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Copy file name to clipboardExpand all lines: _posts/2025-04-14-Cobbler-v3.3.7-Windows-Deployment-Guide.md
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@@ -186,27 +186,25 @@ The **PXE Client** VM can now be powered on, and should automatically boot to PX
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1. The [Cobbler 3.3.6 Beginner's Guide](/blog/2024/Cobbler-v3.3.6-Beginners-Guide/)**Tips & Troubleshooting** section contains some basic recommendations and limitations of Cobbler which will not be repeated here.
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1. It's important to understand how Cobbler manages Windows distros and deployments *by default*, as there are certain limitations and implications not present with other distros.
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1. It's important to understand how Cobbler manages Windows distros and deployments *by default*, as there are certain implicit limitations not present with other distros.
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- Cobbler has 3 main templates for Windows distro management, all located in `/etc/cobbler/windows` directory, instead of the usual `/var/lib/cobbler/templates` and `/var/lib/cobbler/scripts` directories
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- Cobbler has 3 main templates for Windows distro management, all located in `/etc/cobbler/windows` directory (instead of the usual `/var/lib/cobbler/templates` and `/var/lib/cobbler/scripts` directories), which effectively limit Windows deployments to `cobbler profile` level customizations
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-`startnet.template`: Generates "startnet.cmd" which gets archived/compressed into the WinPE Windows image (loaded from PXE) in order to start `setup.exe` on the PXE client with the associated Answerfile
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-`startnet.template`: Generates "startnet.cmd" which gets archived/compressed into the WinPE image (loaded from PXE) in order to start Windows`setup.exe` on the PXE client with the associated Answerfile
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-`answerfile.template`: Generates "autounattended.xml" answerfile with **profile** attributes to be retrieved over SMB by PXE clients for unattended installations.
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-`post_ins_cmd.template`: Generates "post_install.cmd" which is used in the Answerfile to retrieve the `autoinstall` file (post-install script) defined for the **profile**
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- By default, the autoinstall file (post-install script) `/var/lib/cobbler/templates/win.ks` has no effect.
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- The `autoinstall-meta` parameters *(used to specify the boot files as well as above answerfile and post_install templates, as well as set firmware/partitioning mode and download method)* can be configured at the `cobbler system` (or `profile`) level and given unique names to generate different files for use by diffrent profiles or systems, but neither the `answerfile.template` or `post_inst_cmd.template` files are system-level aware, they only consist of **profile-level** settings.
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- The `autoinstall-meta` parameters *(used to specify the boot files and how to download them, answerfile and post_install templates if performing unattended install, as well as set firmware/partitioning mode)* can be configured at the `cobbler system` (or `profile`) level and given unique names to generate different files for use by diffrent profiles or systems, but neither the `answerfile.template` or `post_inst_cmd.template` files are system-level aware, they only consist of **profile-level** settings.
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-There is no way to provide the Windows Answerfile in boot/kernel parameters like many linux distros
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-Windows is limited in the [ways to provide an Answerfile](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-setup-automation-overview#implicit-answer-file-search-order), it cannot be specified in boot/kernel parameters like many linux distros
- Only MAC address and other DHCP-related options are used from *Windows*`cobbler system` items (as well as `autoinstall-meta` parameters mentioned above, which have limited functionality for Systems).
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- Only MAC address and other DHCP-related options are used from *Windows*`cobbler system` items.
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- This is all only *default* behavior in cobbler, and it would be possible to program additional logic into the `startnet.cmd` or `post_install.cmd` to, for instance, retrieve a diffent answerfile or post-install script based on the hostname (configuratble through DHCP), but that would come with additional limitations and requirements beyond the scope of this guide.
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- This is all only *default* behavior in cobbler, and it would be possible to program additional logic into the `startnet.cmd` or `post_install.cmd` to, for instance, retrieve a diffent answerfile or post-install script based on the hostname (configuratble through DHCP) or MAC address, for instance, but that would come with additional limitations and requirements beyond the scope of this guide.
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