Overview of Unattended Installation

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Unattended installations are commonly used to perform bulk installations with minimal user intervention. Unattended installations are particularly useful if you are:

• Upgrading a Windows operating system to Windows XP Professional or Microsoft® Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition; Microsoft® Windows Server 2003, Web Edition; or Microsoft® Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition operating systems.

• Performing automated installations on computers that have heterogeneous hardware configurations.

• Performing automated installations on specific types of servers, such as domain controllers, remote access servers, and servers that run Certificate Services or the Cluster service.

• Configuring a wide range of operating system settings during an automated installation without using batch files and scripts.

In addition to these deployment solutions, unattended installation is a useful method of creating master installations for image-based and RIS installations.

As a deployment solution, unattended installation requires substantial up-front planning and design. This chapter is designed to help IT professionals in medium and large organizations plan and design an unattended installation. It is assumed that you have already read "Choosing an Automated Installation Method" in this book. It is also assumed that you have designed the client and server configurations that you want to deploy in your organization. This includes designing the configuration of all networking, directory services, and security components. You will use this client and server design information throughout this chapter to customize your unattended installation. When you finish the planning and design work described in this chapter, you will be ready to perform an unattended installation.

Note

• You cannot perform an unattended installation of Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition.