Inhaltsübersicht
Managing large-scale Windows deployments is one of the more demanding responsibilities in IT operations. Between inconsistent hardware configurations, compliance requirements and the ongoing need to keep devices registered and managed after installation, the process is rarely as straightforward as it should be.
This article outlines how XOAP and OSDCloud work together to address these challenges and covers the three deployment approaches the integration supports, each differing in boot image type and Windows image source, so you can select the option that fits your infrastructure.
Challenges of Windows OS deployment
Deploying Windows at scale consistently surfaces the same set of problems:
- Configuration difficulty: Different device groups require different driver sets, OS editions, language packs and activation types. Managing these variations manually introduces errors and does not scale effectively across large fleets.
- Hardware consistency: Devices from different manufacturers behave differently during deployment. Without a controlled, repeatable process, the result is a fleet that starts its lifecycle in an inconsistent state.
- Security and compliance from day one: OS deployment is the point at which security baselines should be enforced. Organizations that rely on post-deployment remediation are taking on unnecessary risk and audit exposure.
- Post-deployment management continuity. Installing an operating system is only the first step. Registering devices for ongoing management, applying configurations and deploying standard applications still need to happen — ideally without any manual intervention.
Traditional solutions such as MDT, SCCM and WDS address these problems but require significant infrastructure investment and ongoing maintenance. XOAP combined with OSDCloud provides an alternative that requires no dedicated imaging infrastructure beyond a single virtual machine for ISO creation and, for Scenario 3, a network share or other storage location for the ISO file.
Three deployment scenarios
XOAP and OSDCloud integration supports three distinct scenarios. Each is designed for a different infrastructure context, and the choice between them depends on the type of boot image required, where the Windows image is sourced from and how deployment is triggered.
Scenario 1: OS downloaded from the internet
This scenario requires no local image hosting. The target device boots into WinPE, downloads the Windows image directly from Microsoft Update, completes installation and registers automatically with the designated XOAP Workspace.
Infrastructure required:
• 1 Windows 11 24h2 virtual machine (for ISO creation)
• Internet access on the ISO creator VM and on target devices
Preparing the ISO:
On the ISO creator VM, install the OSDCloud tooling either through XOAP by applying the OSDCloud Workspace Internet OS Application Role, or manually by running the following PSADT packages in order:
1. APP_Microsoft_WindowsAssessmentDeploymentKit_101261002454_Any_x64_EN
2. APP_Microsoft_WindowsPEforADK_101261002454_Any_x64_EN
3. APP_DavidSegura_OSDCloudISOCreator_121_Any_Any_EN
Before starting the installation, run the following command to set the execution policy:
Set-ExecutionPolicy -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Scope LocalMachine -Force
During setup, configure the parameters that define the deployment image:
Parameter description:
Parameter | Description |
Treiber | Drivers to include in boot.wim — use * for all or None to skip |
OSVersion | Windows 10 or Windows 11 |
OSBuild | Target build (e.g. 22h2, 24h2) — Windows 10 supports 21h2 and 22h2 only |
OSEdition | Home, Pro, Enterprise, etc. |
OSLanguage | Language of the deployed OS |
OSAktivierung | Volume or Retail |
XOAPWorkspaceID | The Workspace ID found on the XOAP dashboard |
XOAPConfigurationGroup | The configuration group newly deployed devices will join |
Once complete, OSDCloud_NoPrompt.iso is generated in C:\OSDCloudWorkspace.
Uploading and configuring in XOAP:
Add the generated ISO into the Files subfolder of the SYS_XOAP_OSDcloudRElocal_100_Any_Any_Any PSADT package, zip the package and upload it to XOAP via Application Management > Applications. Once uploaded, create an Application Role and a Configuration Group for the application. When that Configuration Group is deployed to a target device, re-deployment begins automatically.
The device extracts the ISO to a newly created Windows Recovery (WinRE) partition. After a reboot, the device boots from that partition into the OSDCloud WinPE environment, wipes and repartitions the disk and downloads the Windows image from Microsoft Update for installation.
After OS installation, OSDCloud sets up SetupComplete scripts that register the device with the XOAP Workspace on first startup, provided internet access is available. In parallel, a scheduled task is configured to run at user logon and check XOAP connectivity — if the device is already registered the task removes itself, and if not it will attempt registration whenever an internet connection is present.
Scenario 2: WinPE boot with OS downloaded from the internet
This scenario follows the same end-to-end flow as Scenario 1. The Windows OS is downloaded from the internet during the WinPE phase, but uses a Recovery Full boot image. The difference lies in the boot.wim: rather than a minimal WinPE environment, the boot image includes the full install.wim file, which is used to construct the WinPE environment itself.
Use the OSDCloud Workspace Recovery Full Application Role or the APP_DavidSegura_OSDCloudISOCreatorRecoveryFull_121_Any_Any_EN package in place of the standard ISO creator. The setup process, required parameters and XOAP upload steps are otherwise identical to Scenario 1.
Anmerkung: This scenario is not currently supported for re-deployment on Hyper-V virtual machines. The partition containing the install.wim file does not get mapped correctly in that environment and has not been tested on other virtualisation platforms.
Scenario 3: OS re-deployment from a network share, local source or other
This scenario covers OS re-deployment using the OSDcloud_RE_from_localISO.ps1 script rather than a XOAP-managed PSADT package. It supports two options for sourcing the Windows image during WinPE – internet download or retrieval from a network share or local source, and is suited to environments where more control over the deployment trigger is required.
Scenario 3 supports two options for where the Windows image is sourced during WinPE:
• OS downloaded from the internet — use the OSDCloud Workspace Internet OS Application Role or the APP_DavidSegura_OSDCloudISOCreator_121_Any_Any_EN package, with the standard parameters as described in Scenario 1
• OS retrieved from a network share — use the OSDCloud Workspace local OS Application Role or the APP_DavidSegura_OSDCloudISOCreatorLocalShare_121_Any_Any_EN package, with the following additional parameters:
Parameter description:
ShareUser | A user account with read access to the network share |
ShareUserPassword | The password for that account |
UncSharePath | The UNC path to the share, e.g. \\srv1\xoap |
When using a network share, it must follow a specific folder structure for OSDCloud to locate the image:
\\shareserver\sharename\OSDcloud\OS.
Triggering deployment:
Rather than packaging the ISO within a PSADT application, deployment is triggered using the OSDcloud_RE_from_localISO.ps1 script with the -LocalISOPath parameter:
OSDcloud_RE_from_localISO.ps1 -LocalISOPath “\\srv1\xoap\OSDCloud_NoPrompt.iso”
This script manages the complete OSDCloudRE setup process: creating the WinPE partition, mounting the ISO, copying boot content, configuring Boot Manager entries and initiating a reboot into the recovery environment. It can be called directly via a XOAP connector, or embedded within a DSC configuration module to allow additional steps such as ISO integrity hash checks, prerequisite validation and file backups before the wipe begins.
The script has been tested with ISOs located on local devices and network shares. For other storage types such as Azure Blob Storage, GitHub or OneDrive, the script would need to be extended to handle the download step before invoking the local ISO logic.
Deploying to multiple workspaces or configuration groups? This applies to all three scenarios. Run the ISO creation process again with the required parameters for each target workspace or configuration group. Rename or move the OSDCloud_NoPrompt.iso file from C:\OSDCloudWorkspace between runs, as each new run overwrites the previous file.
The deployment process on the target device
Regardless of which scenario is used, the process on the target device follows the same sequence:
1. The Configuration Group deploys the PSADT package to the target device, which extracts the ISO, creates the WinRE partition and triggers a reboot or for Scenario 3, the OSDcloud_RE_from_localISO.ps1 script is executed directly
2. The device boots from the OSDCloudRE WinPE partition
3. If connected via Ethernet, deployment proceeds without interaction; if not, a wireless network selection prompt is displayed (keyboard layout is en-us at this stage)
4. The operator confirms disk wipe; this is the only interactive step in the process
5. Windows is installed and SetupComplete scripts run, registering the device with the XOAP Workspace on first startup if internet access is available; a scheduled task also runs at each subsequent user logon to verify and retry XOAP registration if needed
6. The device reboots into the newly installed, managed Windows environment
Ongoing management after deployment
Once registered in the XOAP Workspace, devices are immediately subject to the policies and configurations defined in their assigned Configuration Group. Standard applications can be deployed and system and user configurations enforced without any further manual steps. The result is a consistent, compliant endpoint from the point of first boot.
Erste Schritte
All three scenarios require a Windows 11 24h2 virtual machine and a XOAP account for ISO creation. Internet access is required on the ISO creator VM and on target devices for Scenarios 1 and 2.
For Scenario 3 with a network share image source, internet access is required on the ISO creator VM but target devices can operate without it during the WinPE phase.
Create your free XOAP account or eine Demo buchen to walk through your specific deployment requirements with the team.
