Slipstreaming Hyper-V RTM

Windows Server 2008 shipped with the Beta 1 version of the Hyper-V role. Microsoft will probably provide updated media at some point in the future, but until then, having an ISO with the final version of Hyper-V and the guest integration components slip streamed into the media can drastically simplify your installation experience of the Hyper-V hosts and virtual machines. In this article, I will walk you through the process of using the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) for Windows Server 2008, to slipstream the Hyper-V RTM update and the integration components.

Introduction

Windows Server 2008 provides a new servicing model that allows you to integrate update patches and drivers directly into the Install.wim so they can be installed as part of the primary installation routine. Install.wim actually contains six installation images: Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter using Full Install, and Standard, Enterprise, and Data Center using Server Core Install.

The steps required to create a new Windows Server 2008 ISO that can be used to install either a Hyper-V host or a Windows Server 2008 virtual machine are as follows:

1. Install the WAIK on your machine.
   
2. Extract an RTM Windows Server 2008 DVD to a subdirectory.
   
3. Copy the Install.wim from the subdirectory.
   
4. Mount the Install.wim with imagex.
   
5. Integrate the Hyper-V RTM update with pkgmgr.
   
6. Create a new ISO.

Required Software and Tools

In order to perform the slipstream process you will need the following:

• The Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) to accomplish the slipstreaming
  
  
  
• Windows Server 2008 x64 DVD in physical or ISO format
  
• Hyper-V RTM update file KB950050 x64 version
  
• DVD burner (if you want to create a new physical DVD)

Installing the WAIK

Installing the WAIK is a simple process. You first download the Windows Server 2008 version. You can either burn it to a DVD and install it or use your favorite virtual CD/DVD tool to mount it directly on the host.

Install WAIK by inserting the disk in your machine and the clicking the Windows AIK Setup option on the welcome screen highlighted in Figure 1. 

Figure 1: WAIK Installation Screen

The Installation process is a quick three step process that involves accepting the EULA, accepting the default installation folder, and completing the installation. Once installed, you can exit the dialog by selecting the Exit option on the WAIK welcome screen.

Extract the Windows Server 2008 DVD

Now you need to get a read-write copy of the Windows Server 2008 x64 DVD so that you can update the install.wim with a version you build by slipstreaming the Hyper-V RTM update and integration components.

1. Create a C:\NewWin2008ISO folder on your machine
   
2. Copy all the contents of the Windows Server 2008 DVD to C:\NewWin2008ISO

Extract the Hyper-V RTM Update

In order to integrate the update into the install.wim, you need the cab file from the Windows Update installation package.

1. Download the Hyper-V RTM update for x64 and place it in C:\Hyper-V-Update
   
2. Make a directory called C:\EXTRACT
   
3. Expand the Hyper-V RTM update using the following command line
   expand –F:* C:\Hyper-V-Update\Windows6.0-KB950050-x64.msu C:\extract

Mount the Install.wim to Slipstream Updates

Now you will modify the install.wim file with updates and drivers.  To be safe, you should make a separate copy that you can mount with imagex and modify without modifying the original in the C:\NewWin2008ISO folder.

1. Create a C:\WIM folder on your machine.
   
2. Copy the C:\NewWin2008ISO\SOURCES\INSTALL.WIM to C:\WIM.
   
3. Open an elevated Windows PE Tools command prompt by going to the Microsoft Windows AIK program menu, right clicking the Windows PE Tools Command Prompt option, and selecting Run As Administrator.The install.wim has the following images included with the indicated indexes.

The install.wim has the following images included with the indicated indexes.

Index Number	Name
1	Windows Longhorn SERVERSTANDARD
2	Windows Longhorn SERVERENTERPRISE
3	Windows Longhorn SERVERDATACENTER
4	Windows Longhorn SERVERSTANDARDCORE
5	Windows Longhorn SERVERENTERPRISECORE
6	Windows Longhorn SERVERDATACENTERCORE

You actually need to update each product individually, but I will show you how to do one and you can repeat the process for the other five images if needed.

4. Run the following command to mount the Windows Server 2008 Server Core x64 Enterprise Edition:
   Imagex /mountrw <path to WIM> <WIM image Index> <mount folder>
   Imagex /mountrw C:\WIM\INSTALL.WIM 5 C:\MNT

Integrate the RTM update

Now you can integrate the Hyper-V update cab that you extracted earlier.

1. Integrate the RTM update cab file into the install.wim using pkgmgr.
   start /w pkgmgr /ip /m:C:\extract\Windows6.0-KB950050-x64.cab /o:c:\mnt;c:\mnt\windows /s:%temp%
   Where:
   /ip – install a single package
   /m – path to the extracted package
   /o – offline installation locations: system_drive_path; offline_Windows_directory_path
   /s – Temporary working directory to extract files if required
   Pkgmgr command line reference information.
   
2. Check for success (if the error level is zero, then continue)

                Echo %errorlevel%

3. You can also look in C:\MNT\WINDOWS\SERVICING\PACKAGES and you should see the package files for KB950050 integrated at the bottom of the list.

4. If everything ran successfully, then unmount the install.wim and commit the changes.
   imagex /unmount /commit c:\mnt

Lather, Rinse, and Repeat

Unfortunately, you have only updated one out of the six images in the Install.wim file.  If you want to update all of them, you need to repeat the following processes for each image index:

1. Mount the install.wim using the new image index value.
   
2. Slipstream the Hyper-V update using the pkgmgr tool.
   
3. Unmount and commit the changes.

Build new ISO

Once you have updated all of the images within the install.wim file, it is time to build a new ISO file. The WAIK comes with a nice tool called OSCDIMG to do this and it even allows you to specify the boot file so that the ISO is bootable.

1. Copy the updated C:\WIM\INSTALL.WIM to C:\NewWin2K8ISO\Sources\ , overwriting the existing copy.
   
2. Use the OSCDIMG tool from the WAIK to create a new ISO. Using the elevated Windows PE Tools command prompt.
   Oscdimg –n –m –bc:\NewWindows2008ISO\BOOT\ETFSboot.com C:\NewWindows2008ISO C:\Win2008Hyper-V-RTM.ISO
   
3. Burn the ISO to DVD or place the ISO somewhere it is easy to get to when creating virtual machines.  When you create a new Hyper-V host the RTM update will automatically be installed. When you create a Windows Server 2008 virtual machine using the ISO, the integration components will automatically be installed.

Conclusion

Slipstreaming the Hyper-V RTM update and the integration components can save you valuable installation time and reboots. Following the provided steps will guide you to creating your own custom ISO that has the Hyper-V RTM update integrated. Using the WAIK makes the process simple and can even be automated via a script (although I will leave that up to you to complete).