Applying Change and Configuration Management

Planning for Enhanced Client Support with IntelliMirror

The rest of this chapter will guide you through the steps involved in improving client support by configuring and addressing critical issues in the deployment of IntelliMirror and Remote OS Installation.

If your client administration standards include storage of user data or settings on a network server, then you will want to create your basic client image and the network infrastructure (namely server shares and Group Policy settings) to support this goal before you begin to deploy clients.

Your choice of deployment methods for clients involves two parts:

Deployment of the base operating system
Deployment of applications

As with alternate deployment methods such as using Sysprep or Systems Management Server, you can use Remote OS Installation to deploy basic applications along with Windows 2000 Professional. This requires that you plan your application deployment strategy carefully to decide:

Which applications will be deployed with the operating system using Remote OS Installation.
Which applications will be deployed using software installation and maintenance after the operating system has been installed.
How you will support reinstallation or repair of applications that were initially installed with Remote OS Installation.

Installing a core suite of applications during the Remote OS Installation process can simplify the process of configuring a computer to your organization's standards. However, it does not eliminate the need to support installation on computers that already have Windows 2000 Professional installed. Therefore, applications that are installed along with Windows 2000 during the Remote OS Installation process will also have to be included in your IntelliMirror software installation and maintenance plan.

The following sections address key planning issues to help you use Remote OS Installation, IntelliMirror software installation and maintenance, and IntelliMirror user data and settings management in your organization. The final section, "Putting It All Together," provides recommendations on how some organizations with different types of requirements might implement IntelliMirror and Remote OS Installation.