Installing Windows Over The Network

Installing Windows Operating Systems has been made easier since the introduction of thumb drives. We can simply create a bootable USB drive and have a portable Windows installer right from your pocket. It has been a great choice for most IT Professionals due to its mobility and compact design.

But what if you are installing windows on multiple machines with a limited number of time? Having a single USB thumb drive to install windows on multiple workstations may not be good choice for this kind of situation.

In this article, we will be covering another way of installing Windows Operating Systems which can be a good choice for a large scale deployment.

On this sample setup, we will be using a laptop as our deployment server and a desktop for the target machine. We will create a PC to PC connection but you can use an access switch for multiple workstations.

Requirements:

• Ultra ISO
• SERVA
• NIC Drivers
• Windows OS ISO
• Winrar
• Cross-Over Network Cable 
• Laptop
• Desktop Workstation

Step 1. Set your host IP Address

Step 2. Install Ultra ISO.

                   This will be used as a Virtual Drive to mount our ISO file.

Step 3. Install Winrar.

                   This will be used to extract the SERVA installer

Step 4. Create a directory called SERVA_ROOT

                    This will serve as the TFTP repository folder

Step 5. Extract SERVA

Step 6. Run Serva64.exe

Step 7. Click on Settings

Step 8. Click on TFTP tab

             Follow the screenshot below.

Step 9. Click on DHCP tab

             Follow the screenshot below.

If you are behind a router, follow the instructions below. The router will be your DHCP server and the host will serve as a proxy DHCP server.

Step 10. Click OK and Close SERVA to save the settings

Step 11. Open SERVA again.

             Notice the logs.

Step 12. Open the SERVA_ROOT directory

               You must have all the directory and files needed for SERVA.

Step 13. Mount the Windows ISO file to using Ultra ISO Virtual Drive

               Right click and Mount to drive

Step 14. After mounting, create a folder inside WIA_WDS with the name of your Windows Version and copy all contents from the Windows Installer to that directory.

Step 15. Share WIA_WDS directory as WIA_WDS_SHARE

Step 16. Close Serva and Open it again to update the directory

Step 17. COPY NIC Drivers

                       

Step 18. Once again Close and Re-Open SERVA to update driver directory

Step 19. Connect target workstation via Crossover Lan Cable

Step 20. Boot the target workstation with Network PXE card

Below is the full guide video for this tutorial.

See the full documentation of SERVA here.