Starting with version 5.8 orcharhino comes with new provisioning templates for Windows. These extend the variety of functions of your Windows deployments, for example, by installation in networks without DHCP and parameterized domain join.

Generally, orcharhino can create new hosts in three ways: Boot disk-based, Network-based, or Image-based.

• The boot disk-based installation triggers a complete reinstallation using an ISO that tells the host its network configuration if DHCP is not present.
• The network-based installation also causes a completely new installation, the host gets its network configuration via DHCP.
• The image-based installation uses a prebuilt template with the appropriate OS and clones a new virtual machine from it.

Users can still create Windows hosts with the click of a button, but the following features are new:

• Installation in static networks via boot disk
• Configuration of static network interfaces
• Setting an NTP server in static networks using variables
• Using the root_pass variable for the local administrator (The root password hash must be set to Base64-Windows in the operating system).
• Control firewall rules via variables (e.g. Allow WinRM, ICMP Echo, Remote Desktop)
• Parameterizing the installation and configuration of Ansible and Puppet via variables
• Parameterized domain join: both secure and insecure and direct creation in desired organizational unit (OU), so that group policies (GPOs) are applied immediately
• Switch Server Manager start at login off or on by variable
• Controlling the creation of an Ansible user via a variable

The automatic configuration of the new host was moved from the unattend.xml to the finish template with the new templates. This eliminates the need for auto-login and thus the root_pass variable can be used to set the local administrator password in an encrypted manner. Other automatic steps that should happen when installing a new Windows host can be added to it.

After the successful installation of a new Windows host, you can immediately perform further configurations on the new host automatically via Ansible or Puppet or install further required software.

Detailed instructions on how to set up Windows with the new templates can be found in the latest orcharhino documentation.

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ATIX offers a free webinar on July 28, 2021, about orcharhino with a focus on Windows installation without DHCP (incl. live demo). If you are interested, you are welcome to join this free orcharhino session. In the live chat you can of course also ask us your questions. In the live chat you can of course also ask us your questions.