General Guidelines for Servicing and Supporting Run-Time Images

  • Article

5/10/2007

General guidelines for supporting deployed run-time images can vary due to the nature of the device, network connectivity, and environment in which the device is configured. The following list shows some key issues in supporting run-time images:

  • Before you distribute updates, you should thoroughly test the updates on your devices.
  • Consider how you will distribute updates to devices in remote locations.
  • Evaluate how to support custom hardware configurations on a device.
  • Take into account how you will educate end users or IT departments about servicing or supporting a device.
  • For read-only media, such as bootable CD-ROMs or PROMs, consider how you will distribute the updated run-time image to the device.

When you inspect the contents of a Microsoft-provided update, you can use the /x switch to extract the files from the update. In combination with examining the information (INF) file, you can find out what the update does and identify the files you need to update on your run-time image. For more information, see Inspecting the Contents of an Update.

The Microsoft Operations Framework (MOF) provides operational guidance to help companies to improve their information technology (IT) practices. This includes information about proven team structures and operational processes.

For more information about MOF, see Microsoft Operations Framework on the Microsoft Web site.

See Also

Other Resources

Run-Time Image Servicing
Manage and Service a Run-Time Image
Deploy a Run-Time Image