With the release of Windows Server 2012, I decided to rebuild my lab from scratch on new fresh VM:s. The first server I installed was a deployment server running MDT 2012 on Windows Server 2012. In this article I will end up with a standalone MDT server (Yes – it no longer needs to be domain joined!) that can deploy Windows Server 2012… BTW, if you  have MDT 2010 and want to upgrade to MDT 2012, then check this article out.

First you need to install 2012 which I did the good old way – manually. Then:

  • Name computer
  • Enable RDP
  • Install .NET Framework from PowerShell:
    Add-WindowsFeature NET-Framework-Core
  • If you will PXE-boot, install the WDS Role from PowerShell:
    Add-WindowsFeature WDS
  • If you don’t want the new WDS to affect current PXE-servers, stop the service and put it to manual using PowerShell:
    Set-Service WDSServer -StartupType Manual
    Stop-Service WDSServer
  • Start Windows Deployment Services and finish the configuration wizard to start the service. Choose not to add images.
  • Run Windows Update

Then go ahead and install the rest…

  • Download MDT 2012 Update 1 and install it silently and install it manually or silently:
    msiexec.exe /i MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit2012_x64.msi /quiet
  • Download ADK and install. During installation it will download everything and will take some time but if you want to download an offline version, choose Download the Assessment and Deployment Kit for installation on a separate computer.
  • In MDT Deployment Console, right-click Deployment Share and create a new share and follow the wizard.
  • Now you’re ready to import OS:es and Tasks.