The Goal:
To create a scheduled provisioning task, which will deploy a new operating system successfully to the targeted devices regardless if they are online or offline.
It is assumed, that a working operating system deployment template already exists. If you need additional information regarding provisioning and operating system deployment, please refer to the following article:
LDMS Provisioning Launch Page
http://community.landesk.com/support/docs/DOC-9485
Configuration steps:
Step 1:
Add a "shutdown/reboot" action to the "System migration" phase in your template. DISABLE the "stop processing the tempalte if this action fails" option in the action before saving it, then select the "Boot to Managed WinPE" option in action properties in the tempalte.
This action will fail, if the device is offline (but the template will continue) and reboot the device to WinPE if the device is online.
Step 2:
Schedule your updated template. DO NOT select "Wake up devices" in the scheduled task properties > Targeted devices
Step 3:
Create a dummy task. Eg. Open Tools > Distribution > Manage Scripts > click on the "New Custom Script" icon and save the default script as a new managed script. This will not contain any commands - in the below example the script is called "Does Nothing". Then right click it and select schedule.
Step 4:
Open the properties of the task created in Step 3 and ENABLE "Wake up devices" in the scheduled task properties > Targeted devices
At this point, you should have 2 scheduled tasks.
Task 1 should contain the default custom script (which does not contain any commands but has WoL enabled) and Task 2 should contain the modified provisioning tempalte (which DOES NOT has WoL enabled)
Step 5:
Add all targeted devices to both Task 1 and Task 2
Step 6:
Start Task 2 and wait some minutes, until the offline devices will go to "pending" status
Step 7:
Start Task 1
Result:
Task 2 will most likely fail on all devices, but it will wake up the offline ones (in the example "DOES NOTHING only for WOL")
Task 1 should succeed on the online devices and also on the offline devices (in the example "TEST")
If the device is online:
The Virtual boot action will be executed and reboot the device into WinPE and it will progress your template
If the device if offline:
The Device will be woken up, then PXE boot starts and the device should automatically go to WinPE provisioning. The Virtual Boot action will fail - as it can only be performed if Windows is already running on the device - but the template will continue and process all configured actions.