Preparing Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Server for use on NVMe / Skylake systems

Table of Contents:

1. Preparation
2. Creating the Acronis Windows PE image
3. Preparing Master Images
4. Creating OS Templates for Deployment
5. Create a new Deployment Task
6. Deploying the captured image to systems

1. Preparation

Perform the following steps before preparing Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Server for use on Non-Volatile Memory express (NVMe)/Skylake systems.

1. Install Windows Server 2012 R2
2. Install DHCP
3. Install Acronis Snap Deploy 5

2. Creating the Acronis Windows PE image:

1. Open Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Management Console (See Figure 1.)
   
   
   Figure 1. - Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Management Console
2. Select Tools
3. Select Create PE image (See Figure 2.)
    
   NOTE: Currently in version 1660, the Linux kernel of Acronis does not have the necessary NVMe drivers. PE does if configured correctly.
   
   
   Figure 2. - Creation of the PE image
4. Select Create WinPE automatically
5. Select Create 64-bit media (See Figure 3.)
   
   
   Figure 3. - Creation of 64-bit media
6. Select Network Settings
7. Enter the Server IP
8. Select Acronis PXE Server: (See Figure 4.)
   
   
   Figure 4. - Selecting the Acronis PXE Server
9. Specify the drivers for network and storage: WINPE10.0-DRIVERS-A03-2K3RC\Winpe\x64 (See figures 5 & 6)
   
   
   Figure 5. - Specifying drivers in the PE build
   
   Figure 6. - Summary of the PE build
10. Verify PE Media is in PXE Server: (See Figure 7.)
    
    
    Figure 7. - Verifying the PE Media

3. Preparing Master Images

1. PXE boot to the Acronis Snap Deploy Server on the machine you are creating the image from (Sysprep the image first).
   
   
   Figure 8. - PXE Network Boot using IPv4
2. Select Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Master Image Creator
   
   
   Figure 9. - Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Master Image Creator
3. Select all partitions listed
   
   
   Figure 10. - Disk and Volume Options
4. Select a location for the image to be stored (the image must be accessible to the Acronis Server and the client system)
   
   
   Figure 11. - Stored Image Location
5. Select Splitting, enter 2048 to split the image into 2GB sections (this is necessary for FAT32 keys, etc)
   
   
   Figure 12. - Imaging Optiosn Review
6. Repeat steps 1-5 with Windows 10/8.1/7 (all should be using UEFI mode)

4. Creating OS Templates for Deployment

1. Go to the Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Management Console
2. Select Action
3. Select Manage Templates
   
   
   Figure 13. - Manage Templates
4. Select Create New
   
   
   Figure 14. - Create New Template
5. Select Create a new template
6. Select the previously captured image:
   
   
   Figure 15. - New Template Deployment Wizard
7. Select all partitions
   
   
   Figure 16. - All Partitions
8. Select Network utilization
9. Select Unicast
10. Enable Acronis Universal Deploy
11. Select Search removable media for device drivers
12. Select Search for device drivers in the following locations
13. Select Add

    Windows 10 example:
    \\dcvbox\DCSHARE\CABS\WinPE10.0-Drivers-A01-6XFM6\winpe\x64\
    
    Windows 7 example:
    \\dcvbox\DCSHARE\CABS\WINPE3.0-DRIVERS-A20-CT5DP\winpe\x64\

14. Select Install the following drivers under Specify mass storage drivers to install anyway
15. Add the following:

    C:\DCSHARE\ape\iastor\Serial-ATA_Driver_PFJ82_WN32_14.8.9.1053_A06\Drivers\Production\Windows10-x64\iaAHCIC.inf
    C:\DCSHARE\ape\iastor\Serial-ATA_Driver_PFJ82_WN32_14.8.9.1053_A06\Drivers\Production\Windows10-x64\iaStorAC.inf

    
    
    Figure 17. - Mass Storage Drivers
16. Name the Deployment Template for your OS and Boot type (W10x64 UEFI for this example)
17. Repeat the same process for Windows 7/8.1/10
18. Click Save

5. Create a new Deployment Task

1. Select Deployment Tasks
2. Select Create
   
   
   Figure 18. - Deployment Tasks
3. Specify the machines to deploy to
4. Select the Deployment Template previously created:
   
   
   Figure 19. - Select Deployment Template
5. Type in the name of the OS in Task Name
   
   
   Figure 20. - OS Name

6. Deploying the captured image to systems

1. PXE boot to Acronis Snap Deploy 5
2. Select Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Agent
   
   
   Figure 21. - Acronis Snap Deploy 5 Agent
3. The deployment should start automatically
   
   
   Figure 22. - Acronis Deployment Started