Dell PowerFlex Rack with PowerFlex 3.x Administration Guide

Preparing the build environment

Perform these steps to set up the build environment from which you have to prepare a custom Microsoft Windows ISO.

1. After the deployment of the build environment is complete, log in to the Windows machine using the local administrator account or an account with the administrator privilege.
2. Create a directory to be used as the build environment.

   Do not use any system directory as its root directory (for example, C:\Windows, C:\Program Files, C:\ProgramData). Also, be sure that the full path to the build environment directory does not contain any spaces. Spaces in the path can cause problems while Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM) is processing the images.

   This example uses C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\winpe-build-env.

3. Locate the PowerShell script (/opt/razor-server/build-winpe/build-razor-winpe.ps1) on the PowerFlex Manager appliance. Copy this file to the build directory on the Windows machine (C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\winpe-build-env).
4. Download Microsoft ADK 8.1. Install the ADK with all its optional components.

   The components that are listed should be:

   • Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT)
   • Deployment Tools
   • Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE)
   • User State Migration Tool (USMT)
   • Volume Activation Management Tool (VAMT)
   • Windows Performance Toolkit
   • Windows Assessment Services
5. After the installation completes successfully, place the Microsoft Windows ISO in the build environment directory (C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\winpe-build-env).
6. Find the operating system drivers that are required for the target hardware (for example, drivers for PowerFlex R740xd node) from the product support page at Dell Technologies Support. Once the drivers are downloaded and extracted, place them in the drivers directory (C:\Users\Administrator\Documents\winpe-build-env\Drivers).

   If the Drivers folder does not exist, you must create it.