How to Configure Windows Deployment Services Multicast in Server 2022
Posted on 18th June 2023
Introduction
Windows Deployment Services (WDS) is a technology from Microsoft for deploying Windows operating systems. It captures a Windows image (.wim) from a reference computer and creates a generalized image. This image can be deployed to multiple destination computers. WDS uses the PXE boot method to boot a destination computer from the network and perform an operating system installation.
WDS can be configured to use multicast transmissions. Multicast is a one-to-many or many-to-many communication where a single sender sends a message to a group of receivers. WDS multicast uses the IGMPv3 protocol to manage group membership.
Configure WDS for Multicast
Install the WDS Role
To install the WDS role, follow these steps:
- Open the Server Manager console.
- In the left pane, click Manage and then click Add Roles and Features.
- On the Before you begin page, click Next.
- On the Select installation type page, click Role-based or feature-based installation, and then click Next.
- On the Select destination server page, select the server on which you want to install WDS, and then click Next.
- On the Select server roles page, select the Windows Deployment Services check box, and then click Next.
- On the Confirm installation selections page, click Install.
- On the Installation progress page, wait for the installation to complete, and then click Close.
Configure the WDS Server
To configure the WDS server, follow these steps:
- Open the WDS console.
- In the left pane, expand the Servers node, and then click the ServerName.
- In the ServerName Properties dialog box, click the Multicast tab.
- Select the Enable multicast transmissions check box.
- In the Maximum number of clients box, type the maximum number of clients that can join the multicast transmission, and then click OK.
Create a Multicast Transmission
To create a multicast transmission, follow these steps:
- Open the WDS console.
- In the left pane, expand the Servers node, and then click the ServerName.
- In the ServerName Properties dialog box, click the Transmissions tab.
- In the Transmissions list, click New Transmission.
- In the Create a New Transmission dialog box, do the following:
- In the Name box, type a name for the transmission.
- In the Description box, type a description for the transmission.
- In the Boot image list, click the boot image that you want to use for the transmission.
- In the Install image list, click the install image that you want to use for the transmission.
- Select the Multicast check box.
- Click OK.
Conclusion
In this article, you learned how to configure WDS for multicast and how to create a multicast transmission.
If you want to configure Windows Deployment Services (WDS) to use multicast, you need to take the following steps:
1. In the WDS console, right-click on the server name and select Properties.
2. In the Properties dialog box, select the Transport tab and then select the Multicast check box.
3. If you want to configure WDS to use unicast, clear the Multicast check box.
4. In the WDS console, right-click on the server name and select Configure Server.
5. In the Configure Server Wizard, select the Transport tab and then select the Multicast check box.
6. If you want to configure WDS to use unicast, clear the Multicast check box.
7. Click Finish to close the Configure Server Wizard.
Configuring WDS Multicast in Server 2022
Multicast transmissions are a one-to-many broadcast where a single sender sends a packet to a group of receivers. In a unicast transmission, each receiver gets its own copy of the packet. In a multicast transmission, the packet is sent once but is copied and forwarded to multiple receivers. The advantage of multicast is that it’s more efficient than unicast because the packet only needs to be sent once.
WDS multicast uses the standard IPv4 multicast address range of 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. When configuring WDS for multicast, you need to specify the multicast address and port that WDS will use. The default multicast address is 224.0.0.128 and the default port is UDP port 67.
To configure WDS for multicast, open the WDS console and go to the Properties of the server. On the Multicast tab, select Enable multicast and then enter the multicast address and port that you want to use.
Once you’ve configured WDS for multicast, you need to configure your clients to use multicast. To do this, open the Control Panel and go to Network and Sharing Center. Click Change adapter settings and then right-click on your network adapter and select Properties.
Click the IPv4 or IPv6 protocol and then click Properties. On the General tab, check the box next to Use the following multicast IP address and enter the multicast address that you configured on the WDS server. On the Memberships tab, check the box next to Include all members of the multicast group and click OK.
Now that you’ve configured WDS for multicast and your clients to use multicast, you’re ready to start using WDS multicast.
Configuring Windows Deployment Services Multicast in Server 2022
1. Open the WDS console and expand the server name.
2. Right-click on Multicast Transmissions and select Configure Multicast…
3. On the General page, select Enable this Multicast Transmission.
4. In the Name field, type in a name for this multicast transmission.
5. In the Description field, type in a description for this multicast transmission.
6. In the Maximum number of clients field, type in the maximum number of clients that can receive this multicast transmission.
7. On the Transmission page, select the images that you want to include in this multicast transmission.
8. On the PXE Response tab, select the Do not respond to any client PXE requests check box.
9. On the Boot Options tab, select the Enable boot images to be downloaded over HTTP check box.
10. On the Advanced tab, select the Enable multicast on all available network adapters check box.
11. Click on the OK button to save the changes.
