MDT 2008 Update 1 released

  • Article

Check it out on Microsoft download : Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2008 Update 1

Quickly reading the release notes, here are the new features :

  • Lite Touch OEM-Preload : in this case, MDT 2008 takes the contents of a media deployment point (USB, DVD, and so on) and loads it onto the hard drive, configuring it to automatically start up into Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE). The original equipment manufacturer (OEM) can duplicate this hard drive (or a sector-based image of it), and the drive or image will run through an LTI deployment when it starts up but without generating network traffic for the bits because they are all already present on the hard drive. A new script, LTIOEM.wsf, and a new task sequence template are provided that set up the hard disk for duplication.
  • System Center Configuration Manager OEM-Preload : in this case, a standard deployment task sequence, ConfigMgr OS MDT 2008, is broken into two parts. The first half (pre), a new task sequence template, applies an operating system image to the hard disk, saves some information about the environment, and marks the hard drive as inactive (so that it doesn’t accidentally start into the new operating system before it is customized). The second half (post), another new task sequence template, must be run using unknown computer support (such as a startup CD or Pre-Boot Execution Environment [PXE] filter). The second task sequence customizes the machine in Windows PE (using the already applied operating system image on disk) and then starts into the operating system to install any needed applications or other customizations. A new ZTIOEM.wsf script has been provided to help with this (to save some task sequence variables from the first task sequence so that they can be used by the second).
  • Microsoft System Center Operations Manager 2007 with SP1 Management Pack for MDT 2008 : monitors the events and performance indicators for LTI deployment, Zero Touch Installation (ZTI) deployment using Systems Management Server, and ZTI deployment with System Center Configuration Manager deployment processes.

There's also bug fixes in this release and revised docs.

Additionally, the Microsoft Word documentation is no longer a part of the download. Whole documentation has been included as a CHM help file.

If you want the documentation as separate files : MDT 2008 Update 1 Guidance.

~ Guillaume