Before you can create a job to deploy Windows NT, you need to select the target computers for the job. In some cases, the target computers will be all of the computers in a site. Often, though, you'll want to deploy the new operating system to a specific subset of the computers. The queries you imported or created, as described in the previous section, can be used to define a group of computers.
You can create a job by dragging the package to a query. Or, you can run the query and create a machine group (an alias for a group of computers) from the query results, then send the job to that machine group. If you use a machine group, you can query the computers in that group after the deployment job has completed to make sure that the installations were successful. If you send the job to the query results directly (by dragging the package to a query) you don't have this option, since the computers that met the query criteria before deployment are not likely to meet those criteria after deployment.
To create a machine group of your target computers, run your "Windows NT Capable" query, then drag and drop the query results into a machine group in the Machine Group window. You can also use multiple variations of the query to create different machine groups that will receive different configurations. All the queries should be tested before proceeding further, to ensure that you are selecting the computers you want to target.
To distribute the package
In SMS Administrator, open the Packages window and then open the Sites window.
In the Packages window, select the package you created for the operating system, and drag it onto the machine group (in the Machine Groups window) created from the results of your "Windows NT Capable" query. This creates a Run Command on Workstation job.
Complete the Job Details dialog box by choosing the xcopy command.
You will probably want to set the value in the Expires After list box to something less than the default of six months. Once a job is distributed, the associated instructions are kept in the instruction file on each affected logon server until the job expires or is canceled, even after the job has completed on all target computers. This consumes about 3K per job per logon server. Specify an expiration date that is realistic for your organization and for the job.
You might also choose to take advantage of the job scheduling and configuration options. If so, remember to set the priority to Low.
For more information about the Job Details dialog box, see the Systems Management Server Administrator's Guide.
Click OK to close open dialog boxes.
Note Before upgrading an operating system, users should close all open applications and disconnect all shared resources on their computers. If an application has unsaved data, or if a shared connection is in use, the operating system Setup might not be completed successfully.