Prerequisites And Deployment

The Deployment ToolKit (DTK) is a collection of Windows PE and Linux-based utilities and scripts that assist in performing operating system tasks and deployment on Dell systems. An advanced knowledge of Windows PE and Linux is required for users who want to use the DTK utilities to perform pre-operating system and post-operating system configuration tasks or to run a scripted deployment in the respective environments.

A pre-operating system environment is defined as the environment used to configure system hardware before a major operating system, such as Microsoft Windows or Linux, is installed. DTK utilities and scripts, for example, are executed in a Windows PE or Linux environment for hardware configuration.

Because of the open nature of the utilities and scripts and the environment in which they can be used, it is strongly recommended that DTK users have an advanced understanding of the Windows PE and Linux environment and scripting knowledge for the respective environments. DTK users with an advanced understanding of Windows PE and Linux can take full advantage of the utilities and exploit their capabilities above and beyond what the sample scripts can provide.

CAUTION: Some of the DTK utilities can destroy data if used incorrectly. To avoid the potential risk of data loss, take all necessary precautions to protect data so that mission-critical systems are not disrupted in the unlikely event of a failure. See the Dell OpenManage Deployment Toolkit Command Line Interface Reference Guide available at dell.com/openmanagemanuals for complete information about the capabilities of each DTK utility.

Supported Systems

For a complete list of supported Dell PowerEdge systems, see the Dell Systems Software Support Matrix in the required version of OpenManage Software at dell.com/openmanagemanuals.

Supported Operating Systems

For Windows, the DTK utilities support Windows PE 3.0 (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows PE 4.0 (64-bit), and Windows PE 5.0 (64-bit). Using the DTK utilities, you can deploy the following Windows operating systems:

•Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter, Foundation, Essentials, and Standard editions using Windows PE 5.0 (64–bit)

•Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (64-bit) using Windows PE 4.0 (64-bit)

•Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 using Windows PE 4.0 (64-bit) and Windows PE 3.0 (64-bit)

•Windows Server 2008 SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit) using Windows PE 3.0 (32-bit and 64-bit)

For Linux, the DTK utilities support deploying the following operating systems:

•Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.5 (64-bit) in BIOS and UEFI mode

•Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.9 (64-bit and 32-bit) in BIOS mode

•SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP3 (64-bit) in BIOS and UEFI mode