Windows 2008 server and deployment

Question

I am experimenting with the deployment role in Windows Server 2008 R2 (Windows Deployment Services). It is easy to deploy an OS to a client since it is already a WIM file. But how do you deploy an executable or drivers file to a client?

Answer 1

You might want to take a look at Managing and Deploying Driver Packages. It explains how to deploy driver packages.

Answer 2

Couple things you can do.

1. Extract the inf. based driver from the EXE and then integrate accordingly.
2. Use a tool like Microsoft Deployment Toolkit ("MDT") or SCCM OSD to sequence the package installation in during deployment.
3. Manually install the driver package and then sysprep/recapture the OS back into a WIM and deploy.

The best option I would shoot for is leveraging a tool. The tool can have additional logic to handle packages during installation and also provides reporting afterwards to determine if the deployment was a success or not.