When I first started this job we were running a mixture of Windows 95, 98, ME and 2000 workstations.  The Microsoft Office versions ran along the same time frame and were anywhere from Office 95 to 2000.  Needless to say this was a support nightmare.  I was able to convince everyone that we needed to standardize on the latest available software and move forward from there.  Unfortunately, not everyone had the money to do this in a timely fashion.

The compromise was to slowly standardize on the same packages as we phased out older equipment. Fast forward several years and we have been happily running Windows XP and Office 2003.  We avoided Windows Vista and Office 2007 (almost) completely.  Once Microsoft announced that they were ending support in 2014 I realized that it was time to start planning for a migration.

This time we are going to do it differently.  This time we are updating the entire office at once.  Since we have never had a reason to do a mass installation of the same software packages, and our equipment comes from the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) with a Windows image preinstalled, we rarely have to build a brand new installation.  Throw in our use of Clonezilla to image the hard drive and it is rather unusual for us to have to build anything from disc.  Now we have to deploy 35-40 workstations altogether in one project.

There is no upgrade path from Windows XP to Windows 7 so we have decided to take advantage of the built in deployment tools. All good implementations start with research, and this one is no different.  Here are a few websites that helped me wrap my mind around the process and get the ball rolling:

• Post from David Szpunar’s blog detailing his migration.
• Deploying Windows 7 – Part 5: MDT 2010 Enhancements.
• Another very helpful website discussing XP to Windows 7 Migration with Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010.
• Tips for integrating the User State Migration Tool.

The third link provided the most direct help.  The first two helped me figure out the main concepts.  Once I read through the information on these sites I downloaded the following tools:

• Microsoft Deployment Toolkit
• Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) For Windows 7
• User State Migration Tool

Install the first two tools on your deployment server.  The third tool should be installed on each workstation before and after the migration.  We’ll talk more about this later.

Deployment Server

Create a new deployment share (MDT Deployment Share) by right clicking on the Deployment Shares folder and selecting New Deployment Share.  Walk through the New Deployment Share Wizard to set up your preferences for the Windows 7 installation.  You can enter a license key, suppress the license agreement message and pre-determine all of the installation variables.  Answering these questions in advance will greatly simplify the deployment process.  Once you have finished you should see something like this:

New Deployment Share

The next step is to import your operating system(s) installation media.  In your Deployment Share, right click on Operating Systems and select Import Operating System.  Walk through the wizard.  There are a few different options through which you can deploy Windows 7 to your workstations.  You can import the installation files directly from the Windows 7 DVD, use a sysprep image (WIM) or connect to your Windows Deployment Services server.

Import Operating System Wizard

We chose to go with the first option.  This allowed us to run a complete Windows 7 installation for each workstation.  We have a wide range of available hardware so the more custom installation worked better for us.  We did lose a bit of time for each upgrade as compared to the custom image but it was not a large amount of time.

Once you have imported the operating system files you should set up any additional applications that you would like to have silently deployed during the installation.  Right click on Applications and choose New Application.  Walk through the wizard to set up any applications with network installation and silent install commands.

Wizard For Installation Network Applications With Silent Install

The next step is to update the deployment share.  Right click on your deployment share folder and select Update Deployment Share.  Be prepared for this to run for a few minutes.  This step prepares the deployment image boot media.  You can find the iso image for the boot cd in the $DEPLOY_FOLDER\Boot directory.  There should be 32 bit and 64 bit files available.  Burn the applicable boot image and you are ready to go!

Silent Install Commands

These are the commands that I used to silently install various applications after the operating system upgrade completed.

Sometimes, some things are just too good to be true. Earlier this week, Microsoft made a relatively stunning announcement that it would contribute some 20000 lines of code to the Linux kernel, licensed under the GPL. Microsoft isn’t particularly fond of either Linux or the GPL, so this was pretty big news. As it turns out, the code drop was brought on by… A GPL violation.

This story begins when Stephen Hemminger, principal engineer with open-source network vendor Vyatta and Linux contributor, finds out that a network driver in Microsoft’s Hyper-V uses open source components licensed under the GPL. These components were statically linked to closed-source binaries, which the GPL does not allow.

Consequently, Hemminger contacted Linux Driver Project head Greg Kroah-Hartman, who works for Novell. Commendably, Hemminger wanted the case to be worked out without fireworks and massive media attention. “Since Novell has a (too) close association with Microsoft, my expectation was that Greg could prod the right people to get the issue resolved,” he writes on his blog.

When the code drop was announced Monday, nor Microsoft, nor Kroah-Hartman spoke of the violation. To confirm the story, About-Microsoft blogger Mary-Jo Foley contacted Kroah-Hartman, and he confirmed that Hemminger is indeed correct: the code drop seems to have been brought on by a GPL violation.

A “break from the ordinary” and a “significant milestone”? None of that – just a silently handled case, with an overdose of marketing spin, to prevent a major embarrassment for Microsoft.

I expect Microsoft to be evil and work to destroy the open source software movement.  This isn’t much of a surprise.  It is a bit of a disappointing end to this story though…

In an historic move, Microsoft Monday submitted driver source code for inclusion in the Linux kernel under a GPLv2 license.
The code consists of four drivers that are part of a technology called Linux Device Driver for Virtualization. The drivers, once added to the Linux kernel, will provide the hooks for any distribution of Linux to run on Windows Server 2008 and its Hyper-V hypervisor technology. Microsoft will provide ongoing maintenance of the code.

Linux backers hailed the submission as validation of the Linux development model and the Linux GPLv2 licensing.

Microsoft said the move will foster more open source on Windows and help the vendor offer a consistent set of virtualization, management and administrative tools to support mixed virtualized infrastructure.

“Obviously we are tickled about it,” said Jim Zemlin, executive director of the Linux Foundation. “Hell has frozen over, the seas have parted,” he said with a chuckle.

I am surprised by this move.  The Linux community would be well served to review this code very carefully.  Are their motives completely noble?

While observers hail Microsoft’s Linux kernel code submission as good for the industry and a substantial step forward, the move isn’t pure altruism.

The drivers will make it easier to support Linux guest operating systems in their emerging cloud infrastructure, and it will guarantee Windows is a part of every enterprise conversation around virtual Linux servers.

And virtualization integration baked into the Linux kernel appears to provide Microsoft with a heavy stick with which to beat up VMware.

“Why should Microsoft let a religious distaste for Linux get in the way of making a lot of money on Windows Server 2008 being the hypervisor under all those Linux servers?” asked Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst with Forrester Research. “Microsoft’s desire to take money away from VMware and other alternatives has outweighed its distaste for embracing Linux and the GPL. That is a sign of the opportunity they see here.”

Microsoft, however, won’t have an exclusive on virtualization drivers in Linux. VMware has certified kernel mode para-virtualization drivers but administrators have to install them separately because they are not part of the mainline Linux kernel.
“Microsoft is taking a short cut,” said Chris Wolf, an analyst with the Burton Group.”This is a big deal. When you get in the mainline Linux kernel it is a competitive advantage for Microsoft.”

I thought so…