Which method to deploy Windows 10

[fiza]

I did a quick trawl but I couldn't find a poll asking the same question. Basically want to know if SCCM is worth the effort, having never used it before. Only ever used MDT/WDS to deploy Windows 7. If you answer "something else" please state what that is.

 

Edited July 12, 2018 by fiza

[sted]

depends how many pcs you have tbh. setting up sccm isnt trivial and if you dont have a lot of pcs its possibly not worth it over mdt imo

[Tefters]

As @sted said above, completely depends on your estate and how much you plan to stay up-to-date and secure.

 

The fact your on Windows 7 now means you are in for one big shock when you move to 10 that's for sure!

[fiza]

depends how many pcs you have tbh. setting up sccm isnt trivial and if you dont have a lot of pcs its possibly not worth it over mdt imo

600ish

[Tefters]

In which case SCCM is definately worth it but you will need to make sure you buy the license on your OVS and possibly even SQL. Deploying it is a task in itself if you've never used it not to mention the substantial server resource to run it all properly.

 

If your planning Windows 10 this summer across your estate and don't have SCCM installed and configured yet then I would not want to be in your shoes!

[strawberry]

The deployment is basically a mixture of WDS/MDT. The advantage comes in the maintenance, SCCM allows you to automate software deployments.

[sted]

if youve never used sccm before do some practice on vms its not straightforward from what i remember and tehre are gotchas like a default install of sql wont work it needs to be in roman mode for some reason

[fiza]

In which case SCCM is definately worth it but you will need to make sure you buy the license on your OVS and possibly even SQL. Deploying it is a task in itself if you've never used it not to mention the substantial server resource to run it all properly.

 

If your planning Windows 10 this summer across your estate and don't have SCCM installed and configured yet then I would not want to be in your shoes!

 

This is in preparation for next summer.

[synaesthesia]

We've stepped back from SCCM a little and using MDT with ~650 machines. Mostly down to ease. SCCM is still there for endpoint management and SCCM so the option's always there if we need it, but the biggest issues we've had start to get complicated with SCCM. Usually down to dodgy OEM bios installations, so we end up with batches of new PC's arriving with identical SMBIOS GUIDs making rebuilding a complete ballache as they're not "unknown PCs".

It's something we could probably fix easily enough, and as we're already running both it wouldn't take much for me to transfer MDT lock stock into SCCM if needed.

Decision however was mostly made due to the level of specialism SCCM needs; whilst I'm very comfortable with it, our own "hit by a bus" policy means that should I be off for a significant period of time and something goes wrong, SCCM is a ballache to manage/configure for someone without that level of expertise. That's more of a training issue though, the fact we've never had any goes a long way to explaining that shortfall

[Tefters]

You got loads of time.

 

Go get yourself a CBT nuggets or equivalent course on it, search some guides online, Anoop, Windows-Noob etc... and then install it and configure it all over the next 3 to 6 months leaving you another 3 to 6 months to play with it.

SCCM is simple to use when you get your head around whats where and then you have the joys of discovering Windows 10 imaging (#facepalm), I wont even go into how you can automate patching, application deployment and/or cloud servicing as 5 years later and i'm still learning new ways to automate everything.

 

A worthy investment and a tool that will be used from now until the end of Windows!

Edited July 12, 2018 by Tefters

[ThatBoringBloke]

WDS 'lightweight' 'fat' image (OS and Office).

PDQ Deploy for everything else.

[mavhc]

The trick with Windows 10 is to set up a system where every 6 months you can just swap out the base WIM without having to rebuild anything, make sure everything is scripted

[fiza]

The trick with Windows 10 is to set up a system where every 6 months you can just swap out the base WIM without having to rebuild anything, make sure everything is scripted

 

Would you expand on this please? You mean completely nothing else pre-installed on the image so you can just swap for the latest and then post install everything else?

[synaesthesia]

That'll be about right; our MDT just installs the base 1803 and everything else is part of the task sequence, including apps, updates etc. Works well.

[mavhc]

Yes, other option is to write a script to auto create your fat image, depends which is easier, maybe a combination of both.

 

In general need to move from creating a new image every 4 years to doing something every 6 months, so spend time on the automation.

 

In my case I'd already spent time in Win7 days making MSIs of everything, or making things run off server, or finding out no one actually used the old software, so it was easy to switch to 10. And I'd upgraded all computers to SSD, so didn't take 3 hours to install all the software.

[rogerdnixon]

We use the latest version of FOG. Simple to do, just works and deploys Win 10 in a few minutes. Runs on a lightweight Ubuntu server VM with one vCPU and 2Gb RAM.

[ADMaster]

I can't do the poll on the app but...

I'm not sure what I'd do if I had to do it again. I'd say it depends on cost / current AV subscription and what features you will use. I've been running SCCM for about 5 years. When I made the switch the cost of adding it to EES was cheaper than a Sophos renewal. So benefits of SCCM and endpoint protection for less then AV alone. I even skipped a year on PDQ trying to go full SCCM but I missed PDQ so renewed the next year.

 

The big advantage of SCCM was software install and keeping it updated. PDQ has come along way in that time, I think I've had it since 2011.

From what I've read on here you can do all the same scripting / customizations during OSD with MDT. The last version of PDQ allows you to call the deployment via script during OSD. If you already have other AV I'd consider a MDT / PDQ solution.

 

SCCM will also allow for several other options,

reimage remotely

Better schedule / reports on updates

Remote control for support

Endpoint protection

A lot with cloud integration I'll explore this fall.

 

Since you have the time learn SCCM if budget permits / AV renewal is coming soon.

 

My EES renewal this year will have lots of cloud options I've never had before like intune. Does intune manage endpoint too?

 

Maybe MDT PDQ and intune.

 

 

 

+1 to scripting everything in and swapping the win. There is usually a few tweaks to account for the new features each build but much less work then build / capture.

 

I hope my ramblings make sense.

[free780]

Seeing as you never finish a Windows 10 rollout/upgrade. SCCM is the best bet. Also the amount of mid year software deployments and updates you end up doing means its worth it. Yes you need a good system to do the upgrades at moat every 6 months but more likely once a year.

[Katy]

Used to use MDT to deploy Windows 10, now I use SCCM. MDT worked fine I just like the greater automation I can get with SCCM.

[KevinB]

If you have a large estate (I'd say anything over 4-500 desktops/laptops) and complex needs SCCM is a godsend. Be prepared for a steep learning curve though, it's very capable but commensurately complex.