Checklist for Server Appliance Development
6/22/2010
This checklist helps guide you through the process of creating a server appliance based on Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2008. There are many ways you can approach server-appliance development and the procedures can vary depending on the requirements of your development process.
Prerequisites
To prepare for server appliance development, you must do the following:
- Have access to the Windows OEM Preinstallation Kit (OPK). For more information, see Windows OPK Downloads, Documentation, and Demos.
- Implement your server-appliance system as a hardware-based system. For information about the benefits of using hardware, see Benefits of a Hardware-based Server Appliance.
Steps
The following table shows the process for creating a server appliance.
| Stage | Step | Reference |
|---|---|---|
Planning |
1. Decide whether to use a full installation of Windows Server or a Server Core installation as the operating system for the server appliance. |
|
Planning |
2. Determine a remote management strategy for the server appliance. |
Creating a Remote Management Interface for a Server Appliance |
Planning |
3. Determine the servicing strategy for the server appliance. |
|
Planning |
4. Determine the product activation strategy for the server appliance to ensure that the Windows operating system is validated as a genuine copy. .gif "Ff770030.note(en-US,WinEmbedded.60).gif") Note:
A manufacturer also has the option of using OEM Activation, which is for pre-installed operating systems where the license is purchased by the manufacturer.
|
|
Planning |
5. Use the Windows OPK to install and configure the operating system, including device drivers. |
|
Action |
6. Install applications and customize settings. |
None. |
Action |
7. Disable functionality on the server appliance that is not needed, and restrict changes to the configuration of the server appliance. |
|
Action |
8. Test the server appliance. |
Verify that the server appliance meets your requirements. |
Action |
9. Prepare the operating system partition or volume for manufacturing. After running the sysprep command on a partition, do not start the computer from that partition. Instead, copy the image to another disk and start the computer from that disk. |
See the information about using sysprep and the information about preparing an operating system for replication in Windows OPK Downloads, Documentation, and Demos. |
Action |
10. If you are creating a backup operating system image on the drive, prepare the backup partition or volume for manufacturing in the same way that you prepare the operating system partition. Create the recovery media DVD so that the customer can restore the server appliance to factory-default settings. |
See the information about creating a backup operating system in Windows OPK Downloads, Documentation, and Demos. |