Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Beta 2 Release

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Release

MDT 2012 Beta 2, including the new version of User Driven Installation(UDI), is now available for download. To participate, register for MDT 2012 Beta 2 at Microsoft Connect.

MDT released 2012 Beta 1 sometime back which included support for System Center Configuration Manger 2012 as well as improved Lite Touch user experience, and behind-the-scenes enhancements for partitioning, UEFI, and user state migration. There have been a number of improvements made in these areas for Beta 2 as well as providing DaRT support and integrating Security Compliance Manager (SCM) for applying GPO packs into the MDT task sequence.

MDT has not released a new version of User Driven Installation (UDI) since MDT 2010 Update 1, but that is changing with this Beta 2 release. Many of UDI’s components have been completely rewritten and we think that this new version will be a game changer for user driven deployments. I will explore some of the highlights in this blog post, but look for future posts to delve in depth into the new features and functionality made available with MDT 2012 UDI.

To participate, register for MDT 2012 Beta 2 at Microsoft Connect.

 

What’s New in MDT 2012 UDI?

MDT 2012 UDI has a number of new features. At a glance these include:

  • Extensible wizard
  • Extensible designer
  • Support for new scenarios
  • Visual flow which allows you to see and rearrange the layout of your deployment scenarios by dragging and dropping pages
  • Support for Configuration Manager 2012’s new App Model Apps
  • A number of new wizard and designer pages
  • A designer which is more tightly coupled with Configuration Manager over the previous version making it much easier when adding things like WIM files or Applications
  • A configuration file which contains multiple scenarios
  • Wizard support for running stages from the scenarios

I will be covering these topics and more in future blog posts.

How Do I Get It and What are the Next Steps?

So what are you waiting for? Follow the steps below to participate in the MDT 2012 Beta 2 program.

  1. Join the MDT 2012 Beta 2 Program
  2. Test the tools in your environment and then provide feedback through Connect and direct support issues through SATfdbk@microsoft.com
  3. Learn more about UDI as I provide in-depth information in future posts through my blog
  4. Learn more about MDT in general by connecting to the MDT TechNet site and the official MDT team blog