Microsoft® Windows® 2000/2003 Servers offer Remote
Installation Services (RIS) to simplify the installation of Windows over the
network. Argon Technology's Remote Installation Services Menu Editor (RISme™)
extends the functionally of RIS by allowing you to add custom items to the installation
menu that appears on the Client Installation Wizard.
RISme™ can be used to create client deployment images
that can be used to install versions of Windows that are not natively supported
by RIS, such as Windows 98, NT and 2000 Server. RISme™ can also be used
to create client maintenance images that can be used for such tasks as BIOS
updates. (Argon has sample images available from their web site that outlines
how to create deployment and maintenance images.)
RISme™ also features a boot image file editor that allows
you to edit image files directly without needing to recreate the image. The
image editor offers enhanced features, such as support for extended sizes (up
to 16 Meg) and support for accessing the client PXE environment.
This release of RISme™ is compatible with images and
menu items created with the 3Com Remote Installation Services Menu Editor that
was released by 3Com in March 2000 (see articles about the 3Com RISme™
in the RISme™ Article section on the right of this page). In addition
to the features of the 3Com RISME, Argon RISme™ allows the program to
be used from an administrator's desktop (it does not need to be run directly
on the server), and it supports Server 2003.
What can I do with Argon RISme™?
The Argon RIS Menu Editor (RISme™) is a great tool for
leveraging the capabilities of Microsoft Windows 2000/2003 Remote Installation
Services (RIS). RISme™ allows you to use the RIS PreBoot Execution Environment
(PXE) space to perform BIOS updates and run DOS-based disk imaging software
such as Symantec Ghost. Furthermore, you can use RISme™ to deploy OS's
that are not natively supported by RIS. This list includes Windows 98, Windows
NT, XP and even Windows 2000 Server.
With RISme™, you can avoid one of the most common problems
with RIS: limited supported for network adapters. RISme™ has no restriction
on the network adapter that you can use. Virtually any network adapter that
is equipped with PXE Boot Agent, Managed PC Boot Agent (MBA), RBFG or Argon’s
PXE on Disk™ boot floppy can be used with RISme™. This list includes
PC Cards and Ethernet USB adapters, like the Microsoft MN-110. We have customers
using the Argon’s PXE on Disk with USB Ethernet adapters to deploy Windows
2000 Professional on laptops and desktops that are not natively PXE-compliant.
RISme™ works by converting the contents of standard
floppy diskette into a RIS-based boot image file. In theory, any bootable floppy
can be converted into a RIS boot image file. This means that you can easily
create a RIS-based boot image file from your Ghost or PowerQuest Client Boot
floppy. Most BIOS update programs are executed from a bootable floppy diskette.
These are easily converted as well. Another useful feature of RISme™ is
the ability to create boot image file of up 16MB in size from your normal 1.44MB
floppy disk. You can update the contents of your boot image file by adding or
removing files. You can also modify the contents of any text file including
your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
As mentioned earlier, RISme™ can be used to create boot
image files to perform any Windows OS installation. However, many IT administrators
are not familiar with DOS batch scripting. To assist, we have created a sample
boot image file that can be easily modified to fit your needs.
Please visit the Argon support portal at
http://www.argontechnology.com/support/ and read the News Center article
titled "Using Argon RIS Menu Editor to deploy Windows 2000 Professional”.
Do not let the title fool you; with a little bit of tweaking you can use this
boot image file to deploy Windows XP as well.
