Computer Deployment is where you set up a machine for a new hire or as a replacement. Open it from Tools, under Infrastructure.

Pick a method

Three methods are listed. Two of them are playable today.

Server Imaging Deploy a computer using PXE boot and an Imaging Server task sequence. The machine boots from the network and pulls an image, driven by a task sequence wizard.

Manual Domain Enrollment Configure a workstation by hand and join it to Directory. You do the setup yourself and join the machine to the domain.

Cloud Provisioning Provision a device with Cloud Provisioning during first-time setup. This one is not available yet. It is shown dimmed with a lock and the label Under development, and it cannot be started. Tickets that would need it are withheld too, so you will never be handed work you cannot complete. Nothing is wrong with your account if it will not open.

Select Start on one of the two available methods.

Hints

Before you start there is a Hints toggle, with a recommendation next to it worth taking: We recommend disabling hints and using the SOP for the best learning experience. Working from the standard operating procedure is what the job actually is.

The SOP

Each method opens on a briefing screen with a download icon. That saves the standard operating procedure for that method as a PDF: SOP-OSD-014 for Server Imaging, SOP-MDJ-021 for Manual Domain Enrollment. Save it before you begin.

Section 6 of each SOP is the build itself, written as numbered steps. For a manual build that includes first-time setup, which does not work the way a home install does: the SOP tells you what to do on the very first screen, and skipping it leads to a sign-in screen with no way forward. If you have closed the briefing screen, the same procedure is in the simulator under Tools, then Documentation, then the Workstation Deployment & Domain Join article.

Credentials

A build asks for credentials part way through, and this is where most builds stall. There are two different passwords and they are not interchangeable:

  • Your domain account, used to join the machine to the domain. Join rights are delegated per technician, so another technician’s account is refused even with the correct password.
  • The deployment account, a separate account used by the imaging step.

Get them the wrong way round and the app tells you exactly which one it wants: That’s your domain password. This step needs the deployment account password (Deploy#2026), listed on the SOP you saved.

Other credential messages you may hit: Your account or password is incorrect., The password is incorrect., The username or password is incorrect., and That account isn’t provisioned. Use your assigned company email.

Both credentials are documented in the simulator. Tools, then Documentation, then Credentials & Access.

Pause and resume

Builds survive leaving the tool. Coming back shows Build in progress: followed by the method name, with Continue build and Discard progress.

Starting a different method while one is paused warns you first: Starting a new build will discard your paused {scenario} progress. Start anyway?, naming the method you would lose.

Which setup does this person need?

Different roles get different builds. If you are unsure, the tool links straight to the answer: Not sure which setup a PC needs? with Check the documentation, which opens the article on choosing a PC setup.

Getting it wrong is recoverable but visible. Ship a machine with the wrong setup and the ticket comes back saying the user cannot work on it, so you build the right one and ship again.

Where the finished machine goes

A completed build lands on the PC Shelf, ready to ship with Ship Manager.