How to Manage Your Server

  • Article

Applies To: Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2

This section contains procedures for the tasks that are listed and described in the following table. Note that you cannot manage a Windows Deployment Services server running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 from a Windows Deployment Services server running Windows Server 2003.

Note

To download the Windows Deployment Services documentation (including a getting started guide, deployment guide, and WDSUTIL command-line syntax), see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=89381.

Note

Help for WDSUTIL is available by typing WDSUTIL /? at a command prompt or online at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=112194.

Type Procedure

General Tasks
  • To manage a server remotely

  • To configure Windows Deployment Services

  • To start or stop the server

  • To enable the server

  • To enable logging for the Windows Deployment Services client

  • To choose the port number for RPC

  • To specify the network interfaces for Windows Deployment Services to listen on

  • To configure how often the server refreshes its settings

  • To force the server to update files in the RemoteInstall folder

  • To configure the network profile for the server

DHCP
  • To configure Windows Deployment Services to run on the same computer as Microsoft DHCP

  • To configure Windows Deployment Services to run on the same computer as non-Microsoft DHCP

  • To turn on the DHCP authorization requirement

  • To authorize the server in DHCP

Client Requests
  • To configure the server to answer clients

  • To set a delay in the server’s answers to network requests

  • To configure unknown clients to perform network boots without requiring F12

  • To configure clients who have booted without F12 to require a key press on subsequent boots

  • To configure the server to determine the architecture of booting clients

Client Boot Settings
  • To choose which boot images are displayed on x64-based computers

  • To choose the default network boot program for each architecture

  • To choose the default network boot program that does not require F12 for each architecture

  • To choose the default boot image for each architecture

Active Directory Domain Services
  • To specify a domain controller for Windows Deployment Services

  • To specify a global catalog server for Windows Deployment Services

  • To choose whether to search for computer accounts in the domain controller before searching the global catalog

  • To configure the server to prestage clients by using their MAC address instead of their GUID

  • To maintain a list of GUIDs that belong to multiple computers

  • To specify how to generate client computer names

  • To specify the domain and OU in which to create client computer accounts

  • To specify that client computers should not be joined to a domain

Unattend File
  • To choose a default unattend file for the Windows Deployment Services client

  • To specify whether an unattend file on the client computer overrides the default unattend file

General Tasks

To manage a server remotely

Method Explanation

Managing from another Windows Deployment Services server

To do this, you must specify which server you want to manage. You can do this in either of the following ways:

  • Using the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in. First you must add the server to the console. To do this, right-click the Servers node and then click Add Server. Next, type the name of the server you want to add, or select it in the list. The server will be added to the left pane in the console, and you can perform any task by selecting it just as you would select the local server.

  • Using WDSUTIL. To specify a remote server to run a WDSUTIL command, append /Server:<name> to the command. For example:

    WDSUTIL /Add-Image /ImageFile:C:\images/capture.wim /Server:MY-WDS-02 /ImageType:Boot

Managing from a remote server that is running Windows Server 2008 (but not Windows Deployment Services)

To do this, you can install Remote Server Administration Tools, which will install WDSUTIL and the Windows Deployment Services MMC snap-in on the server. To install Remote Server Administration Tools, open Server Manager, right-click the Features node, click Add Features, and then click Remote Server Administration Tools. Next click Role Administration Tools, and then click Windows Deployment Services Tools.

Using PsExec

You can also manage the server by using PsExec. For example: psexec \\<servername> \wdsutil /get-device /id:<GUID>

For information about using PsExec, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=110605.

To configure Windows Deployment Services

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Install Windows Deployment Services. For more information, see the Windows Deployment Services Getting Started Guide.

  2. Click Start, click Administrative  Tools, and then click Windows Deployment Services.

  3. In the left pane of the Windows Deployment Services snap-in, right-click the server and then click Configure Server.

  4. Follow the instructions in the wizard.
  1. Install Windows Deployment Services. For more information, see the Windows Deployment Services Getting Started Guide.

  2. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, click Run as administrator, and then run WDSUTIL /Verbose /Progress /Initialize-Server /RemInst:<path>, where <path> is the path where you would like the RemoteInstall folder to be located.

To start or stop the server

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click All Tasks.

  2. Click Stop Server or Start Server.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Start-Server or WDSUTIL /Stop-Server.

To enable the server

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Enable-Server.

To enable logging for the Windows Deployment Services client

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. To turn on client logging, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /WDSClientLogging /Enabled:Yes.

  3. To change which events are logged, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /WDSClientLogging /LoggingLevel:{None|Errors|Warnings|Info} (each category includes all events from the previous categories).

To choose the port number for RPCs

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /RPCPort:X, where X is the RPC port number you want to use.

  3. You must restart the service before the changes will take effect. To do this, run wdsutil /stop-server and then run wdsutil /start-server.

Note

If this remote procedure call (RPC) port is changed from the default value, you must add a firewall exception for the new RPC port.

To specify the network interfaces for Windows Deployment Services to listen on

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To add an interface to the list, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /BindPolicy /Add /Address:<IP or MAC address> /AddressType:{IP|MAC}.

    • To bind to only the interfaces on the list, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /BindPolicy /Policy:Include.

    • To bind to all interfaces other than those on the list, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /BindPolicy /Policy:Exclude.

To configure how often the server refreshes its settings

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /RefreshPeriod:<time in seconds>.

To force the server to update files in the RemoteInstall folder

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Update-ServerFiles.

To configure the network profile for the server

Note that these procedures only apply to the initial release of Windows Server 2008.

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the Network Settings tab under Network Profile, select the option that specifies the network speed of your organization.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server [/Server:<name>] /Transport /Profile:{10Mbps|100Mbps|1Gbps|Custom}.

Important

You should not modify the other profiles that are provided. Instead, you should create a custom profile even if you want to change only one setting.

DHCP

To configure Windows Deployment Services to run on the same computer as Microsoft DHCP

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the DHCP tab, select Do not listen on port 67 and Configure DHCP Option 60 to PXEClient (for Windows Server 2008 R2, this option is labeled “Configure DHCP option 60 to indicate that this server is also a PXE server”).
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /UseDHCPPorts:No /DHCPOption60:Yes.

To configure Windows Deployment Services to run on the same computer as non-Microsoft DHCP

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the DHCP tab, select Do not listen on port 67.

  3. Use your DHCP server tools to set the option 60 tag to PXEClient.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /UseDHCPPorts:No.

  3. Use your DHCP server tools to set the option 60 tag to PXEClient.

To turn on the DHCP authorization requirement

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /RogueDetection:Yes.

To authorize the server in DHCP

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Ensure that you are a domain administrator in the root domain of the forest or an enterprise administrator.

  2. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  3. On the Advanced tab, select Authorize the Windows Deployment Server in DHCP.
  1. Ensure that you are a domain administrator in the root domain of the forest or an enterprise administrator.

  2. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  3. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /Authorize:Yes.

Client Requests

To configure the server to answer clients

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the PXE Response Settings tab, select the appropriate option.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To respond to all network boot requests, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /AnswerClients:All.

    • To respond only to requests from prestaged computers, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /AnswerClients:Known.

    • To not answer any requests, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /AnswerClients:None.

To set a delay in the server’s answers to network requests

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the PXE Response Settings tab, set the specified time to wait.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /ResponseDelay:X, where X is the amount of time (in seconds) you want the server to wait before responding to clients.

To configure unknown clients to perform network boots without requiring F12

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run one of the following:.

    • Windows Server 2008: WDSUTIL /Set-Server /AllowN12ForNewClients:Yes

    • Windows Server 2008 R2: WDSUTIL /Set-Server /PxePromptPolicy /New:NoPrompt

To configure clients who have booted without F12 to require a key press on subsequent boots

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /ResetBootProgram:Yes.

To configure the server to determine the architecture of booting clients

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /ArchitectureDiscovery:Yes.

Client Boot Settings

To choose which boot images are displayed on x64-based computers

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /DefaultX86X64ImageType:<x86|x64|both>.

To choose the default network boot program for each architecture

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the Boot tab, insert the path to the boot file you want to use for each architecture. For a list of network boot programs, see Managing Network Boot Programs.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /BootProgram:<path> /Architecture:{x86|x64|ia64}, where <path> is relative to the RemoteInstall folder.

To choose the default network boot program that does not require F12 for each architecture

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /N12BootProgram:<path> /Architecture:{x86|x64|ia64}, where <path> is relative to the RemoteInstall folder.

To choose the default boot image for each architecture

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the Boot tab, insert the path to the boot image you want to use for each architecture.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /BootImage:<path> /Architecture:{x86|x64|ia64}, where <path> is relative to the RemoteInstall folder.

Active Directory Domain Services

To specify a domain controller for Windows Deployment Services

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the Advanced tab, enter the domain controller name.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /PreferredDC:<name>, where <name> is a NetBIOS name or fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

To specify a global catalog server for Windows Deployment Services

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the Advanced tab, enter the name of the global catalog.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /PreferredGC:<name>, where <name> is a NetBIOS name or FQDN.

To choose whether to search for computer accounts in the domain controller before searching the global catalog

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To search in the domain controller before searching the global catalog server, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /DomainSearchOrder:DCFirst

    • To search only in the global catalog server, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /DomainSearchOrder:GCOnly

To configure the server to prestage clients by using their MAC address instead of their GUID

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /PrestageUsingMAC:Yes.

To maintain a list of GUIDs that belong to multiple computers

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To add a GUID to the list, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /BannedGUIDPolicy /Add /GUID:<GUID>.

    • To remove a GUID from the list, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /BannedGUIDPolicy /Remove /GUID:<GUID>.

      Note
      The GUID string should be specified without brackets or dashes (as seen during a network boot).

To specify how to generate computer names

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the Directory Services (or AD DS) tab, enter the naming policy string in the indicated field.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /NewMachineNamingPolicy:<Policy> where <policy> is the naming policy string. To view the syntax of the policy string, see the Directory Services or AD DS tab of the server’s properties.

To specify the domain and OU in which to create computer accounts

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the Directory Services (or AD DS) tab, specify the domain and organizational unit (OU).
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To create new accounts in the default computer OU in the domain the Windows Deployment Services server is in, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /NewMachineOU /Type:ServerDomain.

    • To create new accounts in the default computer OU in the domain the specified user account is in, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /NewMachineOU /Type:UserDomain.

    • To create new accounts in the same OU as the specified user account, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /NewMachineOU /Type:UserOU.

    • To create new accounts in a different OU, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /NewMachineOU /Type:Custom /OU:<name of OU>.

To specify that client computers should not be joined to a domain

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. Select the check box on the bottom of the Client tab.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. To join new computers to the domain, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /NewMachineDomainJoin:Yes.

Unattend File

To choose a default unattend file for the Windows Deployment Services client

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL
  1. Right-click the server, and then click Properties.

  2. On the Client tab, select the Enable client unattend check box and browse to the file.
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. To turn on unattended installation and specify the unattend file, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /WDSUnattend /Policy:Enabled /File:<path> /Architecture:{x86|x64|ia64}.

To specify whether an unattend file on the client computer will override a default unattend file

Using the MMC Using WDSUTIL

N/A
  1. Click Start, right-click Command Prompt, and click Run as administrator.

  2. Do one of the following:

    • To allow an unattend file on the client computer to override the unattend file sent from the server for the Windows Deployment Services client, run WDSUTIL /Set-Server /WDSUnattend /CommandLinePrecedence:Yes.

    • To force the unattend file sent from the server to be used for the Windows Deployment Services client, run WDSUTIL /Set-server /WDSUnattend /CommandLinePrecedence:No.