Integrate SmartDeploy with Windows Deployment Services

Before You Begin

SmartDeploy supports PXE boot deployments through Windows Deployment Services (WDS). While SmartDeploy does not have its own dedicated PXE boot server, you can integrate it with WDS to enable network deployments across your organization.

To integrate SmartDeploy with WDS, you must first complete the following tasks:

1. The Windows Deployment Services role has been installed and configured on a Windows Server host on your network.
2. The SmartDeploy Console has been installed on your workstation or another host that you have access to. 
3. (Optional) If intending to use Multicast deployments, make sure that you have captured your master image; and selected the For use with Windows Deployment Services (WDS) check box during capture.
   Note: Please see the optional section below for Multicast instructions.
    

Create your SmartPE Boot WIM

1. Please see the Create WDS Media guide for instructions on how to create your boot WIM file.
   Note: You may use a standard SmartDeploy Answer File pointing to an image on any file share that you prefer.

Import the Boot Image to the WDS Server

1. Open the WDS Management Console.

2. In the left navigation pane, right-click Boot Images, and then click Add Boot Image

3. Click Browse, browse to and select the SmartPE boot image that you created in the previous section, and then click Next.

4. On the Image Metadata page, click Next.

Note that the "Image name" entered here is what the display name of this boot media will be when you PXE boot a device, and have multiple mounted boot medias. 

 

5. On the Summary page, review the settings, and then click Next.

6. Wait for the import process to finish, and then click Finish.

(Optional) Configuring WDS for Multicast Deployments

Import your Install Image to the WDS Server
First, import the customized Windows 10 install image; this is the image that you captured by using the Capture Wizard. You can use existing WDS image groups to categorize SmartDeploy images. 

1. In the WDS Management Console, right-click Install Images, and then click Add Install Image.

2. Select Select an existing image group, make sure the group that you want to use is listed in the drop-down menu, and then click Next.
Note: If there are no existing groups, select Create an image group named to create one for SmartDeploy.


 

3. On the Image File page, browse to and select the image WIM file that you captured and saved by using the Capture Wizard, and then click Next.
Note: Once you successfully import your WIM file into your WDS server, it will be located in \\wds-server\reminst\Images\groupname\


 

4. On the Available Images page, you'll see all the images that exist in the WIM file. Be sure to select the check box for the image that you want to be made available, and then click Next.

 

5. On the Summary page, review the settings, and then click Next.

6. When the task is complete, your image will be added to the server. Click Finish to close the Add Image Wizard.

Create Your Multicast-Specific Answer File

1. Please see the Create an Answer File guide for instructions on how to create your Answer File.
   Note: You'll want to set the path to your image in your Answer File, as it was uploaded to your WDS host; \\wds-server\reminst\Images\groupname\imagefilename.wim.

Create Your Multicast-Specific SmartPE Boot WIM

1. Please see the Create WDS Media guide for instructions on how to create your boot WIM file.
   Note: Be sure to use your Multicast-specific SmartDeploy answer File. 
    

Create a Multicast Transmission

1. In the WDS Management Console, expand Install Images, and then select your install image.


 

2. In the center pane, right-click the image name that you want to multicast, and then click Create Multicast Transmission.

 

3. On the Transmission Name page, specify a name for the transmission, and then click Next.

4. On the Multicast Type page, leave the Auto-Cast option selected, and then click Next.

5. Allow a moment for the task to complete, and then click Finish.

Troubleshooting WDS Deployments

Multicast Deployment Issues

If you encounter "The SmartDeploy Multicast session did not complete successfully" errors:

• Verify that you selected the "For use with Windows Deployment Services (WDS)" checkbox when capturing the image 
  • Step 4 in Capture an Image from a Virtual Disk File
• Check that your network is correctly configured for multicasting
• Review your WDS configuration to ensure all network settings are compatible with multicast transmission
• If the deployment is very slow look for a slow switch on the network. Multicast is as fast as your slowest switch on the network.

Boot Image Not Appearing During PXE Boot

If your new boot image is not replacing an existing image during PXE boot:

• Ensure you have properly added the new image in Windows Deployment Services
• Verify that the new image is selected as the default boot image in the WDS console
• Give the new image a distinct name to differentiate it from previous images

PXE Boot Does Not Reach SmartPE Imaging Screen

• Check if IP Helpers are configured correctly in your environment. (Recommended Method by Microsoft)
• Check if DHCP Scope Options are configured correctly for your environment (Not Recommended by Microsoft)
• Good source to review on WDS/PXE configurations work is here:
  • https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/troubleshoot/mem/configmgr/os-deployment/troubleshoot-pxe-boot-issues

PXE Boot Reaches SmartPE, Deploy Wizard Fails to Find the Image

• Follow troubleshoot guide in the article below
  • Prompted for Image Location During Unattended Deployment
• Collect logs and submit a ticket to support if troubleshooting does not help.
  • Collect Logs
  • Follow the above linked article steps after getting an error in Deploy Wizard. The logs are cleared after reboot.

Note: You do not need to install anything on target PCs before performing a PXE boot deployment. You can deploy to new endpoints straight out of the box as long as they support PXE boot