Advantages of Integrating MDT with SCCM

Hello Friends

Hope this post finds you in good health and spirit. Recently I was searching integration benefits of MDT with SCCM, and I found several articles on internet but there were hardly any of them with precise and point wise description. So, in this post we will discuss different advantages which drives us to integrate MDT with SCCM.

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit(MDT) is a free solution accelerator which is basically used to deploy operating system, manage deployments, and the resources. According to Microsoft, integrating MDT 2013 update 2 with SCCM provides approximately 280 enhancements. Phew! extensive list, isn’t? Lets discuss the most commonly used features:

1. User-Driven Installation(UDI) – Integrating MDT with SCCM provides UDI feature. UDI allows users to interact with operating system deployment steps such as naming the machines, choosing an organizational unit (OU), choosing apps, and other choices based on their needs. The administrator can control the level of interaction available to users, which offers greater flexibility in an organization’s operating system deployment solution. This is very interesting feature and I will soon have a post on it. Stay tuned.
2. Flexibility during Operating System Deployment – Integrating SCCM with MDT adds flexibility during operating system deployment. MDT, unlike SCCM uses local administrator account to complete a deployment, whereas SCCM deploys under the Local System account. Therefore, you have greater flexibility when you use MDT to deploy operating systems, because you can adjust the configuration’s look and feel.
3. Capturing Reference Image benefits – Capturing reference image using MDT has several benefits. MDT has CopyProfile variable which allows to make changes to the local admin profile when customizing reference system prior to capture – these changes are then wrapped into the WIM file and can be applied to the user profile of the target system. Another advantage is that MDT can run those scripted actions too which uses local administrator account. Creating a reference image in MDT is potentially less complicated and therefore quicker than SCCM. MDT can also be used as standalone software to separately create and manage reference images. I have personally seen many organisations using MDT for capturing reference images.
4. Real-time monitoring – You can also do real-time monitoring of deployment using MDT. Status can be checked inside deployment workbench. You can also integrated MDT with Microsoft Diagnostics and Recovery Toolkit (DaRT), which is part of the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) package. It provides remote connection to a Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) deployment preinstall task sequence step. More detail about monitoring can be checked here: https://blogs.technet.microsoft.com/mniehaus/2012/03/09/mdt-2012-new-feature-monitoring/
5. Simulation environment for operating system deployment – Integrating MDT with SCCM provides a simulation environment for an operating system deployment. By setting up MDT rules, you can test your deployment options quickly, and verify whether they are working properly, without performing a complete deployment.
6. Suspending deployment – You also can use the Suspend function in MDT to suspend a task sequence in the middle of a deployment capture. This allows to make configuration changes manually that cannot be automated. However, this is not standard practice as performing manual changes defeats the purpose of the automatic deployment feature in MDT.

Here is a link on Technet you may check for further information:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn744295(v=ws.11).aspx

Okay, so that’s all in this post. I will keep on updating it whenever will get new information. See you soon with some other technical stuff. Till then bye and take good care of yourself 🙂