The Hydration Kit for ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 (with Windows Server 2012 / SQL Server 2012) is available for download

NOTE: This Hydration kit has been updated, you probably want to use this one instead:

The Hydration Kit for System Center 2012 R2 is available for download
https://deploymentresearch.com/Research/tabid/62/EntryId/149/The-Hydration-Kit-for-System-Center-2012-R2-is-available-for-download.aspx

Here is a download for deploying a complete ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 infrastructure running on Windows Server 2012 and SQL Server 2012 in either Hyper-V or VMware: One Domain Controller and one ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 member server – Including pre-requisites like .NET Framework, SQL Server 2012 CU2 (or higher, this kit is using SQL Server 2012 CU3) and IIS – all fully automated.

Once configured, the total build time for the full ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 lab environment is about 3 hours (on my laptop).

Download the Hydration Kit for ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 (132 kb).  

Update June 26, 2013: Corrected an issue with the application catalog site role (HTTP Activation for NET Framework 4.5 missing).

Update August 14, 2013: Corrected an issue with OSDisk property missing from DC01 task sequence (prevented deployment on VMware machines).

Overview

To build the lab there are three steps you need to do

1. Download the necessary software
   
2. Prepare the Hydration Environment
   
3. Deploy the virtual machines
   

Detailed instructions are further down this page… see the Step-by-Step Guide section

Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1 – Download the necessary software

1. On the machine (client or server) that you use to manage Hyper-V or VMware, create the C:Downloads folder.
   
2. Download the following software:

• The Hydration Kit sample files (download)
  
• BGInfo
  
• MDT 2012 Update 1
  
• ADK (run the setup downloader to download the full ADK)
  
• SQL Server 2012
  
• SQL Server 2012 CU3 (KB 2723749)
  
• Windows Server 2012 (trial or full version)
  
• System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 + PreReqs
  

Note #1: to download the ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 pre-requisites, run the SMSSETUPBINX64Setupdl.exe application from the ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 installation files, specify a temporary download folder and click Download. 

Note #2: If using Retail media from MSDN or TechNet, you will get prompted for a product key during deployment

Step 2 – Prepare the Hydration Environment

Create the hydration deployment share

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

   Deployment Tools
   Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE)
   

2. Install MDT 2012 Update 1 (MicrosoftDeploymentToolkit2012_x64.msi) with the default settings.
   
3. Extract the HydrationCM2012SP1.zip sample file to C:.
   
4. You should now have the following folder containing a few subfolders and PowerShell scripts.

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\Source
   

5. In an elevated (run as Administrator) PowerShell command prompt, configure Execution Policy in PowerShell by typing the following command:

   Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted –Force
   

6. In the PowerShell command prompt, create the hydration deployment share by running the following command

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\Source\1_CreateHydrationDeploymentShare.ps1
   

7. Merge the hydration kit content with the new deployment share by running the following command:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\Source\2_MergeDeploymentShareWithHydrationKit.ps1
   

Populate the hydration deployment share with the downloaded files

1. Copy the BGInfo file (bginfo.exe) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\DS\Applications\Install – BGInfo\Source
   

2. Copy the ADK installation files to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\DS\Applications\Install – ADKS\ource

1. Copy the SQL Server 2012 installation files (the content of the ISO, not the actual ISO) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\DS\Applications\Install – SQL Server 2012\Source
   

2. Copy the SQL Server 2012 CU3 installation file (SQLServer2012-KB2723749-x64.exe) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\DS\Applications\Install – SQL Server 2012 CU3\Source
   

3. Copy the ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 installation files (extract the download) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\DS\Applications\Install – ConfigMgr 2012\Source
   

4. Copy the ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 PreReqs files to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\DS\Applications\Install – ConfigMgr 2012\PreReqs
   

5. Copy the ConfigMgr 2012 SP1 EXTADSCH.exe file (SMSSETUPBINX64) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\DS\Applications\Configure – Extend AD for ConfigMgr 2012\Source
   

6. Copy the Windows Server 2012 installation files (the content of the ISO, not the actual ISO) to the following folder:

   C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\DS\Operating Systems\W2012
   

Create the hydration ISO (MDT 2012 Update offline media item)

1. Using Deployment Workbench (available on the start menu), expand Deployment Shares, and expand Hydration MDT 2012 Update 1.
   
2. Review the various nodes. The Applications, Operating Systems and Task Sequences nodes should all have some content in them.

   
   The Hydration deployment share, listing the task sequences.

3. Expand the Advanced Configuration node, and then select the Media node.
   
4. 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 (HydrationCM2012SP1.iso) in the C:HydrationCM2012SP1ISO folder. The HydrationCM2012SP1.iso should be about 12 GB in size.

Step 3 – Deploy the virtual machines

Deploying DC01

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

   Name: DC01
   Hard drive: 100 GB (dynamic disk)
   Memory: 1 GB
   Network: Your lab network
   Image file (ISO): C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\ISO\HydrationCM2012SP1.iso

2. Start the DC01 virtual machine. After booting from HydrationCM2012SP1.iso, and after WinPE has loaded, select the DC01 task sequence.
   
3. Wait until the setup is complete and you see the Hydration Complete message in the final summary.
   
4. Leave DC01 running while deploying the other virtual machine (CM01).
   

Deploying CM01

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

   Name: CM01
   Hard drive: 300 GB (dynamic disk)
   Memory: 6 GB (6 GB minimum, 16 GB RAM recommended)
   Network: Your lab network
   Image file (ISO): C:\HydrationCM2012SP1\ISO\HydrationCM2012SP1.iso

2. Start the CM01 virtual machine. After booting from HydrationCM2012SP1.iso, and after WinPE has loaded, select the CM01 task sequence.
   
3. Wait until the setup is complete and you see the Hydration Complete message in the final summary.
   

Note: All accounts, including Administrator, have a password of P@ssw0rd.

Additional Configuration Notes:

If you need to change server names, IP addresses, domain names, installation paths etc. in the environment, the main configuration is stored in the four .ini files in the ISOContentDeployControl folder.

For SQL and ConfigMgr settings you need to update the following files in the DSApplications folder:

• Install – ConfigMgr 2012\ConfigMgr2012Unattend.ini
• Install – SQL Server 2012\ConfigurationFileCM2012.ini

If you change the Administrator password, and/or domain name, you also need to update the Authorize DHCP credentials in the DC01 task sequence.

/ Johan