Updated: July 14, 2020 (March 17, 2014)

Deployment Tools

Wes Miller analyzes and writes about Microsoft’s security, identity management, and systems management technologies. Before joining Directions on Microsoft, Wes... more

Microsoft offers a range of tools, many of them free, for planning and executing Windows deployments. This chart shows major deployment tools of interest to enterprise customers and describes their use. All listed tools are free except for Configuration Manager.

Tool	Description	Information or Download
System Center Configuration Manager (CM)	Deploys OSs, updates, patches, and applications over a corporate network (or over the Internet using a virtual private network connection) and collects inventories of Windows and other clients and servers. Uses the WAIK (see below). Requires licensing for servers and clients.	technet.microsoft.com/systemcenter/bb980621.aspx
Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT)	Solution Accelerator for OS (client and server) and application deployment and was updated in 2013. Includes the WAIK.	www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?id=40796
Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK)	Set of tools for configuring and customizing

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