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KACE Systems Deployment Appliance 9.2 Common Documents - Administrator Guide

About the KACE Systems Deployment Appliance Getting started Using the Dashboard Configuring the appliance 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 Managing offline deployments About the Remote Site Appliance Importing and exporting appliance components Managing disk space Troubleshooting appliance issues Updating appliance software Glossary About us Legal notices

Create a scripted installation

Create a scripted installation

The Create a Scripted Installation wizard guides you through the steps to define the scripted installation. The settings that you specify in the config.xml file must be compatible with the hardware. Windows only: If the hardware cannot handle the settings, the Windows installer causes the unattended scripted installation to fail.

Extract the ISO file of OS to its own directory, then upload that directory to the KACE Systems Deployment Appliance server as the source media using the Media Manager, and ensure that you re-cache the drivers.
1.
On the left navigation pane, click Deployments, then click Scripted Installations to display the Scripted Installations page.
2.
Select Choose Action > New.
Follow the steps provided by the Create a Scripted Installation wizard.
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NOTE: Scripted installation deployments to UEFI-enabled devices require creating a UEFI partition using the Create UEFI Partitions pre-installation task and booting from a UEFI bootable FAT32 formatted USB flash device.

Next, using the wizard, upload an existing answer file (Windows) or preseed/kickstart file (Linux), or perform a server-based attended setup (Windows or Linux).

Edit a scripted installation

Edit a scripted installation

You can rename, duplicate, remove, or edit scripted installations.

The Scripted Installation 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.

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.

1.
On the left navigation pane, click Deployments, then click Scripted Installations to display the Scripted Installations page.
2.
Select the scripted installation from the list to display the Scripted Installation Detail page.
3.
To change the installation source media containing the operating system, see Modify a scripted installation to change the source media.
4.
To modify the setup configuration file used to deploy the operating system, see Modify scripted installation setup configuration file.
5.
Optional: Configuration files only.
a.
Next to Config XML, click Show, and review the file contents that appear. The contents of the file are read only.
b.
To download the file, under the file contents, click Download XML File.
6.
Optional: Task files only.
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NOTE: Read-only users do not have access to this field.
a.
Next to Task XML, click Show, and review the file contents that appear. The contents of the file are read only.
b.
To download the file, under the file contents, click Download XML File.
7.
Assign tasks to the scripted installation, as required. For more information, see Assign tasks to scripted installation deployment.
8.
When you finish your edits, click Cancel to roll back the changes, or Save to apply the changes to the image.

Create a configuration file

Create a configuration file

You can create your own configuration file or modify an existing one with the configuration tasks that are typically prompted for during an attended scripted installation. The type and name of the file depends on the OS used in the scripted installation. For example, for Microsoft Windows systems, you create or modify an answer file, unattend.xml, while Debian Ubuntu uses a preseed.cfg file.

1.
On the left navigation pane, click Deployments, then click Scripted Installations to display the Scripted Installations page.
2.
Select Choose Action > New to display the Create a Scripted Installation page.
3.
Enter a Name, and select the source files from the Source Media drop-down list, then click Next.
4.
Select which method to use to create the configuration file:
◦
Walk me through creating a <configuration> file for unattended setup: Creates a configuration file using the unattended Installation wizard.
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NOTE: The name of the configuration file displayed in these options depends on the target platform. For example, Windows uses an answer file (unattend.xml), while Ubuntu uses a preseed file (preseed.cfg) file.
◦
Upload an existing <configuration> file for unattended setup: Uploads a configuration file for unattended installation.
◦
No <configuration> file; This will be a server-based attended setup: Creates a basic configuration file that requires user input to complete the installation.
5.
Click Walk me through creating a <configuration> file for unattended setup, then click Next.
6.
Windows only. Complete the answer form.
Set the following value in the answer file to disable the Windows 8 animation on login. Setting the value enables you to see the Task Error page on target devices:
◦
EnableFirstLogonAnimation registry key to 0 (zero).
7.
Linux only. In the Configuration step, provide the following information.

Section

Option

Description

Select Preseed Template

Click and select the template that you want to use for this configuration. The list of templates that appear depends on the previously selected platform under Source Media.

Template Data

Root Password

Specify the root password for this configuration. If you want to disable root login for the target system, select Disable root login.

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NOTE: If you choose the server template, this is the only option that appears. All of these options are available with the desktop template.

User Account

To add a new user account using this method, select Create User Account. Any user accounts that are created this way are granted sudo access.

Provide the full name, user name, and password for the account.

Time Zone

Select the time zone for the target system.

Time Zone Server

Specify the host name of the applicable time zone server.

Language

Select the locale for the target system.

Desktop GUI

Select the graphical user interface that you want to use on the target system: GNOME Desktop Environment, or KDE Desktop Environment, as applicable.

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NOTE: For Ubuntu GNOME and KDE desktop deployment, the repository URL must be enabled.
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NOTE: The information you provide on this page cannot be changed. If updates are required, you must create a new scripted installation with the desired configuration.
8.
Click Next to display the Pre-installation and Post-installation Tasks page, and add the required pre-installation and post-installation tasks.
9.
Windows only. Select the Task Error Handling option for how you want the appliance to respond to errors.
10.
Click Next.
The Scripted Installation Creation page displays the status.
11.
When the process completes, click Finish.
The Create a Scripted Installation page refreshes and displays the results.
12.
Optional. To view the contents of the answer or configuration file, open the Scripted Installation Detail page for the newly created scripted installation, and under Setup Configuration, click Show. You can make edits to this file, if needed. Any edits you make in the file contents affect only the selected scripted installation.
Deploy the scripted installation from Automated Deployments or as a manual deployment from the KBE Main Menu, which displays on the target device after the target device boots in to the KBE.

Registration Data settings

Registration Data settings

The settings for the Registration Data vary depending on the operating system or the Source Media that was used.

Field

Description

Name

Identifies the user to which the license is assigned.

Organization

Identifies the company or organization.

Product Key

Enter the product activation key.

Volume or Multi-Activation Licensing

For Volume licenses, enter the MAK (Multiple Activation Key) or KMS (Key Mgt System) setup key.

Install image

Windows 10 only. Windows 10 ISO images include all Windows editions. Click this field and select the Windows Edition that you want to install.

Other supported Windows versions. Automatically detects the installation image using the product key.

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