Operation Manual

Pre-deployment operations
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2007 29
them. You will not see this option if chose to create an ISO image or save
the file to a RIS server. When you are finished, click Proceed.
After you create a boot disk, identify it and keep it in a safe place.
5.2 The master OS preparation
Before creating a master image for mass OS deployment, it is usually
recommended to prepare the master operating system with the Microsoft
Sysprep tool.
Sysprep is a tool designed for corporate system administrators, OEMs, and
others who need to deploy operating systems on multiple computers. Sysprep
assigns a unique security ID (SID) to each target computer the first time the
computer is started and, if need be, initiates a process that allows replacing
drivers for plug-and-play devices.
Acronis Snap Deploy, on its own, can assign to the deployed computers
unique TCP/IP settings, domain/workgroup settings and SIDs. As a result, you
have the choice of using the functionality of either Sysprep or Acronis Snap
Deploy.
However, if you plan to deploy a system on hardware differing from that of a
master computer, and have not purchased and installed the Acronis Universal
Deploy option to Acronis Snap Deploy, you will have to prepare the master
operating system with the Microsoft Sysprep tool. The following table covers
cases when you have or do not have to use either of these tools because of
hardware difference between the master computer and the target computers.
Fully identical
hardware
Different plug-and-
play devices
Different hardware
abstraction layer
(HAL) and/or mass
storage controllers
Without Acronis
Universal Deploy
Must use Sysprep Deployment is not
possible
With Acronis
Universal Deploy
No need to use
Sysprep or Acronis
Universal Deploy
Must use Sysprep
or Acronis
Universal Deploy
Must use Acronis
Universal Deploy
Note that Acronis Universal Deploy is not a system preparation tool. You can
apply it to any image when configuring the deployment operation.
You can download Sysprep from
www.microsoft.com or extract it from
deploy.cab located on Windows NT/2000/XP/Server 2003 installation CD.
We strongly recommend that you read articles about Sysprep and disk duplication in
the Microsoft Knowledge Base.