/kb/186950
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Understanding Imaging, KKE Videos: https://support.quest.com/kb/video-articles?k=understanding%20imaging

If not following the above KB articles, use the following guidelines:

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If working from a machine that was deployed with the KACE SDA (Scripted Install or Image), make sure to delete the KACE directory on the root of the drive and delete %allusersprofile%\quest\kace.
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If working with a machine that had previously been sysprepped, make sure to delete sysprep_succeeded.tag from windows\system32\sysprep.
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Install all patches and updates.
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Create an administrator profile and customize the profile that is to be set up as default.
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KACE recommends creating a base image, and using post-installation tasks to deploy your software at a later time. This will make your images more flexible when having to deploy to numerous departments, or different types of users.
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If creating a "full" image, avoid installing software that is updated regularly (flash, reader, and so on), make these into post-install tasks and leverage the KACE SMA for updates.
* 
CAUTION: It is NOT recommended to install applications such as anti-virus, encryption (such as Dell™ Data Protection), security, virtual CD software, any software that emulates hardware, or the KACE SMA agent in the image. These can often interfere with the image deployment process.

If the image is captured in WIM format, keep at least 60% of the drive space on each partition as free/available.

Sysprep, capture and deployment guidelines

•
Capture the image without sysprepping OR if using a virtual machine (VM): use the snapshot feature to have a copy of the non-sysprepped OS and customizations. If capturing a non-sysprepped image, remember this must be deployed back to the exact same hardware.
* 
NOTE: Creating a golden master on a virtual machine leverages creating snapshots at different stages, such as prior to sysprepping. This allows a restore to a previous snapshot much quicker than re-deploying a system. This also allows for easy testing of deployments to another virtual machine. Testing driver injection would require deployment to specific models.
•
If there is an issue with sysprep, and these happen often, it is best to restore a non-sysprepped image to the original machine, which will also avoid rearm issues. With the VM option, reverting back to a snapshot will allow updates to the system.
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If capturing the non-sysprepped image to the KACE SDA, be descriptive in your naming of captured images; include whether the machine is sysprepped, and include the version or date of the capture.
•
Descriptive names enable system administrators to choose the correct image to deploy from the drop-down list in KBE.
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Use the notes field in the KACE SDA Administrator Interface as a change and audit log.

Sysprep

•
Sysprep is a Microsoft tool that they require for capturing an OS image to deploy to a different system. You can either use the Microsoft Sysprep tools and command line or use the KACE Sysprep Creator Wizard if you do not have an unattend.xml file.
•
If you configured a "default" account, ensure to set it to True in the unattend.xml file. The sysprep creator wizard has an option to copy the current profile to the default profile.
•
When running sysprep by command line and not the Sysprep Creator/Executor, use the /generalize, /oobe, /shutdown, and the /unattend switches.
•
Shutdown is preferred so that the PXE boot isn't missed on a reboot. If using the option, sysprep must be run from the customized account.

Capture

•
Verify that enough space is available on the KACE SDA and then capture the sysprepped image.
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After the capture, reboot the sysprepped machine to verify that mini setup runs correctly.
•
Test to make sure everything in the image works as desired.
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Capturing an image across the WAN is not recommended. Please limit image capturing to only the local LAN where the KACE SDA is physically located.

Deploy

•
Add Pre/Mid/Post Installation tasks to your image on the KACE SDA.
•
Test your deployment on a different workstation for verification.
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If deploying an image to a remote location, please consider using a Remote Site Appliance (RSA) for best performance. Deploying an image across the WAN is not recommended.

Post-installation tasks

•
Be consistent with naming tasks. Adding prefixes such as "App-" or "Script-", "OSConfig-" "Mid-" helps to keep tasks organized.
•
Consider the ordering of your post-installation tasks in terms of placing prerequisites before the applications that require them.
•
Use cscript with VB scripts. For example: cscript myscript.vbs
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When creating a ZIP file for an application task, select the contents to archive so that the file you call is in the root of the ZIP file.
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For .msi deployments, use the install switch last. For example: msiexec /qn /norestart /i agent.msi
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Use CLONEPREP=1 on the .msi Agent install if it is not intended to have the Agent to -check in, and create a KUID until the next reboot. For example: msiexec /i agent.msi HOST=blah CLONEPREP=1
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If using 3.5 SP1 or earlier:
◦
Use the start /wait command when deploying software through KACE SDA post-installation tasks.
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Use call when using .bat scripts in application tasks. For example: call myscript.bat
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