Cloning or Imaging Systems

Cloning or imaging systems can be helpful when deploying a series of identical desktops and servers. You build up a desktop or a server, prepare the system for cloning/imaging, and copy/capture the system image using third-party tools or Microsoft deployment tools such as WDS. Microsoft only supports the cloning and imaging of servers and desktops when the application Sysprep.exe is used to generate new machine security identifiers (SIDs). WDS can be used to deploy both default installation images and customized or captured installation images to Windows servers and desktops.

Microsoft and Independent Software Vendors have supported the imaging and rapid deployment of Windows systems for years. Today Microsoft has three ...

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