ConfigMgr 2007/2012 , WEDM 2011 & HP Thin clients with WES 7 : Part 1

7:40 pm in CM12, ConfigMgr, ConfigMgr 2007, ConfigMgr 2007 R2, ConfigMgr 2012, ConfigMgr SP2, ConfigMgr2007 R3, embedded, HP, SCCM 2007, SCCM 2007 R2, SCCM 2007 R3, SCCM 2007 SP2, SCCM 2012, System Center, Task Sequence, ThinClient, WES, Wyse by Kenny Buntinx [MVP]

 

Hi there ,

Your company has decided to invest in thin clients with Windows Embedded standard 7 ? You are already working with ConfigMgr 2007 or Configmgr 2012 ? Then you probably heard about WEDM 2011 ( WIndows Embedded Deivice Manager 2011) , which is a plugin on Configmgr .

Embedded devices such as HP’s thin clients utilize a Microsoft feature called enhanced write filtering. It’s a way of using local memory as a cache for storing the  changes that software makes when running on the client and it may try to write to the disk  but write filtering lets the disk’s original contents be instantly restored by simply rebooting and "forgetting" the changes.

That’s nice, until you want to make permanent changes to the operating system like security patches or install applications like flash player. You might have had to write a script that turned filtering off, applied the patch, then turned filtering on again. And someplace in that scenario, you worked in some time for praying it all worked right before re-engaging the filter. One of the benefits of using WEDM 2011 is that it knows how to programmatically disengage enhanced write filters prior to deploying updates or software.

Like any other vendor , HP , Dell or Wyse have their own way of Managing and deploying OS images. Usually the pre-installation of software on a system is not up-to-date or enough to serve the companies need . Embedded systems have historically been more difficult to manage and maintain than PCs. Until recently!

Hewlett-Packard announced that for the first time, it will offer thin client PCs – systems that run Windows Embedded Standard 7 already – that have Windows Embedded Device Manager 2011 (WEDM 2011) pre-installed. This way, out of the box, customers that run Windows Embedded 7 (based on the Windows 7 kernel) don’t have to install a separate server with their native HP tooling  (even if it’s just a virtual or cloud-based one) to monitor and maintain devices.Now that EDM comes pre-installed on a thin client like a t5570e (right) or t5740e (above) costing somewhere in the mid-three-digit range, depending on configuration, admins can use a thin client to capture and redeploy fully configured system images to a collection of clients.

Microsoft announced System Center 2012 Configuration Manager during MMS , though it will take time for ConfigMgr 2012 WEDM 2012  to make its way into the field. For now, HP’s solution supports SCCM 2007 and EDM 2011.

For managing those devices in ConfigMgr 2007 , you will need a few prerequisites :

Also have these hotfixes and articles by hand , you might need them :

Device Manager 2011 extends the capabilities of Configuration Manager to let you deploy a new or updated operating system image to thin client (a process referred to as device imaging). You can perform device imaging on one device or on a collection of devices using the Configuration Manager console. To do this, you must integrate the following components into your Configuration Manager installation:

That’s it for part 1 , check later for Part 2 when we explain how to implement all the above components for doing the actual work itself Smile

Hope it Helps ,

Kenny Buntinx

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