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OS Deployment
BigFix OS Deployment, which is part of the BigFix Lifecycle Management suite, provides a consolidated, comprehensive solution to quickly deploy new workstations and servers throughout a network from a single, centralized location. This solution saves time and money, enforces a standardized and approved image, and reduces risks associated with non-compliant or insecure configurations.
Configuring the OS Deployment Environment
To start working with OS Deployment, run the configuration Fixlets and tasks listed in the Setup Node.
Configuring the DHCP server
To connect targets to the OS Deployment server, you might need to configure the DHCP server based on the characteristics of your network.
Setting DHCP Option 60

OS Deployment
BigFix OS Deployment, which is part of the BigFix Lifecycle Management suite, provides a consolidated, comprehensive solution to quickly deploy new workstations and servers throughout a network from a single, centralized location. This solution saves time and money, enforces a standardized and approved image, and reduces risks associated with non-compliant or insecure configurations.
- Product overview
- Configuring the OS Deployment Environment
  To start working with OS Deployment, run the configuration Fixlets and tasks listed in the Setup Node.
  - Update Server Whitelist for OS Deployment
  - Managing the Linux Image provider
    The Linux Image provider component is needed for reimaging Linux systems in your environment and it can be installed on Windows computers only.
  - Managing Bare Metal OS Deployment Servers
    The Bare Metal Server Manager dashboard manages the installation, upgrade, and uninstallation of Bare Metal OS Deployment servers.
  - Ports used by the Bare Metal OS Deployment Server
    To ensure correct communication, check the ports used for the different deployment scenarios.
  - Configuring the DHCP server
    To connect targets to the OS Deployment server, you might need to configure the DHCP server based on the characteristics of your network.
    - Setting DHCP Option 43
      Option 43 (Class identifier) allows you to inform the target that the location of the PXE server is known.
    - Setting DHCP Option 60
    - Setting DHCP Option 66 and 67
  - Deploying the Management Extender for Bare Metal Targets
    You can manage Bare Metal Targets from the BigFix infrastructure by installing and using the Management Extender for Bare Metal targets.
  - Activating Analyses
  - Health Checks Dashboard
  - Verifying Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-256) readiness
    BigFix version 9.1 uses the SHA-256 hashing algorithm to increase file exchange security. OS Deployment manages file exchange within the application flows using SHA-256.
- Managing MDT Bundles and Deployment Media for Windows targets
  To perform OS Deployment of Windows operating systems, you prepare your deployment environment and resources using the Bundle and Media Manager Dashboard.
- Managing Drivers for Windows Deployments
  The Manage Images and Drivers node includes tasks to prepare and import drivers for deployment to Windows targets.
- Managing Linux OS Resources and Deployment Media
  You can import Linux OS Resources needed to create network boot media and to capture and deploy Linux images
- Managing Images
  The Manage Images and Drivers node includes tasks to capture, import and manage images for deployment to targets.
- Upload Mode
  By default, the OS images are permanently stored in the BigFix root server.
- Reimaging
  Reimaging is the process of saving the user state on a computer, installing a new image on it, and then restoring the user state.
- Installing Windows 10 or Windows 11 using in-place upgrade
  To upgrade your existing Windows systems to Windows 10 or Windows 11 you can use the in-place upgrade fixlets.
- Bare Metal deployments
  You can install and manage BigFix for OS Deployment servers and create profiles for bare metal deployments.
- Monitoring Deployment Activities
  You can track and monitor all deployment activities in your Endpoint Management network.
- Maintenance and troubleshooting
  You can monitor deployment activities, correct exceptions and adjust configuration settings specific to your environment through dashboards and tasks available for these purposes.
- Setting up OS Deployment in an air-gapped network
  You can choose to configure your OS Deployment and Bare Metal Imaging site in an air-gapped network.
- Deprecated and Superseded functionalities
  This topic lists the functionalities that are still present in OSD, but are deprecated.
- Create Ubuntu OS Resources manually

Setting DHCP Option 60

Option 60 (Class identifier) allows you to inform the target that the location of the PXE server is known.

Adding DHCP option 60 to Windows DHCP server

By default, option 60 is not set on Windows. If the OS deployment server is running on the same host as the DHCP server, you have to add this option and set its value to PXEClient in order to tell PXE clients where to find the OS deployment server.

Follow these steps to add option 60 on Windows:

Open a command window (select Start > Run > cmd)
Type netsh
Type dhcp
Type server \\<servername> or server <ip_address>
You then see a command prompt that says: dhcp server>
Type add optiondef 60 PXEClient STRING 0 comment=option added for PXE support
Type set optionvalue 60 STRING PXEClient
To confirm that everything has been set correctly, type show optionvalue all

Adding DHCP option 60 to a host with ISC DHCP server

If you are using the ISC DHCP server 2.0, you can add the DHCP option 60 to a group of targets or to a single target by adding the statement option dhcp-class-identifier "PXEClient"; to a section of the configuration file. If you were using option 43 (vendor-encapsulated-options) for another PXE application, remove it for BigFix for OS Deployment targets.

The modifications to perform on a ISC DHCP server 3.0 are the same as for a 2.0 server, but the names differ:

Add vendor-class-identifier "PXEClient"; for the targets running BigFix for OS Deployment
Remove any occurrences of option space PXE; if you were running another PXE application.

Note: The OS deployment server responds to all requests, including requests originating from unknown targets.

Note: If the flag Completely ignore unknown targets is set for the server, it only responds to discovery requests originating from known targets. You can specify either the IP address or the Ethernet address in the target list. At this stage, the IP address of the remote-boot target is known.