Deployment sanity check

[steveg]

I'm going to be using MDT to deploy windows 10 across the site.

 

So far I have modified the install wim to remove unwanted apps (could automate this into the process in the future, but quicker to do it manually for now), and imported this to build a reference image, which includes office and all updates applied.

 

I've just started importing apps to deploy when I push it out to clients, but am wondering if most of these would be better deployed to the reference image? We are a primary school, and essentially only have 2 builds - admin machines, and full curriculum machines with all the pupil software on.

 

If I automate the build of a reference image with all the client software already on it, then this will surely deploy much quicker, and since it is automated, making a new build when the next version of windows 10 is released should take more than half a day or so? Is there an advantage to deploying the software during the client imaging that I have missed?

 

Steve

[strawberry]

Use thin images and group the applications together. The time saving during deployment will be offset by the fiddling you have to do to make two seperate images

[Prevention]

Are you using a Windows 10 LTSB Image?

[steveg]

Windows 10 education, so I plan to re-deploy fairly regularly, hopefully automating as much as possible.

[DaveTheTech]

Its a thick vs thin image question.

I have just the one image with the bare essentials. Program wise its Office, Papercut and BGInfo as this gets installed everywhere. I also run a powershell script to remove the blaotware in Win10.

At install I have some other important apps that everyone needs, but they get updates regularly. Then some more groups for each department.

[Prevention]

See I run an LTSB Image, I install things like DaveTheTech Mentions Office Etc, I then GPO some smaller programs.

I don't actually let my MDT handle that much in deployment I find a very slim Image + slim MDT allows me to roll out the Image much quicker.

I've also set my MDT to assign the machine to an OU in AD called " Just Imaged " and then Reboot this means 99% of the time all machines images/reboot and pull GPO's without me having to GPU Update

[Spangle]

I use a thin reference image with run-times and updates and everything else i add at build or by GPO after. I'm looking to bundle application installs together on PDQ. Using MDT to kick these off with a script. Therefor if Dept a have applications A, B and C. At some point application B is updated and rolled out to clients. Rather than having to update the task list in MDT with the new package, The script will be pointing to the same dept bundle on PDQ but now with an updated packages.

[gshaw]

With Windows 10 and changing releases I've gone down the completely thin route so elements can be swapped out as and when required.

 

Want to change from 1809 to 1903 build? Just switch the WIM. Want to switch from Office 2016 to Office 365 C2R... just switch the Application.

 

The only bit that takes a while is the WSUS phase but again the Cumulative Updates are released monthly so unless you like changing the reference image regularly it doesn't seem worth the effort capturing \ updating it. Used the thin approach with Win10 Education 1709 on 3000+ devices, as long as your MDT and WSUS servers are up to task it'll be fine

Edited March 11, 2019 by gshaw

[steveg]

Great, thanks everyone. I think I was looking for an answer of this is the right way to do it, when actually there are lots of different acceptable ways depending on the environment, different software, departments, upgrade cycles etc.

[Disease]

I use a thin reference image with run-times and updates and everything else i add at build or by GPO after. I'm looking to bundle application installs together on PDQ. Using MDT to kick these off with a script. Therefor if Dept a have applications A, B and C. At some point application B is updated and rolled out to clients. Rather than having to update the task list in MDT with the new package, The script will be pointing to the same dept bundle on PDQ but now with an updated packages.

 

Great plan, we have just bought PDQ and would be interested in this approach as well, have you developed a script yet for this if so will you consider sharing ?