How to Manually Deploy IGEL OS 12 with Microsoft Configuration Manager | IGEL OS Base System

The IGEL OS SCCM Add-On automates the preparation of components required to deploy IGEL OS through Microsoft Configuration Manager (SCCM).

If the add-on cannot connect directly to the SCCM infrastructure, administrators can use their existing SCCM processes to create the required Windows PE boot image and task sequence manually.

This document explains the underlying IGEL OS deployment process and is intended for administrators familiar with Microsoft Configuration Manager, Windows PE, and operating system deployment.

Prerequisites

You require:

A Microsoft Configuration Manager environment that can boot target devices in Windows PE and run custom task sequences.
An existing x64 SCCM Windows PE boot.wim containing the required network and storage drivers.

Using the existing SCCM boot image has the advantage that the Windows PE configuration and drivers already maintained for the SCCM environment can be reused. The original SCCM boot image should not be modified directly. Create a copy of its boot.wim and use the copy as the basis for the IGEL OS deployment image.

Administrator permissions to modify WIM files with Deployment Image Servicing and Management (DISM).
A supported target device with at least 4 GB RAM. For hardware requirements, see Devices Supported by IGEL OS 12.
An IGEL OS .bin image. Download it from the IGEL App Portal.
The IGEL SCCM manual deployment tools: igel_tools.zip
The dd.exe contained in igel_tools.zip writes the IGEL OS image directly to a physical disk. dd.exe must be available within the Windows PE environment.

A typical command has the following form:

dd.exe if=X:\igel.bin of=\\?\Device\Harddisk0\partition0 bs=1M --size --progress

Where:

if= specifies the IGEL OS .bin image
of= specifies the physical target disk
bs=1M specifies the block size used for writing the image
--size displays the amount of data to be written
--progress displays the write progress

Modifications to the supplied tools and customer-specific SCCM configurations are outside the scope of official IGEL support.

Understand the IGEL OS Deployment Process

Unlike a Windows WIM deployment, an IGEL OS .bin file is a complete disk image. During deployment, the complete IGEL OS image is written directly to the selected physical disk from a Windows PE environment. The dd.exe utility performs this raw disk write.

The following image gives a high-level overview of the process:

The deployment process consists of the following steps in detail:

Prepare a customized Windows PE image.
Start with an existing SCCM x64 boot.wim and add the files required for the deployment, including dd.exe and clean.txt.
Boot the target device into Windows PE.
Select and clean the target disk.
Before writing the IGEL OS image, remove the existing partitioning information from the selected physical disk using DiskPart.
Make the IGEL OS image available.
The IGEL OS .bin image can either be embedded in the Windows PE boot image or provided from a network location.
Write the IGEL OS image to the target disk.
Use dd.exe to write the complete .bin image directly to the selected physical disk. Because the IGEL OS image already contains the required disk and partition layout, SCCM does not need to create or format the IGEL OS partitions or use the standard Apply Operating System Image task.
Boot from the target disk.
After the image has been written successfully, boot the device from the target disk. IGEL OS then performs the required initialization during its first boot.

The deployment process removes the existing partition information and overwrites the selected target disk. Existing data on the selected disk will be lost.

The SCCM implementation can be adapted to the existing deployment infrastructure as long as these fundamental steps are preserved.

Create the Windows PE Boot Image

The Windows PE boot image provides the environment from which the IGEL OS image is written to the target disk. Use an existing x64 SCCM Windows PE boot image as the starting point. The WIM file can be modified using the Microsoft Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool (DISM).

The following image shows a high-level overview of the process.

To create the Windows PE Boot Image:

On an administrative workstation, extract igel_tools.zip.

Create a working directory and a mount directory:

mkdir C:\IGEL-SCCM
mkdir C:\IGEL-SCCM\mount

Copy an existing x64 SCCM boot image without modifying the original:

copy <SCCM-boot-image-path>\boot.wim C:\IGEL-SCCM\igel.wim

Mount the copied Windows PE image using DISM in igel.wim:

dism /Mount-Image /ImageFile:C:\IGEL-SCCM\igel.wim /Index:1 /MountDir:C:\IGEL-SCCM\mount

After the operation completes, the Windows PE file system is accessible through: C:\IGEL-SCCM\mount\

Files copied into this directory become part of the Windows PE environment after the changes are committed.

For example, a file copied to C:\IGEL-SCCM\mount\dd.exe is available after booting Windows PE as X:\dd.exe

Copy dd.exe into the mounted image:

copy dd.exe C:\IGEL-SCCM\mount\dd.exe

dd.exe is used later by the SCCM task sequence to write the IGEL OS .bin image directly to the selected physical disk.

Create a file named clean.txt and set the correct target disk number:

select disk 0
clean
exit

disk 0 is an example. Windows PE disk numbering can differ between hardware models. Selecting the wrong disk causes irreversible data loss.

Copy the reviewed DiskPart script into the mounted image:

copy clean.txt C:\IGEL-SCCM\mount\clean.txt

Optional: To embed the IGEL OS image in the boot image, rename the selected .bin file to igel.bin and copy it into the mounted image:

copy <path-to-IGEL-OS-image.bin> C:\IGEL-SCCM\mount\igel.bin

Using the fixed name igel.bin allows the Task Sequence to remain independent of the IGEL OS version. If the IGEL OS image is provided from a network location instead, this step can be omitted.

Embedding the IGEL OS image in the Windows PE boot image provides a simple and self-contained deployment method. Once Windows PE has been loaded, no additional network access is required to retrieve the IGEL OS image.
However, embedding the image increases the size of the Windows PE boot image. When a different IGEL OS image is required, the boot image must be modified and redistributed to the SCCM distribution points.
Providing the IGEL OS image from a network location keeps the Windows PE boot image smaller and allows the IGEL OS image to be changed independently. This approach, however, requires network connectivity and access to the image location during deployment.

Commit the changes and unmount the image:

dism /Unmount-Image /MountDir:C:\IGEL-SCCM\mount /Commit

The customized IGEL Boot Image is available at C:\IGEL-SCCM\igel.wim.

Import igel.wim into Microsoft Configuration Manager as a new boot image, for example, IGEL OS Deployment Boot Image.

Distribute the new boot image to the required distribution points. Configure it for PXE according to your existing SCCM deployment infrastructure.

Configure the SCCM Task Sequence

Create a custom SCCM task sequence and configure it to use the IGEL OS deployment boot image created in the previous section.

The following image gives a high-level overview of the Task Sequence.

Create a custom Task Sequence and configure it to use IGEL OS Deployment Boot Image.

Add a Run Command Line step named Clean IGEL OS Target Disk:

diskpart /s X:\clean.txt

diskpart clean removes the partition layout of the selected disk. Together with the subsequent IGEL OS image write, existing data on the selected disk will be lost.

The target disk may contain partitioning metadata from a previous operating system installation, such as an existing GPT (GUID Partition Table) or MBR partition table. The IGEL OS .bin file represents a complete disk image and contains the disk and partition layout required by IGEL OS. The deployment therefore does not reuse the partition structure already present on the target device. Cleaning the disk before writing the image provides a defined starting state and removes existing partitioning metadata that could otherwise interfere with the disk layout contained in the IGEL OS image.

Add a second Run Command Line step named Write IGEL OS Image.

For an embedded igel.bin, enter:

X:\dd.exe if=X:\igel.bin of=\\?\Device\Harddisk0\partition0 bs=1M --size --progress

The command performs a raw write of the complete IGEL OS disk image to the selected physical disk. Harddisk0 must correspond to the disk selected in clean.txt. Adjust both locations together when another physical disk is the deployment target.

In this example X:\igel.bin is the input image, and \\?\Device\Harddisk0\partition0 is the target disk.

Configure the Task Sequence to stop if either command returns an error. Do not continue to the boot transition after an unsuccessful disk-clean or image-write operation.

After dd.exe completes successfully, use your established SCCM workflow to end Windows PE and start the device from the target disk.

A specific SCCM restart step is not required by the IGEL OS image deployment mechanism itself. How the transition from Windows PE to the newly deployed system is performed depends on the SCCM task sequence and deployment environment.

When the device starts from the target disk, IGEL OS performs its first-boot initialization.

IGEL OS Image Delivery Options

The IGEL OS .bin image must be accessible from Windows PE when the Task Sequence writes the image to the target disk. You can embed the image in the Windows PE boot image or provide it separately from a network location.

Windows PE can access the IGEL OS image either as an embedded file or from network location

Choose the delivery method based on image size, network availability, and how frequently you update the IGEL OS image.

Delivery method	Advantages	Considerations
Embedded image	Simple deployment workflow. All components required for the deployment are contained in the Windows PE image. No additional network access is required to retrieve the IGEL OS image after Windows PE starts.	Embedding `igel.bin` increases the size of the Windows PE boot image. Changing the IGEL OS image requires updating the customized WIM. The updated WIM must be redistributed to the relevant SCCM distribution points.
Network image	The Windows PE boot image remains smaller. The Windows PE boot image and IGEL OS image can be maintained separately. You can provide a different IGEL OS image without rebuilding the Windows PE boot image.	Windows PE requires network connectivity. Required network drivers must be available in Windows PE. The deployment environment must provide access to the location containing `igel.bin`.

Delivery method

Advantages

Considerations

Embedded image

Simple deployment workflow.

All components required for the deployment are contained in the Windows PE image.

No additional network access is required to retrieve the IGEL OS image after Windows PE starts.

Embedding igel.bin increases the size of the Windows PE boot image.
Changing the IGEL OS image requires updating the customized WIM.
The updated WIM must be redistributed to the relevant SCCM distribution points.

Network image

The Windows PE boot image remains smaller.
The Windows PE boot image and IGEL OS image can be maintained separately.
You can provide a different IGEL OS image without rebuilding the Windows PE boot image.

Windows PE requires network connectivity.
Required network drivers must be available in Windows PE.
The deployment environment must provide access to the location containing igel.bin.

Embed the Image in the Windows PE Boot Image

With this method, the customized Windows PE boot image contains all files required for deployment, including the IGEL OS image.

After Windows PE starts, all components required to write the IGEL OS image are locally available.

The task sequence executes:

diskpart /s X:\clean.txt

followed by:

X:\dd.exe if=X:\igel.bin of=\\?\Device\Harddisk0\partition0 bs=1M --size --progress

Provide the Image from a Network Location

With this method, the customized Windows PE boot image contains only the deployment components (dd.exe and clean.txt). The IGEL OS .bin image remains on a network location that Windows PE can access during deployment.

Before running dd.exe, configure the Task Sequence to authenticate to the network location and make the image available in Windows PE. The authentication and access method depends on your SCCM and network configuration.

For example, when the network location is available as drive Y:, write the image with:

X:\dd.exe if=Y:\igel.bin of=\\?\Device\Harddisk0\partition0 bs=1M --size --progress

Confirm that the network image is fully accessible before cleaning the target disk. If the image cannot be retrieved after the disk has been cleaned, the device will not have a bootable operating system.

Verify the Deployment

On a non-production target device:

Confirm that the device loads IGEL OS Deployment Boot Image.
Confirm that Windows PE assigns the expected number to the target disk.
Confirm that the DiskPart step completes successfully.
Confirm that dd.exe displays progress and completes without an error.
Confirm that the device starts from the target disk.
Confirm that IGEL OS completes first-boot initialization.