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Hello,

I am currently creating a physical hardware based server for Windows OS deployment. I have Windows Server 2019 installed on the device. I have added the server roles for WDS, AD DS, and DHCP. The server host device is set up directly to a switch. A VLAN is configured for communication between the Server device and devices needing to be imaged. The VLAN is configured w/o a default gateway as there is no other routing device connected and it has an ip helper address configured to help direct traffic to the Server IP.

Error: Currently test devices are unable to complete the PXE boot. When attempting to boot the devices will return to the boot menu from the black “Start PXE over IPv4” screen. Occasionally the PXE boot will move on to the “Windows IP Configuration” black screen for half a second or less before reverting back to the boot menu.

Troubleshooting Done So Far: I have made sure that the DHCP Scope Options (60) have been set correctly to account for running DHCP and WDS on the same device. I have also confirmed that the switch port is showing device connection and that the DHCP server is showing a lease to the test station. WDS has been configured with the boot/image files added to the Windows Deployment Services console.

I am unsure where to look at for a next step as the server configuration seems to be fine. Any assistance/advice would be greatly appreciated.

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WDS properties:

DHCP tab - verify both boxes are checked since WDS and DHCP are on same server
PXE response tab: Respond to all clients
Verify boot tab settings are appropriate

Did you set up WDS as AD integrated or standalone?

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Make sure you are using the right options for the correct boot type for your device. If your options are configured to serve a legacy BIOS boot file and the machine is set to EFI boot or vice-versa then the PXE boot will fail. If you have the options set correctly, then only the PXE request will get forwarded to the WDS server.

Additionally, avoid using a DC as your WDS server, DC’s don’t like to share.

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@kevinhughes2 I have confirmed that the DHCP options and PXE response are configured correctly. I have set WDS in standalone mode.

@zBrad I did confirm that the boot options were set up correctly. Maybe it comes down to the DC set up.

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Your setup is somewhat puzzling — if this is for an existing domain, you should let the DC already in place on the domain handle DHCP/DNS (with an ip helper to reach it and a second scope for VLAN IPs) and just put the deployment server on the deployment VLAN.

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@kevinhughes2 I understand as I have seen and used this kind of set up before and it was much easier to manage. Unfortunately this is not for an existing domain though. As I described it is a private set up where the server station is plugged into a singular switch which will then have other stations plugged into it to be imaged.

That being the case, unless AD is used for DHCP/DNS, I can easily remove the AD role on a reconfiguration but the problem at hand still persists.

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Then there’s zero need for VLANS since everything is physically separated and VLANing only complicates things. A dumb switch is adequate.

Set Option 60 to PXEClient
DO NOT set 66,67 … WDS is architecture aware and will provide the correct boot file automagically— IF you stat out of its way :slight_smile:
Also verify in DCHP tab of WDS it’s set to NOT listen on port 67 - a combination server will listen to 4011

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I confirmed configuration as advised and the issue still persist.

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I have the same issue: I’m trying to deploy an image to a client on the 10.0.1.x IP range, and the deployment works perfectly. However, when deploying to machines on a different IP range (10.0.8.x), I encounter the following error: Windows Deployment Services encountered an error — Error Code: 0xc0000704. Both clients are on the same network but use different IP ranges.