Chapter 13. Advanced deployment of Windows with ConfigMgr and MDT
Before you head-butt the monitor (again), take a deep breath and fear not. You’ve already covered the fundamentals of deploying Windows with ConfigMgr. The purpose of this chapter is to unlock advanced deployment scenarios by integrating the Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) with ConfigMgr so that you can take what you’ve already learned and run with it, as shown in figure 13.1.
“What are the benefits of integrating MDT and ConfigMgr?” I hear you ask. By using both products together during your Windows deployments, you get access to all the features of both. MDT brings features to the table including extra task sequence variables and user-driven (Lite Touch) installations. Integrating it with ConfigMgr means that you can use MDT’s deployment capabilities while still using the power and infrastructure of ConfigMgr.
Yes, you can deploy Windows by using pure ConfigMgr (as you did in chapter 12), but pretty much every organization that uses ConfigMgr for operating system deployment also uses MDT integration. You’re overwhelmingly likely to encounter this in every environment outside a lab.