Windows 7 Deployment Tools

Windows 7 introduces numerous changes to the technology you use for deployment compared to Windows XP. Windows 7 also enhances many of the Windows Vista deployment tools. The Windows 7 AIK 2 0 includes most of Vista deployment tools and some are built into the operating system.

Features for Windows 7 deployment:

Windows System Image Manager:
Windows 7 System Image Manager or Windows 7 SIM is a tool for creating distribution shares and editing answer file. It shows all configurable settings in Windows 7. It is used to save customizations in Unattend xml. The Windows 7 AIK 2.0 includes the Windows 7 System Image Manager.

Windows Setup:
Windows 7 setup installs the Windows image i.e .wim file and uses the new Unattend xml answer file to automate installation. Because image-based setup (IBS) is faster, you can use it in high-volume deployments and for automating image maintenance, thus, Unattend xml changes the set of answer files used in earlier versions of Windows 7. Microsoft has made several enhancements to Windows 7 Setup, such as use of a single answer file (Unattend xml) for configuration, a completely graphical user interface and support for configuration phases.

Sysprep:
This System Preparation tool prepares an installation of Windows 7 for auditing, imaging and deployment. You can use imaging feature to capture a customized Windows 7 image that you can deploy throughout your company. To add additional device drivers and applications to a Windows 7 installation and test the integrity of the installation before handing off the computer to the end user, you can use audit mode. To prepare an image for deployment, you can also use 'Sysprep'. Windows Welcome starts, when the end user starts Windows 7. You no longer have to download the current version of 'Sysprep' unlike earlier versions of Windows because Windows 7 includes Sysprep.

Windows Preinstallation Environment:
Windows Preinstallation Environment 3.0 i.e Windows PE 3.0 confers operating system features for installing, troubleshooting, and recovering Windows 7. It is the latest release of Windows PE based on Windows 7. You can start a computer from a network or removable media with Windows PE. Windows PE confers the network and other resources necessary to install and troubleshoot Windows 7. Windows 7 Setup, Windows Deployment Services, Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 and Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 all use Windows PE to start computers. The Windows 7 AIK 2.0 includes Windows PE 3.0.

Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM):
DISM i.e Deployment Image Servicing and Management is a modern command-line tool that you can use to service a Windows 7 image. You can also use it to prepare a Windows PE image. DISM integrates the functionality of the Package Manager , PEImg and Intlcfg tools from Windows Vista. In Windows 7 images. you can use DISM to Windows 7 features, service packages, device drivers and inter-national settings. To determine the contents of Windows 7 images, you can also use the DISM rich enumeration features.