Your boss has asked you to consolidate some under-used servers to save rack
space. You also have some old Windows NT 4.0 servers you'd like to retire because
their hardware is at the end of its life cycle. You decide to rehost these physical
machines as virtual machines running on Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. Microsoft
provides the free Virtual Server Migration Toolkit (VSMT) to help with this
task, but it requires Windows Server 2003's Automated Deployment Services (ADS).
Your migration deadline doesn't give you time to plan for and deploy ADS to
your entire enterprise. So what can you do? You can build an ADS solution that
you can move to where it's needed. This solution lets you perform the migration
with no impact on or reconfiguration of your production network.
To create the mobile ADS solution, all you need is some basic hardware and software and a mobile cart in which you can move the solution around. You can build this solution in five simple steps:
- Get the gear.
- Build the mobile platform.
- Install and configure DHCP.
- Install ADS.
- Test ADS.
Note that this article assumes you're familiar with ADS. If not, check out
the resources listed in the Learning Path box.
STEP 1. Get the Gear
To build the mobile ADS solution, you first need to find a cart or some other
mobile platform to move the ADS solution around in. Next, you need to obtain
a network switch (a four-port switch is sufficient) and a single CPU server
with dual disks capable of running the ADS solution. You should select a standalone
server that
- is small in size and doesn't weigh too much to make it easier to move around.
- has a gigabit network adapter to minimize ADS imaging transport times.
- has more than one spindle so that the OS and ADS image storage can be on
separate spindles to minimize disk I/O performance problems.
- has enough disk space to handle ADS images.
- has at least 2GB RAM to handle all the services running on the system.
For example, you might obtain a 1U rack server with a single 2GHz CPU, dual
160GB hard drives, 2GB RAM, and a Gigabit Ethernet network adapter.
Finally, you need to obtain the software that makes it all work. The software
includes Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition Service Pack 1 (SP1) and ADS 1.1.
To test the solution, you need a test server that's preloaded with a Windows
OS. It doesn't matter which OS version (e.g., Windows 2003, Windows 2000) is
installed on this server. The test server needs to have Preboot Execution Environment
(PXE) boot capabilities or have a PCI NIC that's supported by Windows 2003's
Remote Installation Services (RIS) boot floppy disk. To make the test as fast
as possible, I recommend that the test server have only one partition and only
the OS loaded on it.
STEP 2. Build the Mobile Platform
After you have the cart and necessary hardware and software, you can build the
mobile platform. Begin by loading Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1 on the
server. I'm assuming that you have loaded Windows OSs before, so I won't provide
instructions. (If you need help, refer to the installation instructions on the
Windows 2003 CDROM.) Use the following parameters during the installation:
- Server name = MobileP2V
- Static IP address = 10.10.10.1
- Subnet mask = 255.255.255.0
- No gateway
On the first disk, reserve 40GB for the OS (C drive) and reserve the rest for storing ADS images (D drive). Format the second disk as one partition for storing virtual machine (VM) files (E drive). You can use any available drive letter for the CD-ROM drive. I use the Z drive.
After you've installed Windows 2003 Enterprise Edition SP1, connect the server to a network that has a local patch management solution, such as Microsoft Software Update Services (SUS), and apply the crucial security patches. Alternatively, you can get patches directly from Windows Update. You also need to install all new network hardware drivers. Note that you might have to configure the server for DHCP-enabled addresses instead of a static address to install the patches and drivers. If you do so, remember to reconfigure the server back to the static address afterward.
After the server is loaded and patched, you can disconnect it from the production network and connect it to the four-port switch. I highly recommend that you purchase a Gigabit Ethernet switch to minimize the imaging transfer time.