Leveraging the build and capture process

The build and capture process is often described as the process to create a reference image. You will create a build and capture task sequence that will deploy the operating system, install any additional standard applications, OS customization, and software updates and then perform an OS capture to create a WIM file (the reference image). The goal is for this process to be 100 percent automated, so that you can recreate the reference build at any time with little effort.

The build and capture process is not a requirement for using OS Deployment in CM. You could manually create your own reference build, Sysprep, and capture it to a .wim file. But as you will see next, using the build and capture process in CM will allow you to take advantage of software updates and other applications that are already in CM. This will provide a completely unattended process to prepare a reference build which can be updated easily at regular intervals.

Getting ready

You...