win2k3 RIS using vmdk possible?

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x98gulinski

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 16, 2002
Messages
350
Here's the situation:
The place I work at has a file server with 3 different images, all as vmdk files. We use boot cd's to reimage machines. I would like to use RIS on the 2 servers we have to do a mass deployment of images. The problem is that the files are vmdk, and RIS says that files it needs are missing, but doesn't say which ones. Is there any work around for this? The images are provided to us, we do not customize them. We can't use the original xp install cd's, the image is specific to the company. Any ideas or clues of things to try? The boot cd isn't big, it goes through a microsoft pre-deployment environment or something similar, we map the network drive where the image is and it does the rest, but I don't want to go through 100 machines by sneakernetting it in a way.
 
Uhh, why not take a machine that you created with your CD, then run riprep and it will create a new RIS image on the RIS server? What am I missing here?

What I can say since I've been through RIS HELL over the past year, is if you have the budget, put 3COM905 NICs in the machine and be happy. Holy hell getting custom NIC's to work is SUCH a pain, and our vendor (Dell) just LOVES to sell us the same model number PC for new replacements with a DIFFERENT @^!&ing onborad NIC :mad:

Lastly, you know you'll have to run DHCP on those boxes right? Might come into play if you're using a diff server or router level addressing.

Good luck!
 
VMDK as the file extension? thats the same extension VMware uses for their disk images. I wonder if you could open the VMDK using VMware?
 
DHCP is handled by the routers, and unfortunately dell is our provider also, but the support has been a little better than i've experienced in the past We do not run vmware here, maybe they do at the enterprise office, I don't know, I'm just given certain things to work with. Haven't thought of using riprep, i'll try that today. And see if it does anything for me. Thanks so far
 
hehe you may want to hit MS and get the RIS manual. Riprep is something you're going to be using... A LOT. ;)
 
My eyes hurt from all the reading i've done today on riprep, tomorrow is a teswt day so it'll be even more frustrating than today was. Thanx again.
 
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