[mdt] Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2012 RTM

[Arthur]

Download: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=25175

 

Improvements for All MDT Technologies

The MDT improvements that affect all MDT technologies, which are discussed in a subsequent section, are as follows:

 

• Support for upgrading from previous versions of MDT
  
• Integration with security and compliance templates generated by Microsoft Security Compliance Manager (SCM) version 2.0
  
• Run Windows PowerShell™ scripts within an MDT task sequence
  
• Create partitions to support best practice recommendations for deployment of BitLocker® Drive Encryption
  
• Automatically configure participation in the Windows Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) and Windows Error Reporting (WER)
  
• Guidance that describes how to use Microsoft SQL Server® 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) for all database needs within MDT
  

 

Improvements for LTI Deployments

MDT includes the following improvements for LTI deployments:

 

• Support for Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows Server 8 Beta. Note: The deployment of Windows Server 8 Beta roles and features using the Install Roles and Features task sequence action is not supported.
  
• Support for the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK). Note: Currently, the Windows ADK is only supported for deploying Windows 8 Consumer Preview or Windows 7 in lab environments, not in production environments.

Windows ADK requires the Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.0. If not already installed, the Windows ADK installation installs the Microsoft .NET Framework version 4.0. For more information, see Introduction to the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit.

 

• Monitoring of LTI deployment process. MDT includes the new LTI monitoring feature that allows you to perform centralized monitoring of LTI deployments in the Monitoring node in the Deployment Workbench.
  
• Deployment of Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE). Windows RE helps users troubleshoot and recover from startup-related problems on their computers.
  
• Deployment of Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolkit (DaRT).
  
• Deployment to computers that use the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI).
  
• Deployment to computers that require the new globally unique identifier (GUID) Partition Table (GPT) format.
  
• Deployment to virtual hard disks (VHDs) for native boot.
  
• Support for Windows Thin PC.
  
• Support for Windows Embedded POSReady 7.
  
• Add local administrator accounts.
  
• Deployment Wizard user experience improvements.
  

 

Improvements for Configuration Manager Deployments

MDT includes the following improvements for MDT deployments with Configuration Manager 2012 or Configuration Manager 2007 R3:

 

• Support for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager. MDT includes support for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager for ZTI and UDI deployments
  
• Support for new application model in Configuration Manager 2012.
  
• Support for the user device affinity feature in Configuration Manager 2012.
  
• Support for prestart command files.
  
• Support for automatically starting a specific task sequence.
  
• UDI Wizard user experience improvements.
  
• The UDI Wizard has been completely revised to improve user experience.
  
• UDI Wizard Designer user experience improvements.
  
• The UDI Wizard Designer UI has been improved to make configuring the UDI Wizard even easier than previous versions.
  
• Support for enabling BitLocker in UDI.
  
• Support for MDT Replace Computer deployment scenario.
  
• Localization of UDI Wizard.
  
• Guidance for customizing UDI.
  
• Upgrade tasks sequences created in Configuration Manager 2007 to Configuration Manager 2012.
  
• Guidance for Configuration Manager 2007 R3.
  

[synaesthesia]

Can I just ask what the benefits of MDT over plain SCCM are? I found it useful for 2007 however with the changes in SCCM the line seems a bit more vague as to what good it does.

[Hedghog]

Simple, money, you have to pay for SCCM but MDT is free. If you work in a school where every penny counts these thing matter

[plexer]

MDT is simple compared to SCCM

 

Ben

[synaesthesia]

SCCM costs us effectively nothing due to EES - my question relates more to the MDT additions for SCCM.

[gshaw]

MDT gives you additional Task Sequence steps over the base SCCM ones and I think also helps if you want completely zero-touch image installation from build to capture to deployment.

 

Personally I haven't used the SCCM integration and haven't felt like I'm missing anything. Worth a play if you have spare time but not essential imo...

[garethEds]

We installed MDT2012 today over the top of our MDT2010 installation knowing that we have to rebuilt it soon (it's not a perfect install). Anyways - it broke. Nothing came up. We then realised that elements needed updating - this all worked.

 

So we tested building a machine. It got so far and then gave us a white window with a Next | Cancel option. Clicking Next restarted the machine. Weird.

 

Anyway @rich_tech informes me that the MDT2012 installation was downloading some extra components when he left so we will take a look tomorrow.

 

Cannot wait to get my teeth stuck into this once the exam seasoni starts and Year 11/12/13 get gone.

 

Gareth

[PiqueABoo]

Oooh.. was expecting this any day now this week (had to turn up soon given SCCM 2012 RTM)

 

We installed MDT2012 today over the top of our MDT2010 installation

 

Hell will freeze over before I do anything like that...

 

I think the point about MDT is that it isn't really a very shiny seriously tested in zillions of configurations app, it's mostly a lot of VBS scripts patching together all sorts of tech that's best done afresh every time. I love it for that in a kind of geek paradise sense because you can see how everything important works and if you have a need, then just go change/extend it.

Edited April 18, 2012 by PiqueABoo

[Arthur]

Can I just ask what the benefits of MDT over plain SCCM are?

I'll let Johan explain the advantages as he does a far better job than me (skip to

).

 

[garethEds]

Well our install is broke. We installed over the top of the original and it broke.

 

Gareth

[deano]

I think i will take a snapshot in hyper v before we plunge! I'm looking forward to testing the DART integration. Would be great for monitoring builds of remote computers in other schools

[rich_tech]

ours is working again now, @garethedmondson found that the boot image needed updating and copying over to the production part of our build environment iirc.