WDS Does not work on 2019 yay!

[chazzy2501]

I'm not having luck with 2019... ok installing wds look JUST like the 2012 version... BUt critically does not do anything.

 

Roles installed, checked the boxes added the boot and install images.. Server is running... clients couldn't give a fig.

 

it is a pure WDS server not running anything else.. no DHCP options selected or authorised. (I copied settings from the old server before removing its role and membership)

 

So how to troubleshoot.... clients won't PXE and server is totally happy. google fixes all seem to lean on the youre running dhcp on the same server! selecet option 60 or 67... I don't recall setting anything like this for the old server and can find no mention (the old server) of it in the dhcp server.

 

how do I troubleshoot this thing!.

 

((part of me is thinking this is yet another server 2019 ooops broke it passive agressive setting from m$)

[Davit2005]

Yep you should not need any options on the server if it is not running on the same server as dhcp.

 

Have you updated IP helpers on core switches if the WDS server is not on the same server as the dhcp server?

Edited October 4, 2023 by Davit2005

[FragglePete]

I have WDS working on 2019 and have been running it for several years quite happily. Has MDT sitting on top. I'm currently tweaking a new 2022 Server for MDT/WDS Deployment of Windows 11, but just playing with that at the moment.

 

Assume the server is on the same VLAN as the clients your trying to PXE with? If not, have you got the IP Helper Address set on your L3 Core ?

 

Pete

[chazzy2501]

dunno what an ip help is. but I have a flat network, so maybe it does not matter?

[chazzy2501]

my goodness, thanks for the iphelpers idea. I don't know what they are but I do have DHCP Guard on the switches.... wellp it worked straight away. +1 apologies to M$ on that one.

[bknaggs]

WDS works for me on 2019 and has done for a while.

 

Is there anything in between your server and the clients you are trying to PXE boot from?

[msi_school]

dunno what an ip help is. but I have a flat network, so maybe it does not matter?

 

IPHelpers route broadcast traffic across VLANs but as you say this is not an issue on a flat network

[Davit2005]

my goodness, thanks for the iphelpers idea. I don't know what they are but I do have DHCP Guard on the switches.... wellp it worked straight away. +1 apologies to M$ on that one.

 

We have no DHCP guard but we do dhcp-snooping on edge. Too many issues with contractors, users and people who should know better than plug a router with DHCP enabled on the LAN into the network.

Edited October 4, 2023 by Davit2005

[Warwick_Tech]

We have no DHCP guard but we do dhcp-snooping on edge. Too many issues with contractors, users and people who should know better than plug a router with DHCP enabled on the LAN into the network.

 

We had a weird bug when we moved IP ranges; our WDS refused to connect, despite being on and happy - Weirdly it didn't like 'Obtain IP from DHCP' so we set it to 'Use addresses from the following range' which are some garbled mess with no relation to the network.... then it worked a treat

 

Also got caught off-guard with DHCP snooping, our switches refused to change IP range despite being on DHCP, but we couldn't update the setting without changing them all back to the original range, applying the setting, then changing them back, THEN applying the new DHCP snooping IP

 

I love my job...