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In part 3 of this series, you’ll be configuring MDT – specifically, you will go about adding Windows 7 SP1 and XP SP3.  You’ll also be adding Office 2010 (with SP1), and handling drivers for both Win7 and XP.

Create and Configure Your Distribution Point

The first thing you need to do, of course, is to create a distribution point.  This is the main structure for deploying, so you need to do this first.  To begin, open the Deployment Workbench from the start menu on your MDT virtual machine:

Once the workbench is open, right-click the Deployment Shares folder and select “New Deployment Share” from the menu:

The New Deployment Share Wizard will open – you will need to select a local folder to store your deployment files, the folder name, the share to expose from the server, and a few other options.  Here you can see what I’ve chosen for my particular build share (C:\MDT\Build, Build, and Build$ – took the defaults for other options):

In part 2 of this series, you will be creating a second virtual machine which will be used to install and configure MDT for deploying Windows and applications.  I’ll dive right into creating a virtual machine for your MDT server, which will be very much the same as creating the virtual machine for your domain controller in part 1.

Create a Virtual Machine for your MDT server

In the Hyper-V Manager, click Action > New > New Virtual Machine to bring up the New Virtual Machine wizard.  On the first page, give the new VM a name that will show up in the Hyper-V console (I chose “MDT”), and click the “Next” button:

Next, give the virtual machine some RAM – I chose 2GB – then click the “Next” button:

After writing a piece about MDT and installation from a USB key, I’ve gotten a steady stream of requests for a more in-depth piece on the actual installation of MDT, how I recommend it be configured, and some tips and tricks about managing it for a smaller organization, or a small (non-royalty) OEM, or even how it can be used in an environment for building machines for friends or relatives in machines someone might be stuck supporting.  With that in mind, I’ve gone ahead and rebuild my lab (as promised earlier this year), and taken some screenshots to go along with this post.  I will cover the installation of the WAIK, MDT 2010 Update 1, and DHCP and Windows Deployment Services (for those with a domain, as WDS requires a domain to work properly).  I think it’s worth noting that nothing I post here is specifically exclusive to this site, and most of what I’m putting together here has probably been posted on and/or discussed at length all over the internet.  I’m just putting together a beginning to end document for those who are looking for a one-stop shop to at least get started, and are willing to try some of the more advanced stuff on their own.

The blog has looked the same since August 2009, so I thought it was time to change the way the site looks and is laid out a bit.  There’s a bit more color here and the right-hand panes for navigation have been moved around a bit, but that should be it for now.