You should notice that - once the integrated mode is selected, it cannot be downgraded to standalone mode, although standalone mode can always be upgraded to integrated mode. Step 3: There are two options for you – Integrated with Active Directory and Standalone server. Step 2: Right-click the server name and select Configure Server from the context menu. Step 1: In the nested hierarchy under Server, if you notice a small yellow exclamation mark next to the server's hostname, it means that your server is not configured with Windows Deployment Services. You can use MMC to locate the WDS management unit in the management tool folder or execute the command wdsmgmt.msc to load the console for the first time to start the WDS management unit. After that, you can go to configure Windows Deployment Services.
How to Configure Windows Deployment Servicesīefore you start to configure Windows Deployment Services, you had better change Windows Server hostname, turn off Windows Server firewall, and set static IP on Windows Server. As part of the implementation of a custom WDS client’s network boot process, a RAMDISK bootable image of Windows PE 2.0 in WIM format must be downloaded. The WDS client API needs to be installed during the Microsoft Windows pre-installation environment (Windows PE 2.0) phase. The WDSPXE Server API requires the WDS server role on the server to implement a custom PXE provider. Windows Deployment Services can be used as an add-on to Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 1 (SP1) and is included in operating systems starting from Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 (SP2).
Maybe, you are interested in this post - How to Use the PXE (Preboot Execution Environment) Boot. When multiple boot images are available, PXE booting through WDS will provide you with a boot menu to select the image to be loaded.
WDS is used both as a storage repository for PXE network boot images and as a repository for actual operating system images to be installed on the target computer. Microsoft WDS is used in conjunction with PXE (Pre-Boot Execution Environment) to load a mini-Windows version called Windows PE to perform installation and maintenance tasks. Tip: To learn more information about the Windows operating system, you can go to the MiniTool official website.