Hydration Kit for Windows Server 2022, SQL Server 2019 and ConfigMgr Current Branch

This kit builds a complete ConfigMgr Current Branch 2403 infrastructure running on Windows Server 2022 and SQL Server 2019, including optional Windows 10 and Windows 11 clients. This kit is tested on both Hyper-V and VMware virtual platforms, but should work fine on other virtualization platforms like Virtual Box, KVM etc.

Download from GitHub: https://github.com/DeploymentResearch/HydrationKitWS2022

Hydration Kit Video: Check out the free mini course at the ViaMonstra Online Academy covering the Hydration Kit setup (and many other tips and tricks related for creating a lab for ConfigMgr, MDT and Intune): Building the Perfect Lab for ConfigMgr, MDT, and Intune.

Credits: Special thanks to Sven Aelterman for creating the script for configuring SQL Server Reporting Services, and for graciously allowing me to include it in the hydration kit.

Notes

Customizations: This hydration kit install all servers in the corp.viamonstra.com domain, on the 192.168.25.0/24 network. If you rather use your own domain, different IP addresses etc. check out the Next Step – Customizing the Hydration Kit section in the end of this post for instructions on how to customize this kit. That being said, I recommend getting to know the kit using the default names if you can.

Internal network and Internet Access: Since one of the virtual machines (DC01) is also a DHCP Server, its highly recommended to deploy the virtual machines on an internal virtual network, and then use the NAT feature in either Hyper-V or VMware to give the virtual machines Internet access. For super-easy Internet access on Hyper-V, while still having the VMs on an isolated network, read this shiny post from Ami Arwidmark (@AArwidmark):

• Setting Up New Networking Features in Hyper-V for Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016/2019
  https://deploymentresearch.com/558/Setting-Up-New-Networking-Features-in-Server-2016.

Advanced networking: For more complex networks (multiple sites, bandwidth throttling etc.), you may want to use a virtual router. More info here:

• Using a virtual router for your lab and test environment
  https://deploymentresearch.com/285/Using-a-virtual-router-for-your-lab-and-test-environment

Hydration Kit Archive: Are you looking for the previous hydration kits for Windows Server 2016 or Windows Server 2019? Look no further, they are right here:

• Hydration Kit for Windows Server 2016 and ConfigMgr Current / Technical Preview Branch
  https://deploymentresearch.com/hydration-kit-for-windows-server-2016-and-configmgr-current-technical-preview-branch/
• Hydration Kit for Windows Server 2019 and ConfigMgr Current Branch
  https://www.deploymentresearch.com/hydration-kit-for-windows-server-2019-sql-server-2017-and-configmgr-current-branch/

Hydration Kit for Windows Server 2022 and ConfigMgr Current Branch

So, again, this Kit builds a complete ConfigMgr Current Branch 2403, with Windows Server 2019 and SQL Server 2019 infrastructure, and some supporting servers. Once the build is complete, I recommend that you use the native ConfigMgr servicing option to update to latest release or Hotfix if available.

Servers

This kit allows you to automatically deploy the below list of servers. The server you really need to build first is DC01, since that's the domain controller, and the CM01 server will join the domain. Turns out joining a domain is tricky without a domain controller 🙂

Main servers

• DC01. Windows Server 2022, DC, DHCP and DNS
• CM01. Windows Server 2022, SQL Server 2019, and ConfigMgr Current Branch

Optional supporting servers 

• MDT01. Windows Server 2022, SQL Server 2019 Express, and MDT 8456
• FS01. Windows Server 2022, File Server
• DP01. Windows Server 2022, additional ConfigMgr DP

Clients

This kit also allows you to automatically deploy the below list of clients for management.

• PC001. Windows 10 Enterprise
• PC002. Windows 10 Enterprise
• PC003. Windows 11 Enterprise
• PC004. Windows 11 Enterprise

Setup Overview

Shorthand, to build the virtual machines there are five main steps you need to do:

1. Download the necessary software
2. Install the Hydration Kit
3. Copy the downloaded software to the Hydration Kit
4. Create the bootable Hydration Kit ISO
5. Create and Deploy the virtual machines

Note: Detailed instructions are further down this page… See the Step-by-Step Guides section.

Step-by-Step Guides 

Step 1 – Download the software

On the Windows machine (client or server) that you use to manage Hyper-V or VMware, create a folder for all the software needed, for example C:\Setup.

Then, for the main servers (DC01 and CM01), you need to download the following software:

• The Hydration Kit: https://github.com/DeploymentResearch/HydrationKitWS2022
• MDT 8456 (The kit is based on that platform): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=54259
• MDT 8456 Hotfix: https://download.microsoft.com/download/3/0/6/306AC1B2-59BE-43B8-8C65-E141EF287A5E/KB4564442/MDT_KB4564442.exe
• BGInfo: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bginfo
• A Windows Server 2022 Standard WIM image (single index, fully updated). The easiest way to get one is to download an already updated Windows Server 2022 ISO file, and then run this PowerShell script: https://github.com/DeploymentResearch/DRFiles/blob/master/Scripts/Export-WindowsServer2022WIMfromISO.ps1
• SQL Server 2019 Standard x64: Either a fully licensed version from VLSC or MSDN, or a 180 days trial version from the Microsoft Evaluation Center: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/
• SQL Server 2019 Cumulative Update (CU) 16 (or later): https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=100809 (ConfigMgr only requires CU 5 for SQL Server 2019, but I recommend using the latest CU).
• SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=100122
• SQL Server Management Studio: https://aka.ms/ssmsfullsetup
• Microsoft ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server (x64): https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/connect/odbc/download-odbc-driver-for-sql-server
• ConfigMgr 2403 and its prerequisites: Either a fully licensed version from VLSC or MSDN, or a 180 days trial version from the Microsoft Evaluation Center: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter

Note: To download the ConfigMgr prerequisites, you run the SMSSETUP\BIN\X64\setupdl.exe application from the ConfigMgr installation files and simply provide a folder for the download.

Windows ADK for Windows 11and the ADK WinPE Addon for Windows 11 22H2: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/get-started/adk-install

Note #1: Make sure to get the 22H2 version of the Windows ADK for Windows 11 (Build 22621), not the newer versions: 23H2 (Build 25398) or 24H2 (Build 26100).

Note #2: To download the complete standalone Windows ADK for Windows 11 setup, run adksetup.exe /layout "C:\Setup\Windows ADK 11" for the core ADK, and then adkwinpesetup.exe /layout "C:\Setup\Windows ADK 11 WinPE Addon" for the WinPE Addon.

Optional Servers

The FS01 and DP01 optional servers don't need any extra software, but for the MDT01 server, you also need to download the following software:

• SQL Server 2019 Express: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/Download/details.aspx?id=101064
  
  Note: Use the SQL2019-SSEI-Expr.exe web installer to download the Express Core media (SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe)

Optional Clients

For the optional clients, you also need to download the following software:

• A Windows 10 Enterprise WIM image (single index, fully updated). The easiest way to get one is to download an already updated Windows 10 ISO file, and then run this PowerShell script: https://github.com/DeploymentResearch/DRFiles/blob/master/Scripts/Export-Windows10EnterpriseWIMFromISO.ps1
• A Windows 11 Enterprise WIM image (single index, fully updated). The easiest way to get one is to download an already updated Windows 11 ISO file, and then run this PowerShell script: https://github.com/DeploymentResearch/DRFiles/blob/master/Scripts/Export-Windows11EnterpriseWIMFromISO.ps1

Step 2 – Install the Hydration Kit

Installing the Hydration Kit requires that you first install Windows ADK and the Windows ADK WinPE Addon. The kit has been tested with both Windows ADK 10 and Windows ADK 11 22H2, but to get full support for Windows 11, I recommend using the Windows ADK 11 22H2 version since it supports all currently supported operating systems.

Note: Again, please do not use Windows ADK for Windows 11 22H2. It's not supported by MDT 8456.

Installing Hydration Kit Prerequisites

1. On the Windows machine that you use to manage Hyper-V or VMware, install Windows ADK 11 22H2 (adksetup.exe) selecting only the following components:

• Deployment Tools
• Imaging and Configuration Designer (ICD)
• Configuration Designer
• User State Migration Tool (USMT)

Note: The last three are not used by the hydration kit, but are still quite useful to have, so I usually install them too.     

2. Install Windows ADK 11 WinPE Addon (adkwinpesetup.exe) with the default settings.

Note: Because the Windows ADK for Windows 11 does not include the 32-bit (x86) version of Windows PE, you'll need to create an empty x86\WinPE_OCs folder structure in the Windows ADK folder. MDT doesn't use, but still looks for, this directory.

More information can be found in this blog post: https://www.deploymentresearch.com/windows-11-deployment-using-mdt-8456-with-windows-adk-23h2-build-25398/

3. Install MDT 8456 (MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit_x64.msi) with the default settings.   

4. Install the MDT 8456 HotFix.

Note: Due to a code change in Windows 10 2004 or later (including Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022), and Windows ADK 10 2004 and later, you need to download some updated files for MDT 8456. You can download these files here: https://download.microsoft.com/download/3/0/6/306AC1B2-59BE-43B8-8C65-E141EF287A5E/KB4564442/MDT_KB4564442.exe

4a. Download the MDT 8456 HotFix(MDT_KB4564442.exe), and extract it to a folder. I extracted it to C:\Setup\MDT 8456 HotFix.

4b. Copy the x86 version of the new Microsoft.BDD.Utility.dll from C:\Setup\MDT 8456 HotFix\x86 to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Deployment Toolkit\Templates\Distribution\Tools\x86. Replace the existing file.

4c. Copy the x64 version of the new Microsoft.BDD.Utility.dll from C:\Setup\MDT 8456 HotFix\x64 to C:\Program Files\Microsoft Deployment Toolkit\Templates\Distribution\Tools\x64. Replace the existing file.

Installing the Hydration Kit

1. Extract the content from the Hydration Kit download to a folder, for example C:\Setup\HydrationKit.

The folder you used should now have a sub-folder named Source, two PowerShell scripts, a readme file and a license file.

2. In an elevated PowerShell command prompt, navigate to the C:\Setup\HydrationKit folder, and create the hydration deployment share by running the following command:  

.\New-HydrationKitSetup.ps1 -Path C:\CMLab -ShareName CMLab

3. Open the Deployment Workbench, and look around. You should see applications, operating systems, and task sequences etc.

Step 3 – Copy the downloaded software to the Hydration Kit

Next step is to start copying the various installation files to the correct folder.

1. Copy your Windows Server 2022 reference image (have to be named REFWS2022-001.wim, case sensitive), to the following folder: C:\CMLab\DS\Operating SystemsWS2022

Note #1: The WIM image should only have a single index with the Windows Server 2022 with Desktop Experience edition. Please use the script mentioned earlier to extract the correct index from a Windows Server 2022 ISO file.

Note #2: If your VMs does not have Internet access during the Hydration Kit build, make sure to also copy the microsoft-windows-netfx3-ondemand-package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~~.cab file to the following folder: C:\CMLab\DS\Operating Systems\WS2022\sources\sxs. Failing to do so will prevent .NET Framework 3.5 from being installed if the VM does not have Internet access.

2. Copy the BGInfo file (bginfo.exe) to the following folder: C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – BGInfo\Source

3. Copy the Windows ADK 11 setup files (1.6 GB) to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – Windows ADK 11\Source

4. Copy the Windows ADK 11 WinPE Addon setup files (3 GB) to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – Windows ADK 11 WinPE Addon\Source

5. Copy the SQL Server 2019 Standard x64 setup files (the content of the ISO, not the actual ISO) to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – SQL Server 2019\Source

6. In the C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – SQL Server 2019\Source folder, create a subfolder named Updates, and copy the latest SQL Server 2019 CU setup file to it (CU 14 when I wrote this guide).

7. Copy the SQL Server Management Studio setup file to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – SQL Server Management Studio

8. Copy the SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services setup file to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – SQL Server 2019 Reporting Services\Source

9. Copy the Microsoft ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server (x64) setup file to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – Microsoft ODBC Driver 18

Microsoft ODBC Driver 18 for SQL Server (x64) setup files copied.

10. Copy the ConfigMgr 2403 setup files (extract the download) to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – ConfigMgr\Source

11. Copy the ConfigMgr 2403 PreReqs setup files to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – ConfigMgr\PreReqs

12. Copy your Windows 10 reference image (must be named REFW10X64-001.wim, case sensitive), to the following folder: C:\CMLab\DS\Operating Systems\Windows 10

Note #1: The WIM image should only have a single index with the Windows 10 Enterprise edition. Please use the script to extract the correct index from a Windows 10 ISO file.

The Windows 10 Enterprise image copied.

13. Copy your Windows 11 reference image (must be named REFW11X64-001.wim, case sensitive), to the following folder: C:\CMLab\DS\Operating Systems\Windows 11

Note #1: The WIM image should only have a single index with the Windows 11 Enterprise edition. Please use the script to extract the correct index from a Windows 11 ISO file.

The Windows 11 Enterprise image copied.

Optional – Populate the hydration deployment share with files for MDT01

Note: These steps are only needed if you want to deploy the optional MDT01 virtual machine. If you don't need this VM, simply skip to the next section: "Create the Hydration Kit ISO (MDT offline media item)"

1. Copy the SQL Server 2019 Express setup file (SQLEXPR_x64_ENU.exe) to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – SQL Server 2019 Express\Source

2. Copy the MDT 8456 setup file (MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit_x64.msi) to the following folder:
C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – MDT

Step 4 – Create the bootable Hydration Kit ISO (MDT offline media item)

1. Using Deployment Workbench (available on the Start screen), expand Deployment Shares, and expand Hydration ConfigMgr.   

2. Expand the Advanced Configuration node, and then select the Media node.   

3. In the right pane, right-click the MEDIA001 item, and select Update Media Content.

Note: The media update will take a while to run, a perfect time for a coffee break.

After the media update you will have a big ISO (HydrationCMWS2022.iso) in the C:\CMLab\ISO folder. The HydrationCMWS2022.iso should be about 14-16 GB in size (size will vary a bit depending on your Windows Server 2022 image and software added).

Step 5 – Create and Deploy the virtual machines

First, all accounts, including Administrator, have a password of P@ssw0rd. Secondly, you either create your VM manually, and connect them to the Hydration Kit ISO. Or you can automate that process to with a bit of PowerShell.

Creating the Virtual Machines via PowerShell

If you want a PowerShell script that creates these VMs for Hyper-V, use New-LabVMsForHyperV.ps1 script from the C:\Setup\HydrationKit folder. The syntax for the scripts is as follows:

.\New-LabVMsForHyperV.ps1 -VMLocation C:\VMs -VMNetwork Internal -ISO C:\CMLab\ISO\HydrationCMWS2022.iso

Note: If using Hyper-V, do Not configure the virtual machines for dynamic memory. If you do, the installation will take a very long time. Dynamic memory can be enabled when installation (hydration) is completed.

Deploying DC01

Using Hyper-V Manager or VMware Workstation/Sphere, create a virtual machine with the following settings:

• Name: DC01
• CPU: 2 vCPU
• Hard drive: 100 GB (dynamic disk)
• Memory: 2 GB (static memory)
• Network: Your lab network
• Image file (ISO): C:\CMLab\ISO\HydrationCMWS2022.iso

1. Start the DC01 virtual machine. After booting from HydrationCMWS2022.iso , and after WinPE has loaded, select the DC01 task sequence.   
2. Wait until the setup is complete and you see the Hydration Complete message in the final summary.   
3. Leave DC01 running while deploying the CM01 virtual machine.

Deploying CM01

Once the domain controller (DC01) is up and running, you can deploy the CM01 virtual machine. Don't forget to leave DC01 running while deploying CM01 since it is joining the domain during deployment. Use the following settings for the CM01 virtual machine:

• Name: CM01
• CPU: 4 vCPU
• Hard drive: 300 GB (dynamic disk)
• Memory: 16 GB (static memory)
• Network: Your lab network
• Image file (ISO): C:\CMLab\ISO\HydrationCMWS2022.iso

Post configuration of CM01

After deploying CM01, make sure the machine has access to Internet. Again either via Configure NAT in Hyper-V or VMware, or by setting up a virtual router.

Then, in the Administration workspace, in the Updates and Servicing node. Click Check for Updates, and then install the latest updates available. Don't forget to do a final reboot after applying the updates, there is usually a pending reboot caused by the upgrade process.

Deploying MDT01 (Optional)

Once the domain controller (DC01) is up and running, you can deploy the optional MDT01 virtual machine. Don't forget to leave DC01 running while deploying MDT01 since it is joining the domain during deployment. Use the following settings for the MDT01 virtual machine:

• Name: MDT01
• CPU: 2 vCPU
• Hard drive: 300 GB (dynamic disk)
• Memory: 4 GB (static memory)
• Network: Your lab network
• Image file (ISO): C:\CMLab\ISO\HydrationCMWS2022.iso

Deploying DP01 (Optional)

Once the domain controller (DC01) is up and running, you can deploy the optional DP01 virtual machine. Don't forget to leave DC01 running while deploying DP01 since it is joining the domain during deployment. Use the following settings for the DP01 virtual machine:

• Name: DP01
• CPU: 2 vCPU
• Hard drive: 300 GB (dynamic disk)
• Memory: 4 GB (static memory)
• Network: Your lab network
• Image file (ISO): C:\CMLab\ISO\HydrationCMWS2022.iso

Deploying FS01 (Optional)

Once the domain controller (DC01) is up and running, you can deploy the optional FS01 virtual machine. Don't forget to leave DC01 running while deploying FS01 since it is joining the domain during deployment. Use the following settings for the FS01 virtual machine:

• Name: FS01
• CPU: 2 vCPU
• Hard drive: 300 GB (dynamic disk)
• Memory: 4 GB (static memory)
• Network: Your lab network
• Image file (ISO): C:\CMLab\ISO\HydrationCMWS2022.iso

Deploying PC0001-4 (Optional)

Once the domain controller (DC01) is up and running, you can deploy the optional PC0001-4 virtual machine(s). Don't forget to leave DC01 running while deploying PC0001-4 since they are joining the domain during deployment. Use the following settings for the PC0001-4 virtual machine(s):

• Name: PC0001 / PC0002 / PC0003 / PC0004
• CPU: 2 vCPU
• Hard drive: 60 GB (dynamic disk)
• Memory: 4 GB (static memory)
• Network: Your lab network
• Image file (ISO): C:\CMLab\ISO\HydrationCMWS2022.iso

Next Steps – Optional Post-ConfigMgr Install Tasks

This kit has pre-configured steps that can automatically install Configuration Manager roles depending on the goals for your lab. These steps are disabled by default and if no customizations were made to the kit, they can be enabled without adjustment.

Optional Post-ConfigMgr Install Tasks

Currently, the kit supports the following tasks:

• Reporting Services Point
• Software Update Point

Reporting Services Point credentials and SSRS Instance can be updated in the following file:

• C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – ConfigMgr Reporting Services Point\HYDCMRSPConfig.PS1

Software Update Point requires additional tasks to be enabled:

• Install – WSUS
• Configure – WSUS Settings
  • Settings based on Invoke-WSUSConfiguration.ps1
  • More information at Fixing WSUS – When the Best Defense is a Good Offense

WSUSContent directory and SQL Server config can be updated in the following file:

• C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – WSUS\HYDWSUSConfig.ps1

Note: The first sync of WSUS always takes some time. It may be several hours before new products are shown in the site's Software Update Point configuration. You can track WSUS synchronization by viewing WSyncMgr.log on CM01.

Next Steps – Customizing the Hydration Kit:

Below is a quick walk through of items to change if you need to customize the kit.  For a broader scope, please see the post Customizing the ViaMonstra Hydration Kit.

If you need to change server names, IP addresses, domain names, installation, passwords, etc. in the environment, the main configuration is stored in the various INI files in the C:\CMLab\ISO\Content\Deploy\Control folder.

Note: Again, by default, all accounts, including Administrator, have a password of P@ssw0rd.

For the ConfigMgr (CM01) VM you need to update the following files:

• C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Install – ConfigMgr\ConfigMgrUnattend.ini
• C:\CMLab\ISO\Content\Deploy\Control\CustomSettings_CM01.ini

If you need to change the various service accounts, you need to modify the Configure-CreateADStructure.wsf script in the C:\CMLab\DS\Applications\Configure – Create AD Structure
folder.

Customizing with a script

With a huge thanks to Matt Bennigne, a customization script called CustomizeHydrationKit.ps1 has been updated and added to the Server 2022 kit for the first time! This script assists in changing many of the customizable parameters of the Hydration Kit, including IP addresses, domain name, time zone, and passwords.

In addition, the script will make a copy of the original configuration so that you can easily revert your changes. Upon rerunning the script on a customized Deployment Share, the script will revert all files to the original copies before applying your changes again.

Written by Johan Arwidmark