For as long as I can remember,themethod we have been taking images ofa physical Windows server is to boot the server to a network bootable CD, run the DOS version of ghost, and then take an image of the server and dump it on a network share.We want to change from using a network bootable CD and ghost to another method. Is there a tool or utility or add-on from MS that takes images of servers and d ump it on a network share? (offline or online)???

Hi, If you would like to deploy Windows Server 2003 to quite a lot of destination computers, I recommend using Windows deployment Services (WDS) to do this. Windows Deployment Services is a technology from Microsoft for network-based installation of Windows operating systems. It is the successor to Remote Installation Services. WDS is intended to be used for remotely deploying Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008, but also supports other operating systems because unlike its predecessor RIS, which was a method of automating the installation process, WDS uses disk imaging, in particular the Windows Imaging Format (WIM). WDS is included as a Server Role in all 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows Server 2008, and is included as an optionally installable component with Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2. Generally, we can use the following steps to capture a Windows Server 2003 image and deploy it to other computers by using WDS. 1. Install and configure WDS on a computer. 2. Add the default Windows 2008 boot image to WDS. 3. Create Capture Boot Image and add it to boot image. 4. Create a reference computer (install Windows Server 2003, applications, and make any other changes) 5. Sysprep. 6. PXE boot the reference computer into capture image on the boot screen and then capture the image (If the computer is not PXE supported, use a discover image to boot). 7. Upload the image to WDS server. 8. PXE boot destination computers and install Windows Server 2003 from WDS (If the computer is not PXE supported, use a discover image to boot). For more information about Windows Deployment Services, you can refer to the following site: http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/servermanager/windowsdeploymentservices.mspx In addition, Id love to recommend a new deployment tool for you Microsoft Deployment Toolkit 2008. It is best-practice guidance for desktop deployment. BDD is targeted at companies that want to reduce deployment time, effort, and cost by increasing the level of automation. It allows administrators to deploy desktops with Zero Touch and Lite Touch interaction at the target PCs. This solution also helps organizations move to a managed environment with standardized desktop images. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3bd8561f-77ac-4400-a0c1-fe871c461a89&DisplayLang=en Hope it helps. Tim Quan - MSFT