MDT: Install Applications from DFS share using dynamic UNC path

[demondan]

Hello

I am trying to deploy applications from a DFS share during the MDT process - the DFS share is on the same server as the MDT share but its on a separate drive. I have a main server mdt01 where I configure MDT and copy any software into the DFS share that I need. There are 2 other servers (mdt02 and mdt03) that replicate the changes for both MDT and DFS - the servers are located at different sites. What I want to happen is that when a client computer is imaged it uses the correct server for the site it is currently at and also the right DFS share on the same server. Sending the image from the site where the client machine is at is fine but I am struggling with pointing MDT to the correct DFS share. So I need to specify the working directory for an application and if I do something like this \\mdt01\dfs$\Microsoft\Office - this works fine. But I want the server name to be dynamic because if the image is being installed from mdt02 then it should use the DFS share on mdt02 not mdt01. So is there a way of doing this?

I've been trying to write a script to map a drive among other things but I just cant figure this out!

 

Please can you help me out?

 

cheers

Dan

[LeightonJames]

Don't know enough about how MDT authenticates machines and such but can you not use the %LOGONSERVER% environment variable?

[demondan]

Hi, sorry for late reply. I've tried that and %LOGONSERVER% just contains the local PC name. Possibly because its not part of the domain yet?

 

Any other variables you are aware of that I might be able to tap into? I am not really familiar with MDT either - working it out as a go along sort of thing.

 

Thank you for trying!

 

Dan

[sted]

if you have a naming convention for pcs at each site you might be able to batch.vbs it so if %computername% contains site1 then server$=\\site1\dfs\... (not actual code just a general idea)

[LeightonJames]

That sounds like an option, I was also wondering if you could somehow parse the IP address of the machine or default gateway and use that to get the correct server share.

Depends how you assign addresses to the machines and if your server shares have similar addresses on each site.