Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1

Contents

About this guide

Terminology used in this guide

In this guide

Overview of SP1

Before you deploy SP1

Plan your deployment

Important considerations for virtualization

Hyper-V

RemoteFX

Dynamic Memory

Remote administration

Hyper-V clustering

Perform pre-deployment tasks

Deploy SP1

Scenario 1: Installing by using Windows Update

Scenario 2: Installing the stand-alone package by using the installer executable file

Command-line options for stand-alone installation

Large-scale scenarios

Scenario 3: Creating or updating a custom image

Scenario 4: Deploying with WSUS

Scenario 5: Deploying with Windows Deployment Services

Scenario 6: Deploying with SMS, System Center Configuration Manager, or System Center Essentials

Uninstalling Windows Server2008 R2 SP1 or Windows 7 SP1

Uninstall SP1 from the command line

Removing backup files

Troubleshooting

Deployment Guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 and Windows 7 with SP1

About this guide

This guide is for IT administrators who are deploying Windows Server®2008R2 or Windows®7 with Service Pack1 (SP1). This document includes technical information, procedures, and recommendations for installing SP1 in a business or corporate environment. Although this guide includes some basic operating system information, we assume that you already have a working knowledge of Windows Server2008R2, Windows7, and update installations.

For more information about deployment, see the following Microsoft resources:

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit Documentation (

System Center Configuration Manager2007 (

Windows Automated Installation Kit (Windows AIK) (

Terminology used in this guide

The terms defined in the following table are used throughout this document.

Term / Definition
Integrated installation / This is also known as "slipstream installation." In this installation method, the service pack is integrated into the operating system. As a result, the operating system and service pack are installed simultaneously. You use the integrated installation to upgrade computers and to perform new installations on computers that do not have an operating system.
Offline / In the context of updating images, the term "offline" refers to updating or applying changes to an operating system image that is not currently running. For example, you might update a Windows® Image (.wim) file by using ImageX in the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK).
Online / In the context of updating images, the term "online" refers to updating or applying changes to an operating system that the computer is booted into. For example, installing an update by using Windows Update is an online operation.
Package / A collection of files representing an update that fixes a problem or introduces new functionality. Packages include the files themselves as well as the necessary metadata to manage the packages.
Service pack / The means by which product updates are consolidated and distributed. Service packs are software packages that may contain updates for system reliability, program compatibility, security, and so on. These updates are bundled together for easier downloading and installation. A service pack includes all fixes released to date, as well as additional improvements to existing features.
Stand-alone package / A version of the SP1 package that contains all of the files necessary to install the package on any computer (even without an Internet connection). In contrast, when you install the SP1 package from Windows Update, only the files needed for that specific computer are downloaded and installed. There is usually a considerable size difference between a package that is downloaded using Windows Update and the corresponding stand-alone package.
Update / Noun: Any update, update rollup, service pack, feature pack, critical update, security update, or hotfix that improves or fixes a software product released by Microsoft. For definitions of all of these types of updates, see article 824684 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (
Verb: To make a computer or file more current.
Upgrade / Noun: A software package that replaces a particular version of a product with a newer version of the same product.
Verb: To update existing program files, folders, and registry entries to a more recent version by using Setup.exe from the installation media. Upgrading leaves existing files and settings intact, in contrast to when you perform a new installation in which all files are deleted and then reinstalled.

In this guide

Overview of SP1

Before you deploy SP1

Plan your deployment

Deploy SP1

Troubleshooting

Overview of SP1

Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 SP1 is a recommended collection of updates and improvements to Windows that are combined into a single installable update. Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 also provides a comprehensive set of innovations for enterprise-class virtualization, including new virtualization capabilities with Dynamic Memory and Microsoft RemoteFX™.

Notable Changes in Service Pack 1 for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 (

Hotfixes and Security Updates included in Windows 7 and Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (

Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Sp1 Beta Test Focus Guide (

Currently, no critical issues that require you to take corrective action either before or immediately after installation have been reported or discovered in testing. Release Notes documents are continuously updated, so if any such issues are discovered or reported, they will be available at the following locations:

Release Notes: Important Issues in this Release of Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1

Release Notes: Important Issues in this Release of Windows 7 with Service Pack 1

For further details on specific features, see the documents linked from the relevant sections later in this document.

Before you deploy SP1

Complete the following steps before you deploy SP1:

Plan your deployment

Perform pre-deployment tasks

Plan your deployment

These steps will help you plan your deployment of this service pack: review the questions below, review the deployment scenarios available, check application compatibility, and be aware of certain considerations for virtualization.

Consider planning questions

Review available deployment scenarios

Check application compatibility

Be aware of virtualization considerations

Consider planning questions. To determine which SP1 deployment scenario or combination of scenarios is best for your organization, consider the following questions. Note that the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit documentation ( contains best practices and tools to help you answer questions about integrated image installation. For example, you should consider the following questions.

Are you updating existing computers that are running Windows Server2008R2 or Windows7, performing new installations, or upgrading a previous version of Windows to Windows Server2008R2 or Windows7?

Which installation option should I use?

Where will the service pack files be stored?

Are there any impacts on my change and configuration management processes?

How should I test and validate the service pack or image installations before deployment?

What network capacity will you need to ensure that the service pack deployment does not adversely affect the network or cause significant performance issues for other business applications?

How do I determine that the service pack was successfully installed?

Review available deployment scenarios. For this release, six installation scenarios are supported:

Scenario 1: Installing by using Windows Update

Scenario 2: Installing the stand-alone package by using the installer executable file

Scenario 3: Creating or updating a custom image

Scenario 4: Deploying with WSUS

Scenario 5: Deploying with Windows Deployment Services

Scenario 6: Deploying with SMS, System Center Configuration Manager, or System Center Essentials

These deployment methods are discussed in detail in the Deploy SP1section.

Check application compatibility. Application Compatibility Toolkit (ACT) 5.6 helps you identify and manage your overall application portfolio, which reduces the cost and time involved in resolving issues. For more information, and to download ACT5.6, see

Be aware of virtualization considerations. These considerations apply to you only if you intend to apply this service pack to a computer running Hyper-V™, especially if you use the new RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory features on any of the virtual machines. Otherwise, you can skip to the Perform pre-deployment tasks section.

Important considerations for virtualization

These considerations apply to you only if you intend to apply this service pack to Windows Server2008R2 or Windows7 virtual machines, especially if you use the new Microsoft RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory features. Otherwise, you can skip to the Perform pre-deployment tasks section.

Hyper-V

If you are using Hyper-V on computers on which you want to install this service pack, you should be aware of the following considerations:

You can import and export virtual machines freely between virtualization servers running Windows Server2008R2 and Windows Server2008R2 with SP1 as long as neither Microsoft RemoteFX nor Dynamic Memory are enabled on the virtual machine.

Note

Saved states and snapshots of virtual machines are compatible between the two versions as long as Dynamic Memory or RemoteFX has not been enabled.

Virtual machines running Windows as a guest operating system that have R2 integration services installed will run normally on virtualization servers that are running Windows Server2008R2 with SP1. The Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX features, however, require the SP1 version of integration services, which includes other updates and enhancements as well. To get the SP1 version of these services, either install SP1 on the guest operating system or user Hyper-V Manager (see for details).

Once you have installed this service pack, you will have to uninstall it prior to installing a later release of this service pack. The settings of any virtual machines will remain intact during the uninstallation and installation, but virtual machines that have RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory enabled will not appear in Hyper-V Manager while the service pack is removed. In addition, any snapshots taken when RemoteFX of Dynamic Memory was enabled will not appear in Hyper-V Manager. They will reappear and functional normally once the later release of SP1 is installed.

RemoteFX

For more information about Microsoft RemoteFX™, see “What’s New in RemoteFX” at

To use RemoteFX, the virtualization server must be running Windows Server2008R2 with SP1, the virtual machine must be running Windows7 Enterprise with SP1 or Windows7 Ultimate with SP1, and the remote client computer must be running either Windows Server2008R2 with SP1 or Windows7 with SP1.

For detailed information about important CPU and other hardware requirements for RemoteFX, see “Hardware Considerations for RemoteFX” at

Before you start working with RemoteFX, take note of the following considerations:

You should install drivers for the video card on the virtualization server before you enable the Remote Desktop Services and Hyper-V roles. Otherwise, the RemoteFX 3D Video Adapter will not be available in Hyper-V Manager.

Disable any graphics processing units that use a Windows XP Display Driver model (XDDM) driver.

If you manage a KVM switch over IP with an onboard management adapter, install the RemoteFX Cap driver once you have enabled the RemoteFX role. The RemoteFX Cap driver supports KVM access over IP prior to the point where the Windows operating system loads (so that you can access the BIOS). Once the operating system has loaded, you can access the RemoteFX server using the Remote Desktop Protocol or a non-Microsoft solution for KVM management over IP. For more information about the RemoteFX Cap driver, see “Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX on a Single Remote Desktop Virtualization Host Server Step-by-Step Guide.”

If you do not manage KVM switches over IP with an onboard management adapter, be sure to disable any such adapters in the BIOS.

Be sure to install this service pack on the Windows7 guest operating system before you enable a virtual machine with a 3D adapter. After installing Windows7, enable Remote Desktop Services and verify that you can remotely connect to the virtual machine. Then shut down the virtual machine and add a new video card to the virtual machine by selecting Add Hardware in the Settings menu of Hyper-V Manager and pointing to 3D Video Card. Boot the virtual machine and connect to the virtual machine normally. For the full 3D desktop experience, start Mstsc.exe and confirm that the Experience setting on the Options menu is set to LAN (10Mbps or higher).

When you are using the virtual 3D video adapter, you will not be able to use the Virtual Machine Connection. Use Remote Desktop instead. If you need to use Virtual Machine Connection, you must remove the virtual 3D video card from the virtual machine.

Further guidance on setting up and working with RemoteFX is available in the following documents:

“Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX for Personal Virtual Desktops Step-by-Step Guide” (

“Configuring USB Device Redirection with Microsoft RemoteFX Step-by-Step Guide” (

“Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX on a Single Remote Desktop Virtualization Host Server Step-by-Step Guide” (

“Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX for Virtual Desktop Pools Step-by-Step Guide” (

“Deploying Microsoft RemoteFX on a Remote Desktop Session Host Server Step-by-Step Guide” (

Dynamic Memory

Dynamic Memory is a new Hyper-V feature available in this service pack. It allows the virtualization server to pool memory and dynamically add or remove memory based on virtual machine usage. This allows for higher consolidation ratios of virtual machines on the virtualization server. To use Dynamic Memory, the virtualization server must be running either Windows Server2008R2 with SP1 or Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 with this version of the service pack applied.

Virtual machines running a wide variety of operating systems can use Dynamic Memory; for a complete list, see the “Dynamic Memory Evaluation Guide” at The guide also discusses Dynamic Memory settings and usage in detail.

Remote administration

You can manage virtual machines with the Windows7 version of the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT), although you cannot configure RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory settings with this version. The SP1 version of RSAT is not available as this time, so to manage those settings on a virtualization server running Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 with SP1, use a server running Windows Server2008R2 with SP1.

You can also manage virtualization servers running Windows Server2008R2 with SP1 with System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), but you cannot configure RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory settings at this time. If you use VMM to move a virtual machine that has Dynamic Memory enabled, Dynamic Memory will be disabled.

Hyper-V clustering

A Windows Server2008R2 Hyper-V Cluster can run as a mixed cluster of nodes running Windows Server2008R2 and Windows Server2008R2 with SP1. For information about installing a service pack in a cluster, see Before you install the service pack on a cluster, you should be aware of the following considerations:

Do not enable either RemoteFX or Dynamic Memory until the entire cluster is upgraded to Windows Server2008R2 with SP1.

Migration of virtual machines that have Dynamic Memory enabled to a node that does not have Dynamic Memory support will fail

Migration of virtual machines that have RemoteFX enabled to a node that does not have RemoteFX enabled will fail.

To live-migrate virtual machines that have RemoteFX enabled, all nodes must be capable of supporting RemoteFX, all nodes must use identical graphics processing units, and all nodes must have RemoteFX enabled. For details of the CPU requirements for RemoteFX, see see “Hardware Considerations for RemoteFX” at

Perform pre-deployment tasks

Perform the following tasks before you install SP1. If you are installing SP1 by using Windows Update, be sure to perform these tasks before you accept the Microsoft Software License Terms.

1.Check disk space requirements. The following table lists the approximate disk space requirements for the system partition, which includes the English (EN) language pack by default. Note that these requirements will increase if other language packs are installed on your computer. For more information about each installation method, see Deploy SP1.

For Windows Server2008R2 with SP1:

Installation method / Approximate disk space requirements / Download size of package
Stand-alone installation / x64-based: 7.4 GB
Itanium-based: 3.6 GB / X64-based: 903 MB
Itanium-based: 511 MB
Windows Update / x64-based: 850 MB
Itanium-based: not applicable / x64-based: 95.7 MB
Itanium-based: not applicable

Notes

SP1 is supported for x64-based and Itanium-based computers.

For more information about system requirements for Windows Server2008R2 independent of this service pack, see

For Windows7 with SP1:

Installation method / Approximate disk space requirements / Download size for package
Stand-alone installation / X86-based: 4.1 GB
X64-based: 7.4 GB / X86-based: 537 MB
X64-based: 903 MB
Windows Update / X86-based: 750 MB
X64-based: 1050 MB / X86-based: 44.3 MB
X64-based: 73.7 MB

For more information about system requirements for Windows7 independent of this service pack, see

2.Read the release notes In general, release notes include vital information about issues you may encounter, along with steps to avoid or work around them either before or immediately after installing this service pack.

Release Notes: Important Issues in this Release of Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1

Release Notes: Important Issues in this Release of Windows 7 with Service Pack 1

3.Use an administrator account. Log on to your computer using an administrator account, make sure all other users are logged off the computer, and close all open applications.

4.Back up important data. Your backup should include all data and configuration information that is necessary for the computer to function. It is important to perform a backup of configuration information for servers, especially those that provide network infrastructure, such as Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers. When you perform the backup, be sure to include the boot and system partitions and the system state data. Another way to back up configuration information is to create a backup set for Automated System Recovery.