One of the reasons I held back on deploying Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 centrally is the lack of supported deployment solutions from Microsoft. I outlined my deployment checklist here.

One of my major objections, however, just got solved; Microsoft has released the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 solution accelerator version 5.0.1641.0.

Tip:
It won’t be long now for the release of System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2 Service Pack 2…

About the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit

Using the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit systems administrators can automate Windows desktop and server deployments.

MDT provides you with the following benefits:

• Unified tools and processes required for desktop and server deployment in a common deployment console and collection of guidance.
• Reduced deployment time and standardized desktop and server images, along with improved security and ongoing configuration management.

A previous version of the MDT exists. It’s called MDT 2008. In the dark ages before MDT the functionality of the tool was divided between the Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) tool and the Automated Deployment Services (ADS).

In short the following versions exist:

Only MDT 2008 Update 1 is supported next to MDT 2010 from this moment onwards.

Features

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 supports deploying the following operating systems:

• Windows 7
• Window Server 2008 R2
• Windows Vista SP1 and up
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows XP SP3
• Windows Server 2003 R2

New features compared to MDT 2008 Update 1 are:

• Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 support
• Support for hierarchical management of items in deployment shares
• Support for drag-and-drop, copy-and-paste, and cut-and-paste operations in the Deployment Workbench
• Support for automation of management tasks using Windows PowerShell cmdlets.
• Improvements in diagnostics output, logging, and network recovery logic.
• Support for WAIK 2.0.
• Support for USMT 4.0, including hard-link migration and shadow copy.

Positioning

The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit functionality is positioned between Windows Deployment Services (WDS) and the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) on one side and System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) 2007 R2/R3 on the other side. Both System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) and MDT actually build on the foundation of WDS, WAIK and ACT to extend their basic functionality. Using MDT in combination with SCCM even unlocks some nice stuff.

The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit solution accelerator is a free download (Gee, another free Microsoft tool, featuring on this blog…) as are the tools (WDS, WAIK, ACT) it extends.

System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) is a priced solution, that offers more functionality, beyond the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit. The list of functionality is long, but in short System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) spans the whole lifetime of Windows desktop and Windows Server installations, whereas the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit aids in installing Windows desktops and Windows Servers.

Downloads

Download Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 here.
Download Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008 Update 1 here.

Related posts

Windows 7 Migration Checklist
Deploying Windows 7 with Windows Deployment Services
Business Desktop Deployment 2007 available

Further reading

Download details: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010
Business Desktop Deployment (BDD) and Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) Archive
Microsoft Deployment TechCenter
SCCM 2007 and Microsoft Deployment Toolkit – Video Walkthrough
Using MDT 2008 and SCCM 2007 for ZTI
MDT and SCCM 2007 – better together
ZeroTouch for MDT 2010 without SCCM!
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2010 arrives early
Released: Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2010 RTM – now available for download
TechNet Forums: MDT 2010 is RTW