Service Manual

Provisioning and Extensibility Overview of Dell VIS Self-Service Creator
Page 9
Once the master image is created, the administrator must create a sysprep.inf or unattend.xml file,
sysprep the image, and power off the VM. To ease future updates of the master image, it is advisable
to take a hypervisor level snapshot prior to executing sysprep. While in the powered-off state, the
master image is captured using the Microsoft ImageX utility and stored on a CIFS accessible file server.
Typically this is accomplished by booting into a WinPE environment.
Deployment
VIS Self-Service Creator leverages existing WIM imaging provisioning ecosystems. Provisioning
workloads from a WIM image requires a modified WinPE boot disk. VIS Self-Service Creator includes a
utility to quickly build the customized WinPE boot disk. During the request process, requestors may
customize the virtual machines vCPU, memory, and storage size within administrator specified limits.
Figure 4: WIM Imaging Extensibility Overview
Requestor
`
VM
WIM Repository
CIFS
WinPE
1) User Places Request
14) User Notified on Success
3) Request to VMM
Create VM
Attach Boot ISO
4
)
VMM
:
Create VM
6
)
Power
-
On VM
10
)
Detach Boot ISO
Reboot
5) VMM : Attach
Boot ISO
8) VIS-SSC Agent :
Attach to CIFS Share
Applies WIM Image
9) VIS-SSC Agent : Customizes Sysprep
11) Windows Sysprep Process
Customer Specific
Post-Provisioning Script
12) Post-Provisioning Script
7) VIS-SSC Agent : Requests Instructions
13) VIS-SSC Agent : Notifies Creator of Success
VIS Self-Service Creator
Customer Specific
Pre-Provisioning Script
2
)
Pre
-
Provisioning Script
VMM
Utilizing the custom WinPE boot disk, the WIM image is deployed from the customers WIM CIFS share.
Once the image is deployed, VIS Self-Service Creator can modify the sysprep.inf or unattend.xml files
utilized by the Windows SysPrep process during first boot. Sysprep settings are defined as custom
properties within VIS Self-Service Creator. With an .inf-based version of Sysprep, as used in Windows
XP and Windows 2003, any setting can be changed or added. With .xml-based versions of Sysprep, as
used in Windows 7 and Windows 2008, key sysprep settings listed in Table 2 can been modified.