Operating System Deployment

 This feature was originally released as a feature pack for SMS 2003. It was workable but was a minimalist approach that was sometimes difficult to implement and troubleshoot. Configuration Manager not only has this feature fully integrated into the product, but it has become a feature-rich, process-driven way to deploy servers and workstations. It leverages other new technology specifically designed by Microsoft to deploy
operating systems to computers with multiple options.

Originally this feature supported the deployment of desktops only, but it now supports deploying servers. With the addition of the task sequencer and driver catalog, you can deploy to bare-metal computers or to ones that already have an operating system installed, as well as deploy software to these computers after they have been configured. This allows you to minimize the number of images for different hardware, and it gives you more granular configuration options. Operating system deployment (OSD) is also part of the Changing quadrant of the ITIL and MOF and an important piece of systems management. We will discuss this robust feature in more detail in Chapter 10, “Operating System Deployment.”