How to capture a profile using a provisioning template

Deploy a profile using a provisioning template

To apply vulnerability patches to a system using the "Patch System" action in a provisioning template.

My capture image provisioning task keeps failing.  For some reason it is not getting the credentials from the preferred server.  Here is the log of MaptoPrefferedHandler

2014-04-02 17:40:07(1236-1232) maptopreferredhandler.exe:******Mapping to: \\tech\landesk\Images

2014-04-02 17:40:07(1236-1232) maptopreferredhandler.exe:Drive letter = f

2014-04-02 17:40:07(1236-1232) maptopreferredhandler.exe:Mode - Require Direct, no preferred server.

2014-04-02 17:40:07(1236-1232) maptopreferredhandler.exe:Could not get credentials for preferred server.

2014-04-02 17:40:07(1236-1232) maptopreferredhandler.exe:End of Map Drive.  Path used: - \\tech\landesk\Images\.

2014-04-02 17:40:07(928-1296) maptopreferredhandler.exe:******UnMapping Drive

2014-04-02 17:40:07(928-1296) maptopreferredhandler.exe:Drive letter = f

2014-04-02 17:40:07(928-1296) maptopreferredhandler.exe:Could not map or unmap drive. Error code: 2250

2014-04-02 17:40:07(928-1296) maptopreferredhandler.exe:End of UnMap Drive.

Here is the template:

Any help would be greatly appreciated,

Mike

Applies to LANDESK Management Suite 9 SP3 and later

The Hardware-Independent Imaging (HII) Driver Database is created after clicking Save in the HII Driver Repository Manager. It contains information about any devices, operating system versions and architectures the drivers in the HII Driver Repository can be used for. This information is retrieved from the .inf driver files and used to find the correct driver for any given device without requiring access by the client to the entire driver repository.

The Database

The HII Driver Database is a SQLLite database. It is stored in a single file at the root of the Driver Repository and named drivers.db3. The database contains several tables that enumerate inf files, supporting files as well as Device IDs and Compatible IDs. With this information HIIClient is able to determine which driver best matches the hardware found on the device.   This file is not Core Server specific, so in environments with multiple core servers of the same version, it is acceptable to replicate them across servers.

During HII the HII Driver Database is downloaded to the client machine and all lookups and driver matching is performed on the client machine. This means that the HII Driver Library (drivers.db3) can be replicated to Preferred Servers and client will simply download the file from their local Preferred Server. This can provide significant savings in bandwidth as well as processing time since the client will match the drivers on their own.

If the HII Driver Library is being replicated to Preferred Servers, make sure that when the HII Driver Library is updated on the HII Driver Repository it is updated on all Preferred Servers. If the client discovers that the HII Driver Library file (drivers.db3) is out of date on the local Preferred Server, it will go back to the original source on the HII Driver Repository for the download.

Incorrect Driver Matching

Some drivers that are poorly written, corrupt or incomplete can result in incorrect matches on devices. For example, a touchpad driver may have a very generic setting that causes it to match any pointing device so it is installed on desktop machines where there is no touchpad. Also, a Windows XP driver may install on a Windows 7 OS and vice versa. When this happens there are a few options.

Remove the Driver

If the driver is not needed at all in the environment, simply remove it from the HII Driver Repository and rebuild the HII Driver Database. If it is needed, review the steps below to help improve the driver matching.

Check Windows

In most cases, drivers that have been improperly matched by LANDESK will also be improperly matched by Windows. To test this, copy the offending driver (and all supporting files) to a test device. Then use Device Manager to try and install the driver. For example, if a touchpad driver is installing improperly, open Device Manager, select the Mouse section (Mouse, Pointing Devices or HID devices) and try to update the driver. Point to the driver in question and see if Windows considers it a valid driver for the device.

If Windows also agrees that this driver should be installed for a device, then there is probably something awry with the driver file. In fact, because LANDESK uses DISM to install drivers for Windows 7 and newer, if the driver is installed, Windows already thought the driver was right. DISM will refuse to install drivers that do not apply to a device. Make sure there isn't an updated or alternative version of the driver that may be better. If there is no alternative that functions better, see below on editing the driver database so that the device doesn't get matched by LANDESK.

If Windows does not install the driver or consider it applicable for a device, please report that to LANDESK Support.  Make sure to have the driver and device information available so that LANDESK can make changes and improvements to the driver matching process.

Modify the Database

In some instances it may be necessary to modify the HII Driver Database in order to prevent a certain driver from being installed on some devices. Any SQLLite browser or tool can be used to do this. One example is this open-source SQLite Database Browser.

1. Open Device Manager on the affected Device
2. Navigate to the device that has been installed improperly, right-click and select Properties
3. Select the Details tab
4. In the "Property" drop-down, select "Matching device Id" - this is the device ID that was matched for this driver. Often this is a very generic device ID
5. Write down or save the Device ID shown
6. Open the SQL Lite tool and use it to open drivers.db3 in the HII Driver Repository
7. Run the following query to remove the offending device ID from the database:
   
   

   DELETE FROM devices WHERE device = ‘<DEVICE ID HERE>’
8. This must be repeated any time that the HII Driver Database is rebuilt.

Note: This will prevent this device ID from being matched at all on any machine. If only parts of the match need to be removed (Windows 7 driver should not match Windows XP) please contact LANDesk Support for assistance

Authors Note: We know this isn't a good solution. Frankly we thought device vendors would be better about writing drivers for their own hardware. We are working on a better solution, so stay tuned.

For more information about HII please see Hardware Independent Imaging (HII)

This document applies to LANDESK Management Suite 9.6

Issue

• PXE Representative Packages missing from PXE Representative packages missing from Distribution Packages tool

Cause

• PXE Representative Deploy and PXE Representatve Removal packages missing from Distribution Packages tool
  • A failure likely occurred during installation.  During installation the file swdCoreCustomActions.exe in the \Program Files\LANDESK\Management Suite directory runs and either installs new packages or upgrades existing packages to the new version.

If this occurred successfully, the log file \Program Files\LANDESK\ManagementSuite\log\swdCoreCustomAction.exe.log should contain the following lines:

12/16/2014 08:56:08 INFO  18120:1    RollingLog : Importing package PXE Representative Deployment.

12/16/2014 08:56:08 INFO  18120:1    RollingLog : SaveToDB: PXE Representative Deployment, (type Distribution package)

12/16/2014 08:56:09 INFO  18120:1    RollingLog : Importing package PXE Representative Removal.

12/16/2014 08:56:09 INFO  18120:1    RollingLog : SaveToDB: PXE Representative Removal, (type Distribution package)

Resolution

• PXE Representative Deploy and PXE Representative Removal packages missing from Distribution Packages tool
  • Navigate to \Program Files\LANDESK\ManagementSuite\ and run swdCoreCustomAction.exe

This document covers the updates and changes to LANDESK OS Provisioning in LANDESK Management Suite 9.6 Service Pack 1

New!  Introducing a new "Provisioning Package" Software Distribution package type

A new Software Distribution package type "Provisioning Package" has been introduced.  This allows Provisioning Packages to show up in the Software Distribution Portal.  A user can now select a Provisioning template and run it from the client side.

New!  Now you can utilize LANDESK downloading technologies for downloading the Windows PE boot images

Now the Boot.wim file that contains the Windows PE image does not have to come directly from the Core.  A peer or preferred server can now be utilized.

The boot images are over 200 megs so it can be important to store the boot images on the local subnet or in a more optimal location for the client than the Core may provide.

New "Attempt Peer, "Attempt Preferred Server", and "Allow Source" radio buttons have been added to the "Boot to Managed WinPE (Virtual Boot)" selection for the "Reboot/Shutdown" Provisioning Action.  Note: Downloading of the boot.wim from Preferred Server or Peer at this time only applies to Vboot (Virtual Boot).  It does not apply to PXE boot.

New!  Provisioning for MAC Devices

LANDESK Management Suite 9.6 Service Pack 1 now introduces OS Provisioning for MAC Devices.  This has been a popular requested feature from our customer that we are pleased to deliver.

Please see the following document for details:

https://community.landesk.com/support/docs/DOC-33695

New!   Provisioning History cleanup

• Adds the ability to automatically clean up Provisioning History based on a span of days in the past.
• This is not checked by default.  Provisioning history will be kept indefinitely unless this box is checked and a number of days configured.
• Runs during the regularly scheduled Database Maintenance task.
• However, if the history is tied to an existing task, the information will not be deleted.

How to get to this option:

Select the Gear icon in the Operating System Provisioning tool Toolbar

The regularly schedule Core maintenance task by default runs at 11pm and can be changed by doing the following steps:

On the Core Server:

1. Select Configure -> Services
2. Select the Inventory Tab
3. Change the time to the desired time.

Various Enhancements

• Fixed default unattend.xml (editable by MS Tools).   Previously it was missing a default namespace.  OSD.Upgrade.exe will fix existing Unattend.xml when upgrading to Service Pack Pack 1.   (Microsoft System Image Manager is the tool to use to modify unattend files)
• Fixed Vboot on 32-bit only UEFI devices.
• Added alphabetical sorting of models in Software Mapping.
• Fixed Partition Handler for Create Default Partitions
• Scheduling unlocked templates no longer creates additional locked template (unless change has been made to original template)
• Allow renaming of locked templates now.

Hey everyone,

I'm not sure if anyone else is seeing this, but I figured it was worth mentioning.  We've been configuring & testing Provisioning for the last couple months and it's gone well for the most part.  We were having some major PXE issues, but those were resolved by SP1.  The only other major issue we've had is with deploying packages via the Distribute Software action.  I haven't figured out why, but packages will randomly fail on random machines.  For instance...

Let's say I deploy a Provisioning task to 15 machines.  All 15 machines re-image fine, install the LANDesk agent fine, but a few of them fail to install let's say 1 of the 5 packages I want deployed to them.  What's even stranger is that it isn't the same package that fails each time.

I've been digging around on the forums for a week now looking for solutions.  One idea was that the security scanner was getting in the way.  I tried the solution of using an agent that doesn't run a security scan and then install the normal agent after I'm done with packages.  No go.  So I'm not sure what's up.

At this point, I've completely given up on the Distribute Software action and resorted to downloading the install files in WinPE by utilizing PrefMap.exe and then install them via the Execute File action.

Any ideas?

Thanks.

Applies to LANDesk Management Suite 9.0 SP3 and newer

Issue

• Cannot right-click a provisioning template to schedule it.
• Schedule option is greyed out.
• Cannot schedule OSD scripts.
• Cannot create OSD scripts.
• Cannot select Windows when creating Provisioning Boot Media.
• Cannot select Windows PE for the Boot environment when creating a new provisioning template.

Cause

Installed a new Core Server using the existing Core Server database and the WAIK licensing information was not transferred properly.

Note:  The issue can also be caused by moving the existing LANDesk database to a new database server.

Resolution

1. Run the following SQL statement against the LANDesk database:
   
   update keyvalue set intvalue=0 where applicationname='WAIKLicenseAgreement'
   
   
2. Reopen the LANDesk Console and accept the license agreement.

Issue:

After adding a device using the "Add Bare Metal Server" wizard, no new device shows up in the device list.

To add Bare Metal device entries to the console, the following steps should be taken:

1. From the console's Network view drill down to Configuration - Bare Metal Server
2. Right-click and choose Add devices
3. Click Add
4. Give the machine a name
5. Enter Identifier like the MAC address
6. Click Add
7. Click OK twice

Cause:

Typically this is caused by the Inventory Server Service on the core server not running.

Possible workaround if the Inventory Service is running:

You can run barescan.exe from the managementsuite directory.

barescan.exe -v core=<CoreServerName> name=test mac=123456789aac

 

Replace <CoreServerName> with the name of the Core Server to create the Bare Metal device on.
This will create an inventory scan file that resembles the following:

 

Device ID =Agentless

Scan Type =BAREMETAL

Type =Bare Metal Provision

Last Hardware Scan Date =1397079334

Display Name =test

Device Name =test

Network - NIC Address =123456789AAB

Network - TCPIP - Host Name =test

OS - Name =Bare Metal

LANDesk Management - Inventory - Scanner - Type =Bare Metal Provision

LANDesk Management - Inventory - Scanner - File Name =barescan.exe

Network - TCPIP - Bound Adapter - (Number:0) - Physical Address =123456789AAB

 

Barescan.exe then places this in the LDSCAN folder on the core server and it gets processed by the Inventory scanner

Note: Barescan.exe activity is logged in \Program Files\LANDESK\ManagementSuite\Barescan.log

Resolution:

The first thing to check when this happens is to look at the Inventory Server Service to make sure that it is running.  Any entry in the console for Bare Metal devices will need the Inventory Service running in order to insert the device into the database.

If the Inventory Service is in a state of "Starting", then there is a problem and the core may need to be rebooted to resolve.  If this does not resolve the problem with the Inventory Service starting, there may be an issue with the database or with connectivity to the database.

To resolve this issue the following steps should be taken:

Add non-LDMS administrator account to the LDSCAN folder with the following Security Permissions:

• Modify
• Read & Execute
• List Folder Contents
• Read
• Write

Determine what is causing the Inventory Service to not start. 

Once the Inventory Service will start the Bare Metal devices should show up in the database.

We have captured images using ImageW and have created an unattend file that calls the %ldHostname% variable for computer name.  When we image the computers and they boot up after imaging they have a name that is WIN-ASDOIUPOUEK38 for example.  We also have tried checking the Unique ID and specifying %ldHostname% during the CTOS task.  Neither work.  Where should we begin in troubleshooting why we cannot get the names to work correctly.  We have entered the machines into the database as Bare Metal Servers and when we look at the inventory they variable mapped to ldHostname displays the name we want the computer to have. 

We are new to Landesk and feeling very overwhelmed right now!

Thanks for any help.

I need some help, we have been imaging computers with landesk for a number of years and this last weekend we upgraded to 9.6. Now when I go to image a computer it just crashes after the image is placed on the computer. I get the following warning file: \windows\system32\winload.exe is missing or corrupt. Here is a picture of my provisioning template

The wait is just for testing, Any help please..

Anyone out there know of a NAS device that:

1. Can share files via HTTP and UNC

2. Has a scalable management suite to manage several hundred remote devices in a single interface

3. AD integration

4. Speed / Fault Tolerance

5. Cost... The C-Level hang nail

Applies to LANDESK Management Suite 9.5 and newer

Issue

The WinPE wallpaper can be changed to allow for branding or customization.

Resolution

The WinPE wallpaper can be modified using the following steps:

From the LANDESK Management Suite Console go to Tools > Distribution > OS Deployment

From the OS Deployment tab select the icon Change the wallpaper of the Windows PE image

Browse to the bitmap file that will be used as the wallpaper.

Check the boxes (32-bit and/or 64-bit) to specify the image file(s) that the wallpaper will be changed in.

Click Ok

This article applies to LANDESK Management Suite 9.6 SP1 and later

Information

LANDESK Management Suite 9.6 SP1 includes support for OS Provisioning clients to download vBoot related files from a PXE Server.

Now the Boot.wim file that contains the Windows PE image does not have to come directly from the Core.  A peer or preferred server can now be utilized.

The boot images are over 200 megabytes so it can be important to store the boot images on the local subnet or in a more optimal location for the client than the Core may provide.

New "Attempt Peer, "Attempt Preferred Server", and "Allow Source" radio buttons have been added to the "Boot to Managed WinPE (Virtual Boot)" selection for the "Reboot/Shutdown" Provisioning Action.  Note: Downloading of the boot.wim from Preferred Server or Peer at this time only applies to Vboot (Virtual Boot).  It does not apply to PXE boot.

This eliminates the need for the clients to go back to the core to download the 200+ megabytes of support files in order to virtual boot.

In order for the vboot files to be accessible to the clients, the proper web share must be configured on the Preferred Server.

Resolution

Attached to this article is a .ZIP file Containing the following:

• Deploy PXE Rep and Configure IIS.ldms  (Package Bundle)
• ps-pxe-setup.bat

Steps to import and configure package bundle.

1. Download the attached PreferredServerWithPxeHostVboot.zip file
2. Unzip the downloaded .zip file to a desired location on the core server.
3. Open the Distribution Packages tool in the LANDESK Management Suite console.
4. Right click "My Packages" and select "Import"
5. Browse to the location where the .ZIP file was uncompressed to.
6. Double click the Deploy PXE Rep and Configure IIS.ldms file.
7. This will import a package bundle into the LANDESK Management Suite console under "My Packages"
   Click here for more information about Package Bundles.
8. Within this bundle you will find a package called Configure Preferred Server to host vboot files.
9. In addition this bundle contains the default PXE Representative Deployment package.
10. Copy the ps-pxe-setup.bat file to your regular software distribution share.
11. Modify the properties of the Configure Preferred Server to host vboot files package for your environment

          a. Modify the server name under the Package Information section to reflect the proper server name for your package share

          b. Under the Additional Files section browse to the location where you have copied the ps-pxe-setup.bat file and add it as an additional file
              (By default in the imported package this defaults to http://coreservername/ldlogon.

Scenarios for distributing package bundle or only the distribution package:

Scenario 1:

• PXE Representative is already installed on the Preferred Server

    In this instance, you can simply select the package Configure Preferred Server to host vboot files, right-click and select "Create scheduled task".

Scenario 2:

• PXE Representative is not installed on the Preferred Server and you want to configure IIS to host the vboot files

          In this instance, right-click the package bundle called "Deploy PXE Rep and Configure IIS" and select "Create Scheduled Task".

     This will first configure install the PXE Representative and then configure the Preferred Package Server to host the vboot files in a Web Application called "landesk" and a virtual directory below that called "vboot"
     This virtual directory points to the following physical path:

"%programfiles(x86)%"\landesk\pxe\system\image\boot"

Hello All,

We are looking to upgrade from 9.5 SP2 to 9.6. Has anyone upgraded to production yet,  and were there any issues with provisioning ?  I am looking for feedback on

1. Import/Export Templates from 9.5 to 9.6
2. PXE Rep installation and content replication
3. Provision template testing - any gotchas
4. HII Driver DB and driver isolation
5. Performance when imaging with the new 9.6 with multicasting technology
6. Any issues you encountered that would help us with the migration.

Thanks

-Daniel J Mercuri II

Hello all,

Im struggling with an issue and im hoping someone has found an answer to this. Basically im upgrading PC's on a remote site and using USMT so im beginning the build within the OS. Due to it being a remote site im having to copy down the build files as you can see in the attachment. The problem im having is the bootfile.exe as again can be seen in the attachment. It seems to work fine on Laptops however on Desktops as soon as it runs the bootfile.exe step it reboots into PE and then trys to run it again. It then fails as it cant be run in the PE enviroment. So something about the whole command is wrong, However i cant find an prefixes to try different options other then the /keep /delay. Any help?

C:\VBoot\bootfile.exe

C:\VBoot\boot.img /keep /delay

This guide is design to assist users as a general overview in pushing a file to a specific destination.

1. Go to the Distribution directory.
2. Select OS Deployment.
3. Go to My Templates
4. Create new Template
   1. Provide name
   2. Select Not Applicable for Boot Environment
   3. Select the appropriate Target OS
   4. Provide Description
5. Locate your new template, right click, and then select edit.
6. Click on Action List
7. Select System Configuration and select Add
   1. Provide Name
   2. Provide Description
   3. Under Type select “Copy file”
   4. Press OK
8. Copy and Paste the Source path
   1. This can be UNC or HTTP path
9. Copy and Paste the Destination Path

Proceed with standard deployment. Ensure deployment has proper authentication to source and deployment folders.

Issue

Provisioning history for a template shows a State of "Running" for a completed task.

Cause

This situation indicates that for some reason the status of the provisioning task was not updated from target machine.

Resolution

Delete the client machine from console and then do an inventory scan from the device.   After this, re-run the Provisioning task.

This video covers how to set up and use Product to Package Mapping.

Product to package mapping

The OS provisioning product-to-package mappings feature lets you map detected applications on source devices to software distribution packages that you've created. OS provisioning can then automatically install the detected applications on a user's source device to the newly provisioned destination device.

The list of applications that can be detected comes from the software license monitoring tool's monitored products list. When the inventory scanner runs on a device, it gives the core server a list of applications from the list that it found on the device. Only products that you've added to the monitored products list are available for product-to-package mapping.

You can map any software distribution package to an item in the monitored products list. For example, if Office 2003 is a monitored product, in smart migration, you could map it to an Office 2013 distribution package.

When you map a product to a package, you have the option of making that mapping critical. If a mapping is critical and the package fails to install for some reason, the whole provisioning job will fail and quit. If you don't make a mapping critical, OS provisioning will try to install the application and then it will keep going even if the install fails.

To map products to packages:

1. Click Tools > Distribution > OS provisioning.
2. On the OS provisioning toolbar, click the Product to package mapping button.
3. On the left side, select the monitored product that you want to map.
4. On the right side, browse the list of available distribution packages that you've created, and select the one you want.
5. Click Assign.