Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is a software platform and technology that allows
you to perform automated network-based installations based on network-based boot and
installation media. In other words, you can perform an installation over a network with no
operating system or local boot device on it. The WDS server will store the installation files
and help you manage the boot and operating system image files used in the network installa-
tions. Although WDS is included with later versions of Windows Server, including Windows
Server 2012, it can be used to deploy Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8,
Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012.
An image file is basically a snapshot of a computer’s hard drive taken at a particular moment
in time. The image file is sometimes referred to as an install image and is used to install an
operating system. It contains the following:
• All of the operating system files on the computer
• Any updates and drives that have been applied
• Any applications that have been installed
• Any configuration changes that have been made
For client computers to communicate with a WDS server without an operating system, the
client computer must have support preboot execution environment (PXE), pronounced
“pixie.” PXE is a technology that boots computers using the network interface without a
data storage device, such as a hard drive or an installed operating system. For a computer
to perform a PXE boot, you must configure the BIOS setup program to perform a network
boot. Depending on your system, you must enable the PXE boot and/or change the boot
order so that the PXE boot occurs before the system tries other boot devices to boot from.
When PXE is used with WDS, the client computer downloads a boot image that loads Windows